DD is 14!!
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| Mon, 07-24-2006 - 5:00pm |
I didn't have a chance to post yesterday because we spent the weekend celebrating.
DD turned 14 yesterday...and it was the culmination of a great week! She had been restricted from staying home alone this summer because of poor decisions. We have slowly been allowing her to earn it back and prove she's trustworthy. Last week she had Mon and Tues afternoons home. I made a long list of things for her to do with specific reminders and instructions and asked her to have a majority of it done by Tues evening. It was ALL done Monday night!! And done well! No halfway just-to-mark-it-off. I was so proud of her! One whole week with no attitude of any kind (well, a little toward her 5.5 yo sister, but not much).
I don't know if it's because she wants something...she wants to get her learner's permit and she wants to apply for a job at the renaissance festival...or if it's because she knew the laser tag and party for 10 kids was a big chunk of change for us...or if she's seen the light.
We haven't had any problems with boys, lying, sneaking around in over a month. I've been telling her daily how proud I am and thanking her for her attitude and help. Is there some switch that flips when they turn 14??? She's gone til Wed afternoon with a church youth group camping/canoeing trip. I'm just hoping the same kid that left is the one that returns!
~Dani

Happy Birthday to your DD and crossed fingers that the attitude change you're seeing is real (and not just to get something). When I've made it clear to my DD what we expect and what good things happen ("behave responsibly, gain responsiblity and trust), it has usually paid off. I hope that's true for your DD too!
Sue
No magic switch, just good parenting it sounds like. You made rules and enforced them. You're lucky in a way, in that with some truly troubled teens it does seem as though even enforcing rules doesn't work after a while. In your case it obviously did. Good job, mom!
I seem to be also going through a good patch with dd14 lately, not so sure after today - I will post separately on that...
Happy belated birthday to your daughter! I wish there WAS a magic age when a teen "evened out", but I actually think it is more of an "up and down" process. My dd is 14 (soon to be 15) and I am just starting to enjoy being around her again, LOL! Hopefully, your dd will keep her good attitude and the "slip-ups" will be minimal.
Amelia