We may be the great success stories in our line of work and role models to our colleagues but when it comes to handling our teenage children most of us would be complete failures. I for sure am one of them and my son is just only on the verge of turning thirteen – lucky for him and definitely doomed for me.

Conversations they say are the key to the success of any relationship but definitely not this one. An argument a day is the only conversation we can manage and it invariably ends worse than when it started. I come out of it all stirred and shaken like a bad cocktail and he walks away as cool as a cucumber. There are definitely no winners here but I sure feel like a loser.

The wife thinks my idea of a conversation is telling him what to do and what not to – she should know best as she has quite a few of these conversations with me!!. I resent my wife for this and my son being the sensitive lad that he is rightfully hates me as well. He hasn’t said it aloud but am certain he must be wishing I went to hell.

He is my son and I love him very much but have failed to realize that he is no longer the little baby that needed to hold my hand to take his first little steps or wanted my help to steady him while he was learning to ride a bicycle. He is a growing up boy of almost thirteen and is not going to take a no from me without a fight.

Well, I am trying hard to connect with my son and hope we stay on-line awhile and get to know each other. I guess I’ll need to find out what’s important to him and not me and try to show some interest in his activities without being too intrusive.

Here’s hoping we will soon be the best of friends, enjoy each other’s company and a couple of years down the line will be able to remember and laugh at these growing pains that we both shared in his teenage years.