Parenting

This is such a hard time for teenagers. My kiddo is almost 15. No girlfriend yet, thankfully. Not having the structure of real school has been a huge challenge. My son is a really good student but not having the regular school day schedule has thrown him off. My neighbors across the street have 3 boys...ages 16, 17 and 19. All have girlfriends and it’s been a struggle for them to keep the kids apart...as a result, I have kept my son away from their boys because of the girlfriend thing...but even that has worn thin because I got home from work the other day and the whole lot of them were playing basketball in the street...like 12 kids! Sigh. I’ve tossed all screen time limits out the window because my son is an only child...no sibs to hang with and at least he and his friends can be together in a virtual reality. I’ve got nothing of substance to offer, only empathy. These are hard days to be sure.