New member? Introduce yourself here!

[Mumof8]

1. How old are your kids and what is one thing they've done recently that made you laugh?
20,18,15,14,13,11,6 & 2

2. Parenting can be really stressful - how do you try to keep those stress levels down? Take 5 mins to myself
3. What led you to ReachOut Parents today? Struggling with 5 teenagers
4. Whats your top tip for parents whose kids are about to enter teenage years? Buckle up for the ride
5. Whats the best thing about weekends?
Not having to wake up to the alarm

[Taylor-RO]

Hi @Mumof8, thank you so much for sharing. When you have some free time to yourself, what do you like getting up to? You mentioned that you are struggling with 5 teenagers at the moment, if you feel comfortable sharing more of your story, you are welcome to create your own thread by clicking 'Start a topic' in the top right hand corner. Glad to have you here

[cris122280]

Hello. I am a mother of three but I am looking for help and support in raising my middle son. He is almost 14.

[Sophia-RO]

Hello @cris122280 , welcome to the forums. We are glad that you have joined and hope that you are able to find the support you are looking for. If you do want to share more about your situation, please feel welcome to create your own thread by clicking 'Start a topic' in the top right hand corner .

[eitak1]

Hi warm welcome from a covid lockdown! Have you thought of headspace or PCYC? There are some great team building and independence and resilience supports for teens! I am not sure whether you need to reconnect and rediscover your own 14 year old? It's always a challenge and it's great that you have dropped in here to start the difficult conversation! We are not perfect and acknowledging our imperfections can help us bring some playfulness back into our relationships.
Stay in touch welcome 🏵️

[MaryRO]

Hi @eitak1,

These supports are great. Thank you for you input, encouragement and support to the community. It's wonderful to see the community helping others. 

[Gordi]

Hello I'm gordi I have 3 children my eldest 2 are in Melbourne with there own lives and families and my youngest son is 13 & 1/2, year 8 this year and last has been very hard for everything and everyone. I'm a single mum living in regional Victoria. My son has hit the teens and hormonal physical and mental changes are hard and tiring. Am glad I'm not alone it seems every 3rd post is about school refusal or anxiety/depressed teens as my son is going thru a rough time too.

I love when he thinks he has become a man still in a boys mentality and he knows everything and I'm just old and stupid lol. We have a very close r'ship which sadly has been coming to an end of those fun things we used to do together when he was my boy. He makes me laugh when he stumbles on words and mispronounces them. E.g carbondehydrates lol. And spickeled de me! Despicable me lol. And knows every atom and partial known to man lol.

What a great forum this is its better then quora no offence to quora but it's very American and English. 

🤔😍😀

[Emily-RO]

Hi Gordi 😊 Welcome to the forums! I'm really sorry to hear that these past few years have been hard for you and your family.

I'm glad that what other people have said have made you feel less alone. I'm sure that your experience that can help others too.

Spickeled de me is so funny! That's so lovely that he also knows every atom! Sounds like a person of science!

Thank you again for sharing and welcome again 😊

[fightfordads]

I am a father of 2 beautiful girls. One is done university and now a teacher, the other is 11 and does not live with me sadly but I fight for my spot in her life everyday. My girls are my life and seeing them together is all I dream of when they are not. I do my best but its hard sometimes juggling work, volunteer coaching of kids, and all the families other sports and clubs and so on. 

I have been looking for co parenting resources for months and finally found this. I am hoping someone may be able to help with the struggles of being alienated by the ex. 

Having raised my oldest daughter alone from 4 years old on, I have been through so much, but all these years later, I can only remember the good. Yes it had its stressors but my daughter and I are so close, we never really had much to argue about. I was 19 when she was born and I was still in highschool. Her mom left us at 4 when I was just 22. It was hard and to be fair I dont know how I got through those years. But I am here now and happy to help anyone with anything. 

[Philippa-RO]

Welcome to the forums @fightfordads!

It sounds like you've had a challenging but rewarding journey as a parent - it's heartwarming to hear that your girls are your life.

I've responded to your other post but just wanted to pop in here to say welcome.