Trust me, I get it. After years of nurturing this little human, suddenly they're acting like you're the most annoying person on the planet.

But here's the truth that might save your sanity: it's not personal—

You know that moment when your teenager rolls their eyes for the third time this morning, and something inside you just snaps? One second you're a reasonable adult human, and the next you're raising your voice about the dishes like your life depends on it. Later, you're standing in your kitchen thinking, "That's not who I want to be as a mom."

Here's the thing nobody talks about in those Instagram carousel posts: gentle parenting, as it's often presented, can leave us feeling like we're failing when real life gets messy. And real life with teenagers? It's gloriously, frustratingly messy most of the time.

I hear this phrase almost daily, whispered with a mix of hope and exhaustion: "I just want to be a better mom." It usually comes after a story about a teenager who rolled their eyes so hard they practically fell backwards, or a morning that went sideways before coffee was even finished brewing,..

Let's clear something up right away: wanting support as a parent doesn't mean you're broken. It means you're smart enough to know that parenting—especially parenting teenagers—is one of the most complex jobs on the planet, and complex jobs require

Suddenly, you're yelling. The words are flying out of your mouth before you can stop them, your voice pitched higher than you'd prefer, and you're saying things that sound suspiciously like your own mother. The very things you swore you'd never say.