I wondered of "teens" were an "interest"...

I do think they should be an interest. There is lots to deal with a teen. My biggest battle is with my 16 year old. He thinks since he is able to start driving, he should be able to go as he pleases. He is getting a rude awakening.

I have granddaughters and grandsons in their teens and yes, I think it's a great idea to have an interest for them, alone. My latest battle with my granddaughter, I think you know about. She got friendly with a really bad, dominant guy who wouldn't allow her to use make up, go out on her own, or anything. It ended with him saying she wasn't going to sixth form college to study law, because his main fight in life is with the law. That's when I saw red and went and took her out of there and back to her family, lots of hugs, "I love yous" and protection promises later! She's doing famously now, so that was a bit of a success story on my part, but I feel I only did what I thought right for her. Brightest Blessings.

Hi there, god morning miamilady. Yes, I have a teen, just of age for a couple of weeks ago. And has he given me some gray hair?, no not really. My son has ADHD and AUTISM. For most parents that is tough to deal with. But for me my son has been a real joy to me. From his point of weiv about different things I have learned huge. I have developed and grown as a parent becouse of his disorder. Becouse you must be creative and solve so many issues on a daily bases. I am not going to make my life as a parent to a child with ADHD and AUTISM sounds like paradise becouse it is not. But, He is my engine, my joy and sometimes a pain in the but and I love him no matter what

My boys are both in their 20s now but, when they were teens, I didn't think I was going to survive. They must have some kind of switch that is dormant until they hit the grand old age of 14. Suddenly, you don't have young human beings living with you, you have these bizarre creatures who have attitude up the wazzoo! By the time they're 16, they are quite positive that they know absolutely everything there is to know. It's really funny once they're old enough to go out on their own because that's when they realize that they don't know everything; actually, quite the opposite. All of a sudden, they need us, as parents, all over again. I, personally, didn't have many run-ins with my kids. After divorcing their father, I got remarried to another jerk who was smart enough to hide his true self until after we were married. This a-hole was so insecure that he said some horrible things to my boys, even going to far as to punch my oldest son in the mouth with his fist because my son had the "nerve" to put his hands up to keep my ex at arm's length since he (my ex) rushed up to him during an argument. I must say that this argument was started by my ex, not my son. He told my youngest son, "If you don't like my rules, there's the door." My son was 11 years old at the time! Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that I was their 'buffer', the go-between, the referee. I was the one who talked with them about their feelings about my soon-to-be ex and forced them to let them out instead of holding everything in and possibly exploding one day. Because of that, they've always been very close to me and have always been able to tell me everything. But, man! That attitude of theirs! I did manage to use it to my advantage, though. Whenever they were acting like punks, I'd threaten to take their bedroom doors off. They HATED that! They cherished their privacy more than anything else and knew I meant it and knew how to take the door off, so I usually got them to change that attitude really fast if they thought they'd lose their bedroom doors! LOL If they were arguing with each other over something stupid, I'd make them shut their mouths and make them sit and look at each other. I wouldn't say a word after that. It took only a minute before they started laughing and the argument usually ended then. If they were determined to be angry, I'd say two words that always made them smile, even if they hated it. I'd say, "Puffy cheeks", emphasizing the "ff" of 'puffy'. You know how your cheeks puff out when you smile? Well, that's all it took. I still use it today if one of them is pissed over something that they really should just let drop. "PuFFy cheeks!" It ALWAYS works! I do agree that teens should have their own special spot here in myLot. I know they have a lot of angst, a lot of issues stemming from their transition from adolescents to adults and should have a place where they can help each other.