Teenagers From The GitGo

Posted by Ce Eshelman on

May 1, 2015

I feel like I have been raising teenagers for 19 years. Because traumatized children are on survival mode, they seem to have teenager-like behaviors from the gitgo. Yep, I said “Gitgo.” I looked it up. It is still a word to Webster.

Today, I woke my son for school and thought the same thing I have thought every day for all these years: He needs to clean this disgusting room. That is an hysterical repetitive thought process. How can I possibly care about his room for 16+ years? HE obviously doesn’t NEED a clean room. The good news is I didn’t say anything. If I said something every time I thought it my children would hate me.

Parents don’t have to parent everything. If we did, our children would be either passively resistant or aggressively resistant 24/7. By the actual teen years, we would be totally tuned out and without influence in our children’s lives.

Relationship is everything. Clean rooms, not so much.

Love Matters,

Ce Eshelman, LMFT

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Next 10-hr. Trust-based Parenting Course is planned for May 16th and May 23th, 10am to 3pm each day. Child care provided for an extra fee. Sign-up online at www.attachplace.com.

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Cheers to maintaining your influence for your child’s lifetime.