Parenting Daily

First of all, Happy Mother’s Day to everyone, regardless how old your kids are! Mother’s Day is reported to be the busiest phone call day of the year and for good reason—it’s the one day of the year that pretty much everyone feels obligated to acknowledge the ridiculously hard job the female parent does (hush, Dads, you’ll get your kudos next month! I promise!).

I’ve worked with many parents over the last nine years who say that parenting teens is/was the hardest stage of the parenting odyssey. It’s a time when teens are trying to establish their independence and parents are torn between wanting them to show signs of responsible impending adulthood, but also still wanting (and usually needing) to control the bigger choices in their teens’ lives. Add to that hormones, growth spurts, and good old-fashioned rebellion and it’s no wonder that parents get frustrated during the teen years.

But today, for Mother’s Day, I want you to try to put aside the frustrations and headaches and just marvel at how far you’ve come. Yes, you. As your children develop, you’ve been growing as a parent. Just like any job, there’s always more to learn, better techniques to use, and different challenges still to be faced. But you’ve come a long way from when you held your little baby in your arms for the first time. Maybe your teen will acknowledge the great job you’ve done, Mom, but maybe not. Maybe not until they are parents themselves will they “get it.”

If you can get your teen to spend some quality time with you today, really try to stay away from negativity. Focus on the good things, the memories of your child growing up that you can laugh at now. Looking through old photos is a great way to reminisce with your child. I haven’t met a teen yet who didn’t enjoy looking back through the photos of their younger years. And maybe they need to be reminded of what a special journey you’ve been on together.

Congratulations, Moms! You’ve earned your day. It’s okay if you’re the only one patting yourself on the back today. Rest assured, they’ll figure out for themselves some day how underappreciated you are! Just don’t hold your breath and wait to hear them say it. J

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