boys

All those who have met me 3 years back, do not come and see me! No, not because I don’t like you or because I have stopped my consultation! It’s solely because I am losing so much hair thanks to my teenage and preteen boys!

Well, it’s supposed to be a normal thing. The entire human race goes through it and yet, mind you, my dear parents, still, we do not know the correct way to handle the teenage!

It’s Feb 2017. My boys are 13.5 and 12 and I think I may get into my premenopause. The entire house is undergoing the damn hormonal imbalance including my pet coco who is a pug! We have arguments and hair dropping all over the house.

I know you are all pretty young and can not even fathom the temperature fluctuation at my house!

We all blame each other’s hormones to save our skins. I t would have been ok had it been just the home affair but when my son started forgetting his diary and homework books, then I knew it needed our attention.

Constant reminders to him worked until the next day!

Raising voice worked for 2 days.

Shouting did not work. Teachers giving notes too failed. Do teenagers become deaf too?

Jokes apart, the high pitch conversation was getting on my nerves.

So I sat down to ask him what is the problem. Why is he forgetting things? He told me there was no issue at all! Really?

I picked up his bag and immediately knew the chaos. There were so many books, home notes, rough books, homework notes, textbooks, project sheets, lose HW sheets, storybook and other boxes that any sane person will be inundated in his bag.

My poor baby was getting overwhelmed with the sudden increase in the portions, writing, procedures and books! He would take out things and forget to keep them back as everything looked the same.

So I sat with him and organized his bag. Wrote with him on all three book edges names of the subjects and types. Gave him two new wooden holders to keep books and folders inside them when working every day at home.

I also made him practice 3 times how to take out books and keep them back before and after each period. Suddenly all the forgetfulness is a thing of past.

So the moral of the story for my son, reader of madhuriesingh.com and me are:

Firstly, as a child, you must ask for help when overwhelmed.

Second, as a parent, what worked a few years back, need not work today or tomorrow.

And lastly the most important lesson: Instead of shouting, cribbing or advising the same thing over and over, if it is not changing anything, it’s time to think and ask, what change is needed in the action from both the parent and child’s end to make it work.

We all actually do this silly mistake. We keep on repeating the same act but expect new results! So from the next time, try to change the act and then expect a new result or behavior.