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Raising teenagers can be a wild and unpredictable ride, but humor is an essential tool in navigating the ups and downs. Discover the benefits of humor in parenting and how to embrace it in your own parenting journey.
While getting ready for bed last night, I caught sight of a dirty 'bullet cup' sitting atop my teens desk that had been baking in the heat all day, its bottom still filled as always with the thick remnants of his protein shake.
I have told him countless times to wash the bullet cup immediately after use and not take it upstairs, where he will surely forget it.
I was knackered after a long day and didn't fancy walking downstairs and then climbing back up to go to bed, so I strategically positioned the dirty cup at the top of the staircase directly outside his bedroom door to ensure its discovery by my offspring come morning time. He would be forced to pick it up, take it downstairs and wash it.
This morning when I woke up, I found that he had already gone but he had left a pleasant surprise for me; in place of last night's filthy cup was an adorable little treat consisting of his drum stand, my dirty gardening slides, a cat treat toy and a large old traffic cone blocking my way to the stairs down to the kitchen where my morning coffee, essential to my brains funtion was calling my name.
'You played that perfectly, my boy', I thought to myself.
It brought a smile to my face and a hearty chuckle.
Our teens are undergoing huge hormonal and neurological changes as their brains prune off what’s no longer needed and prepare for adulthood. Their forgetfulness and thoughtlessness are not malicious acts to cause us grief and frustration or signs of laziness but a symptom of the phenomenal changes they are experiencing.
Humour is a vital tool in my parenting tool kit, helping both my son and I maintain a positive connection and keeping our experiences in perspective. Both humour and compassion are instrumental in a continual fostering of that deep bond between us, allowing us to navigate life's challenges with optimism and resilience.
His outstanding creative expression deserved an equally creative response, so I prepared a little something in front of his bedroom door entrance, ready for his arrival home from school today.
I couldn't help but feel a sense of joy and overwhelming affection for this gangly long-haired teen of mine as I walked down the stairs, looking forward to my morning cuppa.
And then I spotted it, his morning protein coffee shake cup , complete with a healthy dose of unfinished protein glug in the bottom of it, sitting on the coffee table – wonderful.
Teenagers: the ultimate test of patience, and a source of never-ending joy and entertainment!
How can you bring humour into your interactions with your tween and or teens? I challenege you to try it and notice how those little things that escalate into huge things no longer bring you both that same levels of frustration and angst.
Love this kid to the moon and the stars and beyond.