Parenting Teens with Compassion: What Being an Ingredient Mom Taught Me

I am an ingredient mom!

Ok, I said it. 

Guilty as charged!

I didn't even know that being an ingredient mom was a thing, but I see it now.

The fridge is full of ...well... ingredients!

Living with an ingredient mom is hard work, so my kids have shared.

And I see it.

They are right!

Putting seemingly random ingredients together to make a meal takes skill, time, and patience.

Understanding my kids' perspective allows me to have more compassion for what life is like for them.

It's hard!

It allows me to be more available with ideas for food prep, open to suggestions of other great ingredients, and patient when I hear, "There is no food in this house", when clearly there are a lot of options!! (in my eyes.) I share one of these experiences in this IG post.

Being a teen is a ton of work, and now they have to figure out how to make a meal out of carrots, tuna, bread, and chickpeas.

That's a lot to ask.

So, even though it can be tempting to ask my kids to change and suck it up, I want to be the parent who shows up with compassion, acknowledges the hard, and steps in to help when I can.

(Admittedly, the daughter who declared my ingredient-mom status is now in another country, cooking on her own, and appreciates the forced meal-prep training.)  She even made her own bone broth from scratch!)

Our kids don't always have to like what we are offering in terms of food, time, resources, money, or fun, and we can have compassion for how that is hard for them and show up with validation and compassion and an offer for help if we can.

What feels hard for your teen right now? 

How can you show up with validation and compassion for them right now?

These are the questions that build connection!!