Thy TEEN-DOM Come

PART 2: A Mama is a Mama, no Matter How Long 

Understanding Your Role as the Parent of a Teen 

Teenagers in the house? I am so tempted right now to say, "Good luck with that!" and be done with this blog. Most parents of teens, given the option, would simply click the heels of their ruby slippers together while chanting "there's no place like Rome, there's no place like Rome." But lets be honest and square off, toe to toe, with this challenge. YOU can parent successfully throughout your child's teenage years. YES, it can be done. It may not feel like successful parenting while you are doing it, but mark God's words: "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it." Proverbs 22:6 NKJV

There really isn't a formula, but there is an invisible force field.

Remember the rules you set in place through the 'TWEEN' stage? (Didn't know about the rules? You can read about it here.) Well, you still need some rules in place, but in the state of TEEN-dom the rules become somewhat fluid...organic, even. Although the rules still exist, they now morph and bend to wrap themselves around the complex nuances of the teen brain. Much like those stretchy elastic bands that used to be your apron strings. 

A Mama is a Mama, No Matter How Long

HOW YOUR ROLE AS A PARENT CHANGES AS YOUR CHILD GROWS

Part 1: The Early Years

Confession time: 

I once dreaded the thought of being the one responsible for the entertainment, training, and general parenting of a preschooler. I was never the baby-sitting type. As a teen every time I was forced to babysit, and yes, I said "forced", let's just say my soul was more than somewhat disquieted within me.

BECOME A BETTER PARENT OVERNIGHT

5 EASY ADJUSTMENTS TO UPDATE YOUR PARENTING STYLE

Every parent wants to believe they are the best parent they can be. It’s no mystery that often times that means we set ourselves on a course toward a parenting style that is the OPPOSITE of the way we ourselves were parented, and often accompanied with the vow that, “I refuse to be like my mother!” or “I will NEVER be like my father!”  When in fact, our parenting styles should NOT be patterned after Mom or Dad, nor patterned to be the opposite of Mom or Dad, and our parenting styles should definitely NOT be patterned after current social trends or peer pressure fads, i.e. “you aren’t a good parent if you aren't making your own organic baby food,” or “if your child is not on the waiting list for a certain academy by the age of 6 months…” Social Media does not a good parent make! 

God makes good parents. 

After all, it is He who gifted you with your child in first place....

TODDLER NEGOTIATIONS __Because I said so...

So, you have a toddler. 

A small person tumbling around your house, probably causing havoc and making utterances only extra terrestrials and maybe other siblings in your household can translate. A small person in the making, coming into an understanding of what it means to be human; what benefits he or she has because he or she is your offspring, or maybe hand selected royalty. 

You are the proud parent of A TODDLER. 

Most of us can’t actually remember our toddler-hood. Oddly, my most ancient memory is the day I turned 3 years old. I remember toddling along the back fence in my back yard on my third birthday singing to a self-made tune, “I’m three! I’m three!” But for the most part we don’t particularly remember our toddler years, and for a good reason. We were DIFFICULT! Most toddlers are difficult! And today’s culture pressures a new mama...