How to Keep Your “Cool” When Dealing With Your Teenage Daughter/s During Puberty.

The fun and joy of having teenagers.

Judith Uusi-Hakimo
6 min readApr 2, 2022

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Photo by Monstera from Pexels

Last Christmas, one of the presents I got from my 14-year-old daughter was a journal called Calm the F**K Downby Sarah Knight. It is a journal based on the author’s book about anxiety.

Upon opening the gift, two beautiful big brown eyes were staring at me, excitedly waiting for my reaction. I smiled and laughed a little. I can’t remember exactly how I reacted when I opened the present, but I thanked my daughter for the lovely gift. She told me to use the journal straight away.

The cover was funny and captivating, and the author’s messages on every page got my attention — short positive writings about staying calm and relaxed when faced with adversities. I realized why my daughter gifted me the journal — to help calm me down.

The journal makes sense because I worry so much about her well-being, especially now that she is in puberty. I worry about who she hangs out with and who she chats with online. I repetitively told her that she shouldn’t stay out late, must not talk to strangers, be careful with boys, and text me what time she is catching the train or bus home, where her whereabouts, and so on.

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Judith Uusi-Hakimo

A Nurse by profession. A mother of three and a wife of one. A storyteller and an aspiring writer.