If you’re parenting a teenager, I just want to point out one thing. The time you have with your teenager living under your roof is limited.
Now, maybe that’s a relief to you, which I would totally understand, or maybe you’re already tearing up just thinking about it, which is also completely understandable.
When your kid has reached the middle school or high school years, it’s like you can almost see their graduation date on the calendar. Before, it was just some far-off date that felt like it would never come. But now it’s so close you can taste it.
You’re probably feeling a lot of things as your kid gets older, but here’s something I know a lot of parents feel: guilty that they didn’t do more with the time they had. I don’t know if that describes you or not, but here’s what I want to encourage you with
No matter how old your kids are right now, don’t waste anymore time with what’s to come or what could have been—just do something, together, right now.
Put your phone down. The laundry can wait. That last work email you wanted to send can be done later.
It’s time to be intentional. Plan an activity you can do with your teenager that don’t involve screen time. Get active! Do something crazy together that you’ve never done before!
This is the time to build memories—ones your teenager will carry with them for years to come.
No matter how much time you have left with your kid living under your roof, use this time to pour positivity, love, and attention into them.
Once they leave home, things will change. The time you’ll spend together will be more limited and shared with their friends and boyfriends or girlfriends.
So enjoy these moments. And make some new ones. Right now. Because they’ll matter even more in the years to come.