THE JOY OF RAISING TEENS

Since the beginning of summer, on my walk I’ve gotten to see a family of geese grow from the little goslings that they started as to the grown geese they are becoming. When they were little, I didn’t have to be too close in order for the parent to hiss at me, just passing by was considered a threat. One of the geese would always stand tall as they stood between the passers by and the goslings. Yesterday I passed by, and the goslings are almost at the same height as the parent. I noticed that both parents are still there, but now they are in their midst. As I passed, they just looked at me. No more hissing. Just watching.

That reminded me of parenting teens. When our kids are little, we watch every move they make, check every show they watch, guard every snack they take and “hiss” at any danger that may come their way. As they get older, we don’t hiss often anymore. We loosen the restrictions. We check in rather than give orders. We listen more than we speak. We do life with them rather than plan their days. Every now and then, a “hiss” may be necessary. But the goal is to teach our teens to do their own hissing. Getting them ready for a time that they will no longer be with us. It’s a scary process to be sure. But it’s one of the fondest memories I have of raising kids…the joy of raising teens.