Mother's Day: Parenting teenagers is like a personal action movie
Mother's Day 2012 is just around the corner, and parents of teenagers may be feeling like the parenting experience is becoming far too much like living inside an action adventure film, complete with action, romance and a lot of angst.
Mother's Day: Parents of teenagers may be feeling like the experience is too much living their own action adventure film – full of romance, lots of angst, and, of course, blockbuster action..
20th Century Fox Studios/Reuters
Being a parent of a teen is in some ways like watching an action adventure flick. There is never a dull moment; just when you think you've got the plot figured out there is another twist.
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Talking Teenage
Jennifer Powell-Lunder (l.) and Barbara Greenberg (r.) are practicing psychologists specializing in adolescent issues. Both have been published widely and appear regularly in the print and broadcast media as teen experts. They blog together at Talking Teenage.
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Of course there's also all that drama, seemingly at some moments simply for the sake of drama itself.
Like any true adventure movie, there is a bit of romance. As a mother, this represents your unwavering devotion to your teen despite the sometimes dumb or even disastrous situations in which your teen gets entangled.
Then there's all the emotion they seem to experience; one moment they are ranting and raving and the next they are anxiously awaiting your advice, or simply asking what's for dinner.
In any given moment you find yourself stepping out of one mom role ( i.e. advice giver, chauffeur, cook, housekeeper, etc.) and stepping in to another.
As a mom of a teen life is never boring, although at times you wish it were. At moments it may feel like a thankless task with all the door slamming, music blasting and even the occasional "I hate you." And as difficult as the most trying moments seem to be, you know in your heart you don't regret even a second of the rambling roller coaster ride on which your teen has taken you.
So, as another Mother's Day marks your calendar, sit back and savor a moment or two of sweet silence and relaxation but you better hurry, your teen should be asking you for something in 1, 2, 3...
The Christian Science Monitor has assembled a diverse group of the best family and parenting bloggers out there. Our contributing and guest bloggers are not employed or directed by the Monitor, and the views expressed are the bloggers' own, as is responsibility for the content of their blogs. Jennifer Powell-Lunder and Barbara Greenberg blogs at Talking Teenage.
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