What It's Like to Have a Teenage Boy

I talk a lot about what it's like to have a teenage daughter but teenage sons have challenges of their own.  Let me paint you a picture of what it's like to have a testosterone driven teenage son.....

Imagine, if you will, a puppy.  The puppy is energetic and always wants to wrestle.  He is sweet and adorable but he's still a puppy.  His attention span is virtually nil.  He can't seem to remember basic commands anymore when presented with a toy.  He is territorial and barks at anyone who comes near his "bed."  He pees on the floor.  

Now imagine that the puppy is a kid....

Boys are interesting creatures and have their own quirks.  While moodiness isn't quite as severe or noticeable in most boys (as it is in girls), they seem to set the "common sense" part of their brain down when puberty hits.  I'll let you know when I find out at what point they pick it back up.  Their intelligence is still intact and somewhere beneath the selective hearing and the territorial moodiness (that all teenagers have), it is hiding .  I'm convinced that it's peeking out from underneath the testosterone boost in their brain laughing at the confused parents.

If you're lucky, your son's biggest "obsession" will be video games or sports (like my son).  If you're not, you end up with one obsessed with porn or sexting.  Scary stuff.  

Add on the fact that with the "mean girl" lifestyle being so prevalent, girls feel like they should control and manipulate boys.  Now your son, who is already lacking common sense, is being bossed around and manipulated by a girl that swears she wants to date him.  It's frightening, frankly.

So for every parent that says, "Well just be glad that you have boys," you can let them know that there are challenges on that end too.  God's funny sense of humor doesn't stop at parents of little ladies.