My son won’t be 13 until the end of July and I do wonder how he will turn out! He is a pain at times and drives me crazy and he is lovable. He is a good boy really but you just never know what comes at you! I just gotta hope that he will turn out to be a decent person and be happy.
So this weeks #DadChat was interesting as everyone was throwing around their views and conveying their experiences with regard to dealing with teens, (and pre-teens). Surprisingly, there are still a lot of old school parents out there, and there was a lot of discussion about relationships between parents and teens, gaining your teens respect and respecting them in return. Also discussed was how much trust we put in them and, of course, the subject of internet safety.
Repercussions of bad behaviour came up too and one dad said he grounded his son for a year. I didn’t know whether to be shocked or find that funny but shows that even the best and most caring parents can have problems with teens. But then again, we all know that can be the case. Upbringing determines a lot but doesn’t mean we don’t go through difficult periods. Then there are those dads who want to start ‘shooting practice’ and ‘finding good spots to hide bodies’ when their daughters start dating! There were some funny points made but overall it was a serious discussion. Those who have teens were sharing their experiences and those with younger ones were giving their views on how they will deal with situations when the time comes.
One question put to us was ‘Are boys or girls easier in their teens?’.. I must say that I’m glad that I have a boy as from what I can make out it will be easier (well… I hope!). I think whatever you have though, it can go either way and no doubt they all go through bad patches and cause some trouble at some point! Also discussed were things like being friends with your kids or being a good parent, views on money and discussing sex with your kids. While chatting with one mom she mentioned that her son is allowed girls as friends but no ‘titles’ and that her son was happy with that as he said he avoids a lot of the drama that his friends have with their girlfriends. I thought that was a good one and I will remember that! Anyway…
The #DadChat Discussion
The topic for #DadChat, as you may have guessed, was ‘teens’! Bruce Sallan’s topic was #DadChat Talks #Teens This Week and was based upon one of Bruce’s columns entitled ‘There is Hope‘ which I recommend you go take a look at. One thing I like about #DadChat is that Bruce always introduces us to new and interesting people each week. This week was no different and his two co-hosts were Mila Araujo and Joseph Haslam. You can follow them respectively on Twitter as @MilasPage and @Josepf. Bruce has also included further information and links about them that you can read on his website.
The conversation went in all directions with Bruce leading the way. Mila made some very good points, keeping the chatter going and in amongst all this, Joseph threw out the questions below to keep us all on our toes.
Q1 – Strict with Teenagers or just principled?
Q2 – What are your Rules on “dating” for you pre-teens/Teens?
Q3 – Agree, Disagree & Why: Are Teenage problems BECAUSE you didn’t set the right rules while they were younger?
Q4 – Do you have to NOT be a friend to be a good parent?
Q5 – What are your rules around $$$ for Teens?
Q6 – Girl Teens vs Boy Teens… I vote Boys are easier You? & Why?
Q7 - When and how often do you have the SEX talk with your Teens?
Why not join in next week?!
Bruce Sallan has a lovely community of dads… not forgetting the moms, mums and others that join in too! Bruce welcome’s everyone and it runs from 6-7pm PST on a Thursday night. You can also follow @BruceSallan for the latest updates throughout the week.