11 Reasons Why I Love Being The Mom Of A Teen Boy
When your small child is trying to shove crackers into your DVR or asking you WHY for the gazillionth time today or you are participating in every parent’s most favorite activity, which is changing a diaper that smells like your infant has consumed rotten camel meat and three-week-old vomit, you need to smile and happy remind yourself that these small humans get big. REAL BIG. As in the case of my teenage son, who is now just about six foot three and pretty much a mentally grownass human, in many ways. I hate people who want to be FRIENDS with their kids. I have zero interest in being the cool mom, or the mom who buys my kid beer, or the mom who is down with what all the kids think is cool today, but having a teenager around can be pretty awesome. That’s not to say that they also can’t be a pain in the ass, they expect you to buy them more expensive GROWNUP size clothing and they can get all moody, but overall it’s pretty great. One day you are changing death diapers and the next you have this person living in your house who is like a bonus person who YOU made who doesn’t require physical care and who you enjoy hanging out with. Here are just 11 of the reasons why.
They Are Big
If a need a lightbulb changed or something from a high shelf, even though I am tall my kid is even taller, and he is all too happy to do these things for me.
They Are Strong
Teen boys love to carry stuff, especially if the stuff they carry is delicious bags of food from your car to your kitchen.
They Like Cool Junk
My teen is always sending me links to music I might like and other things I might find interesting and then asking me MY opinion on all of it. Like I’m interesting! Like what I say matters! Like I have cool opinions on music and movies and popular culture!
They Like Your Cool Junk
My kid is always asking me for movie and music and book suggestions, and the best part is that he actually takes these suggestions and gets all excited about learning about new stuff. he can spend hours yammering about music with my husband, and it’s super cute when you hear music coming from their room and you realize it’s something you used to love as a teenager. Or when you see them reading a book and it’s something that you said they may like.
They Make Holidays Fun
My spouse appreciates all the effort I make for holidays, but he isn’t all into it like my kid is. Time to decorate a mess of sugar cookies? He will help me. Hang a bunch of Halloween lights outside and prop skeletons all over the yard? Hell, yes.
They Also REALLY Help With Holidays
My kid knows the deal with Christmas, but he is way into making it as magical for his younger siblings as possible. He will hide gifts in his room for Christmas and birthdays, help me decide where to put that annoying elf, and hangs up streamers for birthday parties. Teenagers still aren’t all cynical and exhausted yet, and they make a great helper for keeping the magic alive. Plus, they will always finish the leftover ice cream cake you spent twenty bucks on that no one else wants to eat after one piece.
They Are Built-In Babysitters
My son is old enough to watch his younger siblings, and he usually does an excellent job at it. And all it costs me is either an iTunes gift card or a video game download and some junk food. He will big giant Lego structures with his younger brother, play dancing video games with his sister, and put the dishes in the dishwasher. Plus, he gets into teaching the younger ones stuff, which was illustrated to me when my daughter asked me for new music for her iPod and then exclaimed “I’m going to go ask my brother. He knows the stuff I like.”
They Can Drive Automobiles
My son almost has his license, which means he can run errands and help with driving the kids places and doing other important things, like chauffering himself to movies and all that.
They Sometimes Have Nice Friends Who Have Nice Parents
Making mom friends when your kids are young can be fraught with sanctimommy encounters and listening to some other lady tell you all about how amazing her kid is because they can say the word “Cat.” But these same annoying moms chill out quite a bit when their kids are older and they are great for hanging out with and discussing shiz that effects older kids, like birth control and whether or not they are raiding your liquor cabinet.
They Like To Talk. A Lot. About Deep Stuff.
I can remember being a teenager and contemplating all the big questions, the meaning of life, what happens when we die, and all that heavy junk, and my son is the same way. It can be fun to have these big conversations and I don’t have them that often with people my own age, but every once in a while my son will wanna talk for real and it’s pretty fun to hear things from his perspective and to listen to how his brain is developing and how he feels about the world around us. Plus, he usually likes amazing snacks when doing it so it’s a win-win.
I Can Give The World A Good Man
It’s very important to me that I raise a man who respects women and isn’t a doucehbag dudebroâ„¢. Because I gave birth to a couple of sons, I do everything in my power, along with my husband, to teach them how to respect women and treat all people with kindness. I hope that by talking to him about things like equality and consent he will go out into the world and talk to his own peers and one day his own sons about these things. I feel it is my prerogative as a parent of a son to raise one that doesn’t engage in street harassment or the objectification of women. He cares about these issues, and he understands why a lot of stuff he sees other teen boys engaging in is lame. He respects women and girls. I hope he will continue to do so as an adult.
(Image: Everett Collection/shutterstock)
