At 3am tonight/tomorrow morning...

...I will officially be the parent of a teenager. My oldest son turns 13 tomorrow.

I can't even imagine what's in store going forward! His voice is already starting to crack, he's growing quickly. He's bugging the E36 M3 out of my wife and I about getting something to drive...if you recall the thread I posted about scooters. We decided to hold off for now and just give him money, but we're still poking around and I have no doubt that sometime within the next 6 months he'll be driving something motorized (Christmas at the latest). He has his heart set on racing someday, specifically LeMons. I swear it was just last week that little squirt was running around my house in his pjs and pushing Tonka trucks around... That's OK, he still can't take his old man down. He's 5'4" and about 130lbs and works out, but not quite ready to take me on yet....

In reply to Klayfish: My household currently incudes children aged 16,15,14, and 12. You have my sympathy.

I have to physically remove my 13yo from bed in the mornings to make sure he gets the early bus. Good luck.

I'm still wiping butts. You have no sympathy from me, but good luck!

I have two teenagers. It is truly a wonder that more of them are not murdered.

RossD... wiping butts is the easiest it will ever be. Little kids, little problems and all that...

Teenagers are awesome, and you'll be fine.

Of course, I'm pretty sure nature wipes away all memories of those years with your kids as a kindness to you for enduring them.

If he's not already competing, have you considered getting him into an autocross kart? Feeds the need and teaches at the same time.

Margie

Yeah, he's a good kid. I'm not really all that worried, I'm sure it'll be fun. Every stage of being a parent has been fun so far in it's own way, but I do have to say that I enjoy it more and more the older they get.

The only memory I try to wipe out is the first 12 months of my twins lives. Oldest son was 3 then and we had newborn twins, who were quite fussy. Midnight feedings, puking, diaper changes, plus the oldest was a true daddy's boy and wanted me to do everything. Those were rough days.

The autox cart has crossed our minds for sure. But he's already playing sports nearly year round (football and lacrosse), as do his younger brother and sister. So it's hard to find time to do that, and invest that kind of money in a kart. True racing, like quarter midget stuff, is a rabbit hole I just don't want to do down. If anything, we're thinking as an incentive for good grades, we may sign him up for a month of the youth kart league at the local K1 indoor facility. Don't know yet, but yeah, we have to start finding a way of getting him behind the wheel.

You'll be fine unless he discovers pRon.

I second karting or RC planes to keep him occupied.

KyAllroad wrote: In reply to Klayfish: My household currently incudes children aged 16,15,14, and 12. You have my sympathy.

Blended household, or just a fast track project schedule from the boss?

In reply to Duke: Blended. My two are on the usually every other weekend and summer vacation schedule. Her two are full time since their biological father is a wastrel.

I work with teenagers all day long. I can't imagine having one of my own. #nobabies. #ever.

penultimeta wrote: I work with teenagers all day long. I can't imagine having one of my own. #nobabies. #ever.

Lol! What kind of work do you do?

Good luck. I'm content in unclehood myself.

My daughter is 11 and a half, so we're not far off that teenager thing...

Lof8 wrote:

penultimeta wrote: I work with teenagers all day long. I can't imagine having one of my own. #nobabies. #ever.

Lol! What kind of work do you do?

I think he works in human trafficking IIRC.

Welcome to the club. Mine's 14. Yesterday he heard me test driving the MX6 and ran out with a huge grin and asked if he could rev so he could hear the BOV. Later as we were watching the Grand Tour he asked if I was planning on putting a cage in his RA29 Celica.

I have one of these "teenagers" in my home. It is the surliest, rudest, laziest, most unkempt thing ever. I've had dates with the toilet better than her. Thank God she's not mine. Do they get better as they turn adult? My own is only 5 and I have a few years to put some positive on that one.

I have kids ranging from 12 to 27 with a couple in the middle. What I found it the more animated you get the more drama there will be. Teens are great fun!!! They are adults in training. Lind of like having your learners permit for adultness. The goofy stuff they come up with is lots of fun and they are now big enough to take out the trash and stuff.

Well, I had some practice parenting young adults. We had live in au pairs for years. They were girls in their early 20's from foreign countries. That experience was awful. Hope this goes much better.

My condolences for the next four or five years

Ex middle school bus driver.

It may not all be horrible . My son is 17, ~250lb, looks like a bear. He's like a re-born Chris Farley to be around; always manages to make me smile, even when I'm having a really bad day. His bosses, teachers, and school resource officer all love him, despite the fact that he tries to get the cop to taze him on a regular basis .

He still tells his mom that he loves her, and made an 'I Love Mom' coffee mug in school this year . Guessing not many people made fun of him for that, I sure as hell wouldn't...

My daughter is 13, and frighteningly smart (think Alex from Modern Family ) Among other accomplishments, she set the high score on a state standardized test last year. She's recently discovered boys, but fortunately, they're all terrified of her brother.

Nick wants the two of us to go with her on her as chaperones on her 8th grade Washington DC trip .

Lof8 wrote:

penultimeta wrote: I work with teenagers all day long. I can't imagine having one of my own. #nobabies. #ever.

Lol! What kind of work do you do?

High school chemistry teacher. Considered getting a vasectomy to make this permanent, but SWMBO was not in favor.

BTDT. Youngest is 17, with 3 more older than her. We were luckly, none of them really had any problems or caused any drama...and it certainly wasn't because we're good parents, because I still don't have a berkeleying clue how to be one.

Edit: But actually, that's the wonderful thing about kids - as long as you're not a horrible person they'll usually turn out ok. And even if you are a horrible person, you still have about a 50/50 chance of them turning out ok vs. becoming a serial killer, so there's that going for you too.

Every day older a kid gets is a day better. They start out puking on you, and 20 or 25 years later end up being friends. The only real issue I've had is that my two daughters just really don't like each other very much, because they are two seriously different people. I think that's probably my fault...I married a woman who was completely different from me, but she let me berkeley her...so there are some pretty conflicting characteristics built into those two girls.