Back to School Replay: Moms and Teen Boys

A Production of the Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

Moms of teen boys, this episode was made for you! What happens to those boys when they become teenagers and why are they so hard for moms to manage? Fletch and Kendra have raised three teen boys so far and they have lived to tell the tale . . .Moms of teen boys, this episode was made for you! What happens to those boys when they become teenagers and why are they so hard for moms to manage? Fletch and Kendra have raised three teen boys so far and they have lived to tell the tale . . .

Fletch pokes a few sticks at dads on this episode who have turned all the schooling over to their wives. Kendra also has some definite opinions on the subject of moms, homeschooling, and teen boys. She thinks the teen years can be extra great for moms, particularly if a mom can learn to do a few things to grow that relationship in a positive direction. What are they? You’ll have to tune in to find out!


SHOW NOTES:

Recommended Resources:

Raising Real MenHal and Melanie Young

Previous Episodes Mentioned:

Music clips used on this episode:
Song for My Sons- Sara Groves – Buy it on iTunes Here



LISTEN HERE

Are you ready to listen to Fletch and Kendra get real about homeschooling? Press the PLAY button below.


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The comprehensive, award-winning curriculum allow students to study confidently and excel at their own pace, making it ideal for all kinds of learners, whether they are mainstream, gifted or special needs.

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Doubling Down on Seventeen – MBFLP 206

A Production of the Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

We hear from a lot of parents who are struggling with their eleven-year-olds – the preteen uproar is real! But a close second is parents who are wrestling with an older teen – typically a seventeen-year-old. They don’t feel the respect or obedience, they are experiencing pushback and defiance, and they wonder how to make this kid toe the line again. This episode, we look at that question and how we’d answer it – first hint, there’s an underlying problem that you can do something about, without having to change your child or get their buy-in! (keep reading)


What’s the problem?

Society has moved the goalposts. In 1920, it was expected that a 15- or 16-year-old was grown-up enough to find a job or start a family. Now, according to Georgetown University, 65% of jobs in available in the year 2020 will require at least some college education to qualify – that’s two-thirds of all jobs, just two years from now.

That’s telling young people “You’re not old enough to be an adult until you’re in your mid-twenties.” No wonder psychologists Joseph and Claudia Allen say, in Escaping the Endless Adolescence, “Twenty-five is the new fifteen.”

At the same time, the onset of puberty comes four- to five years sooner than it did in 1920. Our teenagers are gaining adult bodies, adult temptations, adult desires, long before they have adult opportunities – whether or not they’re emotionally mature by that time. They are feeling like grown-ups earlier than ever before, even if they can’t live that way.

And studies tell us that frequently, the parent-child relationship is strained or broken in the preteen years – and a rocky time as teenagers often started with the tween years. By the time they’re 17 or 18, they may have long-standing habits of bad interaction – and often, we parents do, too.

So what can be done?

Recognize the transition to adulthood doesn’t happen on the eve of their 18th birthday. We need to be training our teenagers in mature thinking and behavior from their early preteen years. That means we need to …

Recognize their growing adulthood. – They are feeling more and more grown up, and in many ways, they are. We found it helpful to start thinking and speaking of them as young adults, and expecting them to act that way.

Transition parenting from “director” to “advisor.” – Your younger children need your active direction – they need you to be a benevolent dictator! But your teens and young adults need you as an advisor. They need to learn to ask their own questions and do their own research, then make decisions for themselves – not wait for orders nor wrench themselves free of your influence. You want to become a trusted counselor to them, not to order them around but to offer your wisdom and experience as guidance.

Learn to listen. – Often our kids feel like we never listen to them. We are so focused on the parent-child aspect we fail to appreciate them as people. One way to improve that is to always engage a bid for attention: Whenever they speak or whenever they want to show you something, make a point to look up and make eye contact, then engage whatever is on their mind.

Dr Jeff Myers of Summit Ministries says that we must teach truth, but it is only received in the context of a relationship – a relationship of love, trust, and respect.

Psalm 116:1-2 says,
I love the LORD, because He has heard
My voice and my supplications.
Because He has inclined His ear to me,
Therefore I will call upon Him as long as I live

We want that kind of relationship with our adult kids – we want them to love us and we want them to call us when we’re apart. And what does this passage say? “I love the LORD because He has heard and inclined His ear to me.”

If you want your kids to listen to you, then you need to listen to them.
If you want them to pay attention to you, you need to pay attention to them.
If you want them to love and respect you, then you need to love and respect them – in a way that they appreciate!

If you have a 16- or 17-year-old and you find yourself struggling, why not give this a try? Simply recalibrate your own thinking to see them as a young adult—who still needs coaching and guidance, sure! – but a young adult who is truly a complete person with his own needs and concerns and dreams and fears – not just “your kid” who needs correction.

Try reaching out to them as though they were a young adult not in your family.

Treat them with courtesy and not just command.

And see if they don’t respond!


Special Thanks to Our Network Sponsor – Well Planned Gal

Rebecca from the Well Planned Gal understands the challenges of working within a budget, managing multiple children, and trying to keep up with a variety of information. That is why she created popular planner bundles!

Combine organizational tools with year long encouragement by bundling Well Planned Day planners with the popular Family Magazine. For a limited time, Save 30% with one of her popular planner bundles. Each bundle contains 2 planner products with a one-year subscription to Family Magazine.

Click Here to Go to Well Planned Gal


Preparing Your Teens for More – MBFLP 205

A Production of the Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

“You think this is hard – just wait till they’re teenagers!” the stranger told Melanie as she pushed our four young children through the Atlanta zoo. But that’s a cultural expectation, not a foregone conclusion. Why can’t the teen years be productive years of growth, maturity, and deeper fellowship between parent and son or daughter? This episode we’re looking at positive ways to build up your teens during these critical years of transition from childhood to independence!

The Remarkable Potential of Teenagers

The oncologist looked at Hal skeptically.

“Well,” he conceded, “if you feel up to it, you can travel. And you can speak from the platform. But you can’t stand around shaking hands afterward – your immune system is going to be completely shot.”

The results had come back from the biopsy – Hal had advanced lymphoma, and he was about to start chemotherapy. The good doctor from Duke had listened while we explained what we do in our ministry, and travel was a concession – no compromise on the personal contact.

We had hardly gotten this far explaining it to our family when our teenagers burst out, “Don’t worry, Dad – we’ll take care of the book fair!”

Our oldest still at home were 16, 14, and 12. We might have been a little skeptical, but at the time, we didn’t have a choice. Hal was sidelined, Melanie would be busy counseling and praying with parents, and somebody needed to handle the business part of our resource table. If teens are who we had, then teens would have to do the job.

And it has made a world of difference!

Don’t Underestimate Teenagers

So many people consider the teen years and react with alarm, “Batten down the hatches! Duck and cover!” And yet, we look back and history and wonder. Laura Ingalls Wilder was put in charge of a school before she turned 16. John Quincy Adams was 14 when he became the sole translator for America’s embassy to Catherine the Great of Russia. Paul Tripp calls it “The Age of Opportunity;” why shouldn’t we expect more from the teenage years?

What started as a necessity in our family developed into a tradition – ever since that day, our teenagers and their younger siblings have managed our booth and many aspects of our travel. They shoo us out into the aisle, telling us, “You need to be talking with the parents that need help! Let us take care of this stuff.” They load and unload, set up and manage. They deal with customers of all ages, polite or combative. And they take turns in charge of the booth and their siblings, watching the younger ones and passing on job skills to the middle group.

Sometimes they even challenge us! Our third son made it a point of honor to learn to drive our 15-passenger van and trailer in any situation – threading night-time traffic alone in downtown Phoenix, backing the trailer into a tight parking space, or turning the whole rig around on a one-lane road that suddenly became impassable. Hal had to step up and improve his own skills to keep from calling the 16-year-old to get us out of a spot!

They became so involved in the business and support of our ministry, we naturally included them in all our planning. “We need some products to keep the younger children quiet while you talk with their parents,” they told us. We challenged them to come up with ideas, and they located sources for the swords and rubber band guns we sell alongside our books on parenting and marriage.

Three of our teens took what they were learning from our own business and bought another for new australian casinos 2021 themselves. The one who took the greatest part at the age of 13 is majoring in entrepreneurship in college and has already attracted venture capitalists to the businesses he’s started.

One of our teens became a freelance journalist at the age of 17 and was writing investigative articles for a statewide magazine before he left for college.  Another taught himself guitar and mandolin and joined a bluegrass band at a local coffee house. His elderly bandmates used to tease him, “I’ve got blue jeans older than you, Curly,” and he’d smile and reply, “But I’ve got more hair than all of you, combined.”

What made the difference? For all our teens, they found an area where they could serve, then we encouraged them to step up. By the time they were ready for college, they’d already been participating in grownup activities for two or three years, and they were unafraid to face the new opportunities which opened up in college and their early careers.

Want to read more? CLICK HERE!


Special Thanks to Our Network Sponsor – Well Planned Gal

Rebecca from the Well Planned Gal understands the challenges of working within a budget, managing multiple children, and trying to keep up with a variety of information. That is why she created popular planner bundles!

Combine organizational tools with year long encouragement by bundling Well Planned Day planners with the popular Family Magazine. For a limited time, Save 30% with one of her popular planner bundles. Each bundle contains 2 planner products with a one-year subscription to Family Magazine.

Click Here to Go to Well Planned Gal


Adulting – MBFLP 197

A Production of the Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

Studies are showing that high school seniors are less prepared for independent adult life than their parents and grandparents were, and psychologists are saying “Twenty-five is the new fifteen.” Does it have to be that way? Can’t we raise teens who are ready to step into grown up life? What are some practical steps for teaching adult skills? This episode, we look at “adulting” and how to get kids on track for responsibility – and success – as grownups!

 

Interested in the books we mentioned? These affiliate links take you to Amazon but also support this program at no cost to you!

Escaping the Endless Adolescence (Joseph and Claudia Allen)

The Vanishing American Adult (Ben Sasse)

 


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What Time Is Curfew? – MBFLP 147

A Production of the Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

mbflp-147-curfew-v

 

Several people have asked us “What time is curfew at your house? When do you require your kids to be home? Is it different for teens and twenties?” 

Our answer usually surprises them — because we really don’t have one! That doesn’t mean our kids run rampant, smashing mailboxes at 3 a.m. and hanging out in grocery store parking lots all night … but it’s because of an approach we take with relationships and responsibility in our family. This episode, we’ll talk about how and why we handle the question of curfew the way we do!

 

You can read more on our blog at RaisingRealMen.com – CLICK HERE! 

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Moms and Teen Boys – HIRL Episode 92

A Production of the Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

Free Homeschool podcast about teenage boysMoms of teen boys, this episode was made for you! What happens to those boys when they become teenagers and why are they so hard for moms to manage? Fletch and Kendra have raised three teen boys so far and they have lived to tell the tale . . .

Fletch pokes a few sticks at dads on this episode who have turned all the schooling over to their wives. Kendra also has some definite opinions on the subject of moms, homeschooling, and teen boys. She thinks the teen years can be extra great for moms, particularly if a mom can learn to do a few things to grow that relationship in a positive direction. What are they? You’ll have to tune in to find out!


EPISODE TIMELINE
2:35 Fluff Time
11:53 Part 1 – What happens to boys when they become teenagers
21:24 Part 2 – How should mom respond to these teen boy/men
32:30 Wrapping up the show, iTunes Reviews, Letters from Listeners


SHOW NOTES:

Recommended Resources:

Raising Real MenHal and Melanie Young

Previous Episodes Mentioned:

Music clips used on this episode:
Song for My Sons- Sara Groves – Buy it on iTunes Here



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LISTEN HERE

Are you ready to listen to Fletch and Kendra get real about homeschooling? Press the PLAY button below.


Join Fletch (from theMangoTimes) and Kendra (from Preschoolers and Peace and KendraFletcher.com) for the HomeschoolingIRL podcast every week as they interview guests and talk through some of the goofiness they have experienced in nearly two decades

MBFLP 96 – Homeschooling High School? Sure, Why Not?

A Production of the Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

 

UHRN-Homeschool High School Why Not - After

What makes the homeschool mom more anxious than the prospect of high school? But there’s good reason not to fear — and good reasons to stretch yourself and make it happen — when considering your homeschooler’s high school years. Don’t miss this episode – we’ve graduated three and we’ve got an encouraging story to tell!