Abbeygurl4 Posted September 6, 2012 Share Posted September 6, 2012 I have 5 daughters, 4 of whom are in their 20's, and 1 boy. I'm used to dealing with hormones and emotions and everything girlie. I'm out of my element with my son. How do I know what is normal for a 13 yo boy and what isn't? He has no motivation, it's like he is in slow motion all the time. I have to repeat myself constantly. His sleep pattern is all messed up, he goes to bed at 10:00 but sometimes gets up in the middle of the night (says he can't sleep) then he sleeps until 10 or 11. There is more, I just can't remember it all right now. Tell me it gets better or that there is a farm I can drop him off at and pick him up in a year or so :confused: Any encouragement or tips or help? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kewb Posted September 6, 2012 Share Posted September 6, 2012 Congratulations, you have a 13 year old boy. I spent all of last year repeating myself, harping, nagging, standing over, nudging, shrieking like a banshee. My sons sleep patterns definitely changed at 13. My up with the son boy would sleep until 9-10am. My husband calls the slow motion thing boy brain and insists it is normal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abbeygurl4 Posted September 6, 2012 Author Share Posted September 6, 2012 Congratulations, you have a 13 year old boy. I spent all of last year repeating myself, harping, nagging, standing over, nudging, shrieking like a banshee. My sons sleep patterns definitely changed at 13. My up with the son boy would sleep until 9-10am. My husband calls the slow motion thing boy brain and insists it is normal. That actually makes me feel better. At least I know it's normal and not just "him". I just feel so out of my element with a teenaged boy. Dh is absolutely no help, so I'm alone in this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
missmoe Posted September 6, 2012 Share Posted September 6, 2012 Normal, normal, normal! :D It gets better! One of my sons took several years (as in about 3 years) to get into any kind of normal with-it routine. My youngest son only took about a year to move on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChristyB in TN Posted September 6, 2012 Share Posted September 6, 2012 I have 2 boys, 19 and 13, your son would fit in nicely here. :) when my oldest was young, I had to make lists for him because I got so sick of repeating myself. I would put each task on a different post it note so he could crumple them and shoot them at the wastebasket as he completed the tasks. Have you read Raisin Cain? It is awesome and helped me so much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danestress Posted September 6, 2012 Share Posted September 6, 2012 about a pattern of waking up in the night for several hours. I have three boys that have gone past this age, and none of them had that kind of sleep pattern. One of them needed more supervision than the others around electronics, and if I had a son getting up in the night, I would definitely make sure that the wireless is not able to be accessed, that he doesn't have computer or video games, etc. There would be NO electronics in the middle of the night. Other than that, I think a lot of boys this age seem to lack motivation. I didn't raise girls, so I don't know about the differences, but I would definitely say that daily hard physical effort (work, sports) is great for boys. And honestly, busy. I am a homebody and my ideal parenting gig involves a lot of reading and drinking tea in my cozy chair. I most boys seem to do better when they are busier with things they actually want to be doing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lolly Posted September 6, 2012 Share Posted September 6, 2012 Umm, yes. normal. Absolutely normal. Especially the sleeping issues!!! It will come and go for the next X years. Mine is 15, it is still coming and going. Periods of great growth seem to have the worst issues come up. I also have all older girls with the boy as the baby. One major difference I have noticed between my boy and girls has been that the girls get really emotional. The boy, he gets angry instead. Okay, so it is an emotion; just not the one the girls dealt with. Try to give him more physical tasks. It really helps. (Even with the sleep disruption!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onceuponatime Posted September 6, 2012 Share Posted September 6, 2012 I have a 13yo boy. In the last year: his appetite doubled, he grew 4 inches, he has worked hard at producing the snappy comeback, he suddenly became very embarrassed by everything I do or say (anything he can think of to say is ok), he loves to give opinions about things he does not fully understand. He tries very hard to look unexcited or uninterested, even if he is excited or interested in something. On the other hand, he is no longer puny and can mow grass. :-) He also still wants bed time kisses and prayers. I wonder how long that will last. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abbeygurl4 Posted September 6, 2012 Author Share Posted September 6, 2012 I have a 13yo boy. In the last year: his appetite doubled, he grew 4 inches, he has worked hard at producing the snappy comeback, he suddenly became very embarrassed by everything I do or say (anything he can think of to say is ok), he loves to give opinions about things he does not fully understand. He tries very hard to look unexcited or uninterested, even if he is excited or interested in something. On the other hand, he is no longer puny and can mow grass. :-) He also still wants bed time kisses and prayers. I wonder how long that will last. Yep! That's my son, too! Sometimes I want to smack him when his mouth starts running. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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