Sometimes I wonder if I am the only one…the only mother who longingly looks back to those days when my children were younger. It’s not that I don’t enjoy my teenaged children. It’s just that the problems of yesterday seemed so much easier to deal with.
My husband has been working on getting videos of our children transferred from VHS tapes onto his computer and then onto a disc. So we have been doing a lot of reminiscing.
I watch my children laugh and play, twirl and run. It all seemed so carefree back then.
But I think what it’s really about is that “problems” were so much easier. I don’t say that to dismiss challenges that parents of young children have. Believe me…it was not easy raising three children at any stage.
Yet so much of what we dealt with, now seems like a piece of cake. I think about their years as babies…concerns as to whether or not they are meeting their developmental milestones.
When will my child walk? Today it’s more about…will my teen be safe as he gets behind the wheel of the car.
When they were toddlers, there was concerns about getting into things they shouldn’t so you child-proofed everything. Today you can only sit back and hope they don’t get into things that other teens do…smoking, drinking, sex or drugs.
Telling your child no might be met with a scowl or even a temper tantrum but now it can be met with rebellion and anger. The line is drawn and your teen has no problem stepping over it, challenging you.
While you could steer your little one into a corner or into a time-out chair, now you banter back and forth…voices rising and at times turning into shouts.
There are so many good things about the teenage years, don’t get me wrong. But it’s when I am faced with problems that I wish back the problems of yesterday.
Is it just me?
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