I have always loved babies and little kids. There is nothing better than a good long cuddle with a baby who snuggles right in. Little kids are so free spirited and unrefined. If they feel like doing something, they do it, if they feel like saying something, they say it.
I was never sure what I was going to think of teenagers. They are big and scary and have such a bad reputation for being strong willed, stubborn and sassy. Unless you are around teenagers, all you ever hear about them are bad things. Society would have you believe they vandalize things, steal things, party too much and are general menaces to society.
I can always tell an adult who has never been around them because they have no idea how to relate to them. They think they need to be extra tough or they ignore them completely. I understand because I used to be one of those adults.
My kids are 17, 15, and 11 and I could not love them more. This teenager gig has been nothing short of amazing for me.
Teenagers are super funny. They have an awesome laid back sense of humour and love to laugh with each other. All conversations are grey area, they let go of black and white meanings which leaves everything up to interpretation. If you get to witness this side of them they will have you in stitches. They are very kind to each other and always seeing the lighter side of things, even if it doesn’t totally make sense.
They can hold most parts of an adult conversation but don’t always have the context and they know it… eventually they get lost and say something totally random… also super funny if you recognize what just happened. They are totally ok with this and just move on with their life.
Lots of the time they know more about current events than me, which is awesome, they are a great resource for what’s happening in the world.
Most of them have figured out their limits and how to push them. Sometimes this is tricky to navigate but generally speaking they don’t want to be dumb or do anything dumb, mostly it’s just exploration and perfectly harmless. I would personally rather have them explore while under my wing than out in the big bad world on their own, so I allow most things at least once.
They are at a stage in their life where they are risk taking. Yes sometimes this involves dangerous behaviour, and they need help determining consequences, but for the most part they will try anything with very little prodding. This is fun for me because I’m an adventurer and my teenagers are generally pretty willing.
They try so hard. They really don’t want to mess up their lives. They are really trying to get things right and they give you their complete trust. But they have little tolerance for adults who don’t get them. They will give up on adults easily and once you’ve lost their respect it’s hard to get it back, not completely impossible, but not easy.
You start to see some character traits that you know are going to get them in trouble. They have little personality glitches that all adults have, but no matter how much you try to suggest a different way they are pretty sure their glitch is necessary. They need us to grow up with them and accept them for who they choose to be.
More than anything they are just big kids. They are smarter and more independent but they have tender hearts and a wicked sense of humour. When I’m with a group of them they always leave my heart filled with joy. It makes me smile to think I ever feared them, and makes me sad for those who don’t get them, they are really missing out.