Ah parenting teens… it gets a lot of bad press and in some cases that is understandable, but I am here to tell you parenting teenagers is not so bad. It has its challenges, yes but there are a lot of positives too.

Here are some of the top reasons why you should love and enjoy parenting teens:

You can teach them stuff – When I say stuff, I mean you can teach them how to cook, clean and get them to help with minding their younger siblings. Ok, so they may not be entirely happy to do this but in time, they’ll reserve themselves, to the fact that this is what is expected of them. When you teach them how to cook and clean, they are useful to have around! When you don’t feel like cooking you can ask your teenager to do it and they won’t be able to get out of household chores either like when they were young and couldn’t reach the kettle or dishwasher! Win!

They are like you – Like it or not your teenager is going to be like you, or your partner or a lovely mix and they are going to pick up on your traits and characteristics. It is like having a younger version of yourself around which reminds you of your youth. They’ll listen to your ideas and ways of living before being like that naturally. Which is interesting and it makes life fun as you become proud of the person they are growing into.

They love chillin’ – Do you remember the many times, on a weekend that you would have loved to just sit in and do nothing? However, your younger kids had other ideas and were screaming for days out! Well, here is the best part - teens love doing NOTHING! Yes, absolutely nothing. They won’t demand that you play with them outside and if you have a hangover they’ll understand and stay away – if you are lucky, they’ll call for help and a takeaway if needed. They are happy to relax with a movie and while they enjoy going out with their mates, they won’t ask too much of you except when they want money. They love money!

They also love their bed – Don’t worry about your teen keeping you up all night (that is until they start partying and you wait up for them) but let’s forget that for now... and enjoy the sleep while you can. They’ll spend most of their time in bed and you can have lie-ons again! Like honestly, that is utter bliss right there.

They can take the p*&s – Here is the thing, teenagers are funny, and you will be so proud of your teen when you see them able to hold their own in family slagging and occasions. It is a normal part of life that we all slag off our family (harmlessly) and your teenager is whippet smart and funny. They’ll soon have the rest of the family in their place and don’t start a conversation on climate change or social anxiety as your teenager will know all about it. In fact, they’ll be so conscious of it, they’ll put you to shame. They are smart, educated, fun and maybe a little moody at times but then who isn’t?

Enjoy it!