一位家长分享了她对孩子青春期的独特看法，打破了普遍存在的负面刻板印象。尽管承认青春期存在风险，如网络安全和社交媒体影响，但她更强调这一阶段带来的乐趣。随着孩子成长，他们展现出更成熟的沟通能力、独特的幽默感和鲜明的个性。家长享受观看孩子们在体育、艺术和音乐等领域的成长与热情，并认为他们的表演和活动比童年时期更加精彩。此外，她还观察到青少年与朋友们之间那种既珍惜当下又保有童真的互动方式，认为这是童年最后的宝贵时光。尽管理解并非所有家庭都能拥有顺利的青春期经历，她依然对自己的孩子和他们的同龄人正在成长为优秀的人而感到庆幸和感激。

🌟 重新定义青春期：作者认为，尽管常被警告青春期的挑战，但她的亲身经历表明，青春期是育儿中最令人愉快的阶段之一。她强调，不应只关注风险，而忽略了这一阶段的积极面向。

🧠 成长与理性：随着孩子进入青春期，他们逐渐发展出近似成人的理性思考能力，使得家长可以适度放手，让他们参与更多决策。这种成长过程让家长感到欣慰。

😂 幽默与个性：作者惊喜地发现，青少年在成长过程中展现出独特的幽默感和鲜明的个性。他们开始形成自己的观点和想法，对音乐、艺术和体育等领域的热情日益增长，这一切都让观察变得十分有趣。

🎭 精彩的体验：与童年时期略显稚嫩的表演相比，作者更享受高中阶段的体育比赛、音乐剧、艺术展览等活动。孩子们现在更能体会到自己的成就，并从中获得成就感，这种进步令人振奋。

💖 珍贵的友谊：作者观察到青少年与朋友们之间充满活力的互动。他们既意识到童年的短暂，又乐于展现自己天真、甚至有些傻气的一面，例如拍摄搞笑视频或即兴跳舞，这被视为童年最后的狂欢。

🌟 积极的可能性：虽然承认并非所有孩子都能拥有顺利的青春期，并理解可能面临的挑战，如成瘾或心理健康问题，但作者坚信，青春期更是充满各种可能性的时代，而这些可能性可以是积极的，她庆幸自己的孩子正在成为优秀的人。

I heard horror stories about the teenage years when my kids were little.The last of my kids is now in high school, and this is one of my favorite phases of parenting.Of course, there are many things that make me anxious, but I love seeing them grow into adults.

Ever since my oldest kid was born, I've been warned about the teenage years.

When I talked to people about my kids, some of them seemed to relish warning me about the upcoming teen years. If one of the kids got a little sassy, people would remark, "Just wait 'til they're teenagers!" I'd get the same response if a kid were throwing a tantrum or doing pretty much anything negative.

But now that two of my four kids have graduated from high school, and my last two are in it, I've been living with high schoolers for more than eight years now.

And the teenage years are absolutely my favorite phase of parenting.

I understand the fears people have about raising teens

When I read about older kids and teens, since I was going to have some soon, I was warned about vaping, sexting, and the negative effects of social media.

I read that I should restrict their phones. When they were actually on their phones, I needed to know everything they were doing.

Yes, all of those risks are real and the advice is important, but they're not the whole story.

They're just more fun as teenagers

The one thing missing from all the parenting advice on raising teens is any indication of how fun it is.

Now that my teens are almost adults, they're finally working with the reasoning skills of almost-adults. That means I can take a back seat to a lot of their decision-making. That's a relief for me.

They're also coming into their personalities. My teens are developing a funny sense of humor as they get older. They're starting to look at the world around them and develop opinions and ideas. Their passions for music, art, and sports are blossoming. It's so fun to witness.

Frankly, their games and performances are a lot more enjoyable now. All those squeaky fourth-grade band performances and pee-wee football games are thankfully in the past. Now, I get to attend exciting high school sports games, musicals, art shows, and other events.

The most rewarding part? The kids now know when they've nailed a play or performance. They can feel it, and they thrive on it. It's amazing to see.

I also love watching my teens with their friends. Sure, everyone is growing up. But I think they know this time is fleeting, so they also embrace their childlike, goofy side. They shoot hilariously stupid videos, or they'll start a group dance in the middle of dinner. It's like everyone knows they're in their last throes of childhood, and they're going to embrace it while they still can.

I know this period isn't easy for every parent

I know not every teenager has an idyllic high school experience. I'm often up at night, worrying about everything from car crashes to school shootings.

And I know not everyone has teens who are engaged at school. There are high schoolers already struggling with addiction and mental illness. This is the age of possibility — and those possibilities can be good or bad.

I don't want to downplay the pain and heartbreak that can come with raising teens, but I do want to share another, delightful side of it all.

I'm lucky that my kids, and so many of their peers, are developing into amazing people. They're making this period of parenting easy for me, and I'm so grateful.