My sweet adopted daughter since she is 8 months old and is now almost 17 years old.
I love my daughter to pieces. She is from China, and she has known since we first got her. I am having a tough time with teenage years because nobody ever gave me a book on how to raise children.
The teenage years are the toughest. They start questioning who they are and where do they really belong. It is also the time when hormones start raging which can also make it more difficult especially in young ladies who tend to be very emotional.. It takes a lot of patients to get throught these years. My best advice is to try not to take things too personally. No matter what they say or how they act, because most of the time it is about finding a way to accept who they are where they come from.
yeah, and when you changed them no mater how many times you lifted the butt to wipe no instructions appeared..lol oh good lord I hope the instructions are not attached to some body piercing..lol
Those teen years are so hard because they are trying to transition to being an independent adult and that means separating from mom too. It gets better after they are on their own. I read once that in some primate group, maybe gorillas, can't remember, the mom kicks the teenage dd out to find her own group to live with. So even gorilla teens are obnoxious lol.
There is an instruction book for raising children - the Bible!! I had so much trouble with my first two daughters, then I read and read and read the Bible and changed my life. I have raised four more through the teen years, and have two 16 year olds right now, and I had no rebellion with them. One 16 year old we just adopted two weeks ago, and even she is doing well, although she isn't as strong, she will still lie on occasion, but she has not done any real acting out.
One thing I learned is: you must be very gentle with hormonal teenage girls. Love them, smile at them anytime they walk into the room, take them out for expensive coffees when it's just the two of you AND- and this is important with ANY child - never let them hear you say anything bad about them to someone else. Tell other people who wonderful they are, how sweet they are, how helpful they are, how you don't know what you would ever do without them. ALWAYS say good things "behind their backs" where you know other people will tell them "your mom thinks you are so wonderful!"
Carla Raley, wife of Bill, mom of 12, foster mom of more than 50
Visit my blogs for stories of the life of an older mom raising a large family, foster/adoption and homeschooling
http://raleyfamilysfarm.blogspot.com/
http://bookreviewsbycarla.blogspot.com/
I've worked with a lot of teen girls in my life, but I haven't raised any... That is a whole different challenge. And right now I only have a boy! Hang in there, momma!
Always knew
- when14
on Feb. 10, 2013 at 6:43 PM