Having a wonderful teen is a subject I can get very excited about. My daughter, now 14, went through the pre-teen angst from about 11-12 years old. She knew everything, pushed limits, and was generally tough to talk to. Since turning 13 she has been a joy to both her father and I. She is a straight A student, she is focused on her future beyond high school, she plays the flute beautifully, and she tells me everything.

During the pre-teen years I dreaded her teen years. Here I was thinking that this would continue until she moved out and went to college. Oh, how wrong I was! My daughter and I are best friends, but the best part is I didn't have to give up authority over her to be her friend. She knows I am still her mother and will act accordingly, if necessary. When she comes home from school every day I get the rundown of what is going on at school. Who is dating who, who broke up with who and why, which teacher was in a bad mood, if there were any fights, or if someone bugged her that day.

She tells her friends that she tells me everything and they are all mortified! The common refrain is "Why did you tell your Mom THAT?" And her response is usually "Because I can." I also have the piece of mind knowing that if anything bad should happen to her, I would be the first to know. She knows that if she were in trouble she could call me and everything would still be alright in our world. Her friends just don't understand our relationship and they probably never will.

My wonderful teenager is focused, intelligent, beautiful, shy but friendly, kind hearted, and just lovable. She occasionally pushes the limit of backtalk, but she knows she'll be quickly shut down. I have no fear that this child of mine can and will accomplish anything she sets her mind to in her life. She's already talking about what she wants to do for her first job. There are wonderful teenagers and there are those that seem to push every limit you set, but eventually you have to step back and let them be the person they want to be. My hope is that my daughter will be blessed with a daughter just like her.

Now my boys.....that's a whole different article!

Learn more about this author, Cynthia Teskey.
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