Parenting a Teenager: Good Luck

Raising a teenage son can make you frustrated, angry, confused and proud.

First, let me say my son is a good boy, or young man.  I know teenagers are full of raging hormones and growing up can be very challenging.  Don't expect them to be sociable and respectful all the time.   They are part-child and part-adult.  They're in high school and have a job, but being mature is a part-time job.  Saying 'good morning" to them is awkward.  Sometimes it seems the dog is the only one who's happy to see me.   When I tell him "no", he thinks I mean "yes, if you argue enough".  For years I told my son that he should become a lawyer because he loves to argue.  Now I tell him that even if the judge rules in his favor, he will keep arguing.  When you have a teenage son, the parent feels like running away from home.  It's part joy and part guerrilla warfare.  When he annoys me, I have to find a way to deal with him in a surprising way.  Conventional tactics are useless.  He's much smarter than me, at least that's the way he acts sometimes.  When I ask him to do something extremely difficult, like walk the dog, take out the trash or clean his room, he says he's too tired.  But he can play video games for hours.  Speaking of video games, that is my son's Achilles heel.  He will ignore me until I take that away.  Then he becomes very remorseful and begs me not to do it.  At that point, he treats me like I'm a god and will do anything I ask.  I was a teenager once and was far from perfect.  That means I have to take a deep breath and try to understand what he's going through.  I'm always quick to say "I love you" and say how proud I am.  But sometimes I need to take my medicine and lay down for a while.