My story: surviving the teenage years
Mum Jo Powell gives an honest and ultimately loving view of life with her teenage son.
Teenagers can push you to the limit. It’s a shock to the system when the babies that you once lovingly breast-fed and puréed fresh veg for, decide when they’re 14 to take up smoking and drinking and sometimes much worse. The decisions they make, the senseless things they do can take you to the edge of reason. I know because I’ve been there and so have some of my friends. So how do you cope? I’m no expert but here’s a few things to remember.
Teenagers and how to survive them
• A headmaster once told me at the start of secondary school that teenagers go into the adolescent tunnel. It’s hard while they’re in there but they do come out the other end and when they do, they come back to you. I know this is true because my son has been through the tunnel and now, at 19, is very different to the boy I knew at 15.
• Confide in a close friend or family member. It’s the people who care about you that will get you through. Don’t feel desperate on your own.
• Get professional help. There are people and organisations that can help with all sorts of problems from drugs to teenage pregnancy and alcohol. They can be a lifesaver. And don’t forget the army of everyday professionals waiting to pick up the pieces of the next teenage drama – the GP who knows what to do when your daughter’s DIY ear-piecing goes septic, the hairdresser who can salvage something from a bad dye job, or the driving school who can teach your 17-year-old son to drive to spare you this agony.
• Know what your teenagers are looking at on the internet. The web is a wonderful thing but it can also be a very dangerous place.
• Don’t worry what they look like unless it infringes the realms of decency. The black eye make-up and hair dye will go, eventually.
• Remember how you were at that age. Are they really doing anything worse?
Having teenagers can be emotionally draining. You worry about their future and want them to be the best they can be, to reach their full potential. All you can do is be there and support them all the way. There’s no giving up because you were the one that puréed that food, who stayed up all night when they were ill, who cried in the nativity play and taught them to ride a bike.