Gratitude for parenting teens

We read an article recently in Austin Family magazine on the upside to parenting teens, and thought it was good enough to share. How many times have you heard about the defiant teen, the troubled teen, the unpredictable teen? The truth is that the teenage years have a lot more to offer parents than just headaches, and it's important to take time to reflect on what makes parenting teens such a valuable and powerful experience!

One of the many reasons we love our work with tweens and teens is that the world is truly opening up before their eyes, and it's a wonderful thing to witness. You're growing and changing and developing your own moral compass. You're beginning to see yourself, your friends and your world in a new light. You're no longer satisfied with simple answers, but hungry to go deeper, learn more for yourself and be independent thinkers. For those of us lucky enough to work with (and parent) teenagers, it's an opportunity to relive some of those moments from our own adolescence that help us get a fresh look at ourselves and our community. It gives us a chance to reflect on our own belief systems, and teens challenge us to think critically about things we may have taken for granted.

When parents get frustrated, burned out, or overwhelmed with their tween or teen, it's important to take time to reflect on what makes this such a special (and all-too-brief) time in our development. For more on what makes parenting adolescents such a gift, visit Austin Family.

What do you have gratitude for today as the parent of a teen?