17 Tweets That Perfectly Nail What It's Like To Parent Teens

If there’s one thing nobody prepares you for, it’s parenting teens.

After years of your child needing you and adoring you, all of a sudden the roles reverse and you’re the one that needs and adores them, while they decide you’re now painfully embarrassing.

If you’re in the throes of raising a teen – or more than one (in which case you probably deserve a medal) – here are some heavily relatable tweets about what it’s like to be a parent through this phase.

1. Expect your fair share of monosyllabic responses.

It’s so rewarding parenting a teen. pic.twitter.com/B4ignQt5eQ
— Eric Nelson (@literaryeric) September 8, 2022

2. They may dress like 40-year-old hillwalkers. But that’s cool now.

Now I have a son in high school, I know that the brands the teens currently love best are Berghaus and North Face. I wanted to look like a teenage vampire, the current kids want to look like 40 year old hillwalkers.
— Felicity Hannah (@FelicityHannah) January 11, 2023

3. Sorry but you’re not as important as their AirPods.

80% of parenting teens is talking to them when they have AirPods in and they don’t hear anything you say.
— Mommy Needs A Life (@mom_needsalife) January 10, 2023

4. They will communicate with you when they need to.

Looking at a couple boarding our plane who have a baby & they’re cooing and fussing & it’s lovely. I look at my teens who only talk to me to get a charged up power bank, money or to ask where something is & I want to say to couple “enjoy this precious time…” #travel #parenting
— Emily Webb (@emilybwebb) January 10, 2023

5. Be prepared for some riveting text exchanges.

My teenager & I had words this morning so a little while ago I texted him ‘I Love you’ he texted back ‘Thank you’ 😜#teenagers
— Teresa Spinelli (@TeresaSpinelli) January 10, 2023

6. Sometimes it’s kinda like parenting a toddler... But also not.

Parenting a teen is like parenting a toddler: space to be their own person, some healthy boundaries, regular checks, frequent snacks, quiet when they’re quiet, love love love♥️
— CatherineRR (@cenorth1919) June 14, 2022

7. Your self-esteem will take a hit.

Parenting a teen means everything you like is stupid or weird.
— Paige Eliza (@Eliza_Izwright) January 13, 2023

8. Sometimes you can’t really win.

Parenting a teen is fun because you get to try and help someone who doesn't want your help and then get blamed for not helping them.
— Scary Mommy (@ScaryMommy) October 26, 2022

9. You’ll do nice things for them and they’ll probably be trés unimpressed.

Parenting a pre teen is so rewarding. I make her yummy food and she says grateful things like “how am I supposed to eat this” and “don’t look at me”
— Wendy Heard (@wendydheard) October 2, 2022

10. You’ll have to dig deep to find never-before-seen levels of patience.

In other news, parenting a teen requires a next level of patience 😭
— Toks 4.0 (@Toksyk27) December 15, 2022

11. If they get hangry, don’t ignore the cues.

Parenting a teen in one text pic.twitter.com/LBUmo3ri3f
— Katy Lemieux (@Danger_mania) September 7, 2022

12. You might end up sounding like a broken record at points.

Parenting a teen is 99% being present and kind and loving, and 1% saying: "Are you a raccoon living in a sewer? Clean up those dishes!"
— Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl (@DearDara) October 21, 2022

13. Sometimes their resistance to being around you will cut deep.

No one tells you that parenting a teen means suddenly having someone in your home who doesn’t want to be around you as much. It’s natural and as it should be, but fuck if that doesn’t cut you to the core.
— Is it over yet? 😷 (@chantalygk) December 17, 2022

14. You might even reach new levels of needy.

Tell me you’re parenting a teen w/o telling me you’re parenting a teen: you briefly daydream about getting a nanny gig in order to feel adored and have a child talk to you. #truth
— @jennmckee (@jennmckee) October 3, 2022

15. There might be swearing.

You know your parenting skills are top notch when your teen calls you a f*cker by 7:30 in the morning
— Triple C 🍺 🇺🇸 (@TripleC50) January 13, 2023

16. But the conversations you’ll have will blow your mind.

Although it’s not easy, of my favorite parts of parenting a teen are the conversations. Whether funny or deep, they both hit different than with younger kids. Listen to your teenagers. Like REALLY listen. When they feel seen and heard it feels like you hit the parenting lottery.
— Rachel Sobel (@whinecheezits) January 12, 2023

17. And while it can be hard (what aspect of parenting isn’t?), it can also be pretty beautiful.

When I tell people I have #teenage daughters I get a funny look.. like I’m enduring life with awful people. My daughters are wonderful and these years are beautiful. It’s hard to BE a teen, not to be there for them. #parenting
— Jen Howse (@jenhowse) February 15, 2022