When my daughter was a toddler, I would go to the washroom only when someone was to take care of her. Why? Because at one moment, she would be playing here and the next moment she would be mischieving somewhere else. A family friend rightly named her “Uchhal kood” which means “Jumping jack”.
My elder son’s fussy food habits were one of the challenges I faced when he grew up into a teenager. As a toddler, it was easy to feed him. Whatever you prepared, he would eat with joy. Gradually, his desire for junk food increased. And, his wish to eat in front of the screen also got firm.
Raising toddlers is easier than raising teenagers for some, while others may feel vice-versa. In that case, won't it be better to weigh the two on both sides?
Whether you are parenting a newborn or infant, toddler, preschool, school-age, teenager, or adult, it has its set of challenges and solutions. At each of these stages, the skill sets required in parenting differ. Different parents have different parenting capabilities and areas of proficiency. Based on this, we can categorize the particular stage of child development as easy or difficult. Are you with me?
Toddler years (1 -3 years): Thinking of everything!
Whether toddlers are notorious or not, raising them is time-consuming and tiring. The obvious reason is smaller kids demand more time than teenagers. There are ‘n’ number of visible and invisible work. We need to think and plan all toddler-associated activities ahead of time. There is an emotional upheaval for mothers to calm the crying tiny-tot. The mother tires physically by running from one room to the other to prepare meals, clean up their room, get them dressed, and teach them basic things like washroom manners. Fathers usually monitor all of these and lend a helping hand.
The best part of parenting toddlers is -
The unconditional love they have for you irrespective of the number of scoldings they get. They are least bothered by your shabby dress or ruffled hair.
Teens want to be heard and seen!
In the prima facie, parenting teens may sound easier than toddlers as the child is more independent and communicative. The demanding factors might have changed, but now the list is longer than before. The need for ‘parent-time’ is replaced with ‘me-time’ just in a few years. But they also have the desire to be heard and seen their way. They become argumentative and rebellious at times, unlike toddlers. There might be more reasons for “Why is raising a teenager so difficult?”
You can value their strengths, praise them for helping with household chores, give them attention, pump their confidence to try new things, etc. They face different kinds of challenges, but they can sort them to a large extent in their way or may seek help from parents.
The trickiest part of parenting teens is understanding their behavior, persuading them to share their botheration and finally, helping solve it without pushing them into the guilt zone. I used to be concerned that my teen was not misled or taking the forbidden path (rash driving, abusing drugs and alcohol). The meditation I learned in the Sahaj Samadhi Dhyana Yoga helped me peacefully sail through those stressful situations.
The best part of parenting teenagers is -
The unconditional love they have for you, irrespective of the reprimands they get from you, and at other times, their invisible love shines through actions. They are there to soothe you through your rough days. You are a keen to learn new-age tech from them. Parent-teen jelling is different from parent-toddlers.
The fact
More depression cases have been reported in parents with teenagers than toddlers. Higher confidence, self-respect, the newness of becoming a parent (if they are the first-time parents), help from the elder child and the innocence of the toddler could be some of the reasons for a stronger parent-child relationship with toddlers.
Parents find it easier to say no to a toddler than teenagers due to the innocence of the former and the increased sensibility of the latter. Toddlers are influenced by the parents and the immediate caregivers in the family, but teenagers might be influenced by peers, school environment, media, etc. Thus, explaining an issue to teenagers might also be difficult.
Devrat shares his experience of the Medha Yoga program, “It was totally unpredictable. The essence of the program is spiritually rich. I can’t express it in mere words. It allows teens to find their true inner self and voice.”
I want to know more about Children and Teens Programs!
Ok! Let us summarize
There are the ecstatic, best, cheerful, energetic, exhausting, sad, and worst days for all age groups of children. The more peaceful you are from within, the lesser the challenges to worry you. Children have come to you to cherish life with them!
My ultimate secret is -
My son is 21 years old. Every day I feel it is better than yesterday when it comes to parenting!
Based on inputs from Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Written by: Pratibha Sharma
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Write to us @artofliving about what you feel about the difference between raising toddlers and teenagers
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Benefits of meditation for parenting toddlers Parenting is a super-challenging job. No leaves, no holidays. This 24x7-job is amazingly rewarding, yet it has its challenge! Read through this interesting article to find more about how meditation can benefit parenting toddlers.
FAQs
- Hormonal changes impact teens’ physical and emotional being.
- Teens have a long list of demands.
- They desire to be heard and seen their way.
- They become argumentative and rebellious at times.
- Teenage is the most confusing and uncomfortable time for the child.
- Make predictions for their teens.
- Over identify with their teens.
- Take the words spoken by teens too personally.
- Playing power games with your teens.
- Talking when you should be listening to your teens.
