Loving Your Imperfect Teen

"Yes, Shauna finished the year on the Honor Roll for the third year in a
row. She'll be going into all advanced classes again and she'll likely
graduate in December. I feel so sorry for you for having to deal with
alcohol and drugs - Shauna never did anything like that. And you know,
she's saved up so much money from that part time business that she runs with her
friends that her first few years of university are already paid for. She's
so busy with school and her business and volunteering at the Seniors Centre
three times a week. She's such a good girl!"

Does this sound familiar at all? And no, not because it is your teen but because there's always someone in your life that has that perfect kid that no one can touch? Don't feel bad - I've been there!

If you're here it is likely because you have a teen that is so far from perfect that you have clumps of hair missing and your voice is raw from screaming into your pillow at night. Maybe they are doing minor things and maybe they've managed to find some pretty major trouble. Either way - this blog is for us - for parents with imperfect teens.

My teen is young - not quite 14 yet but I've already had my share of imperfections to deal with. The thing I'm learning is that despite her imperfections - and my own because the answers that I think are right at the time often aren't when I look back at them - is that she really needs my love. She needs to know that I will always love her. And she needs to know that I will love her, not despite her imperfections, but imperfections and all. It is part of who she is. But her imperfections are not all of who she is.

In this blog I'm going to address some serious issues that we come across in the teen years. Many of the will be things that I've gone through myself and some of them will be issues that I know other parents are facing. I would love to have your feedback, I want to know what you want to read about, and if you have a blog that has to do with teens I want you to share it with me so that I can read it.

I'm also going to share some research that I've done. Some of it will be internet based but others may have a more empirical background. I majored in Human Ecology with a Family Studies major in University. My focus was more on families and younger children then but now that I have teenagers I've been doing more research about the teen years. Once again, discussion is encouraged so please leave comments!

Parents - and grandparents and other family members as well - our teens are our future and we have to love them otherwise they may not grow up to love themselve. Let's learn together what we can do to make our future better.