10 ways in which toddlers are like teenagers:

You could call parenting a toddler a trial-run for parenting a teenager. Or you could call parenting a teenager post-traumatic stress syndrome from the time you served with toddlers. Either way - it helps to know you've seen it all before (or - you'll see it all again...)

Growing is hard work!

10 ways in which toddlers are like teenagers:

1. They sleep most of the morning - Both toddlers and teenagers love a four-hour nap. The only difference is, you congratulate the one and berate the other.

2. They just want to party all night - Well, if you will sleep all day... At least teenagers don't insist their parents come along.

3. They have selective hearing - Don't know what I mean? Compare the response to the instruction 'Come here please.' to the question 'Who wants ice-cream?'. Hearing magically restored? I thought so.

4. They know that if they nag long enough, you'll probably give in - whether it's the car keys or another cracker, the principle's the same. 

5. They are convinced that the rest of the world exists purely to serve their every whim and desire - Which, of course, is true.

6. They are intrigued by the big wide world - Toddlers are intrepid explorers on a voyage of discovery, checking out every dirty and dangerous thing they find along the way. Teenagers are the same - determined to go out there and find out what secrets their parents have been maliciously withholding from them (read - protecting them from) all this time.

7. They have no regard for other people's property (see point 5) - Whether they chew your iphone to death or sell it on eBay, the end result's the same.

More is more when it comes to accessories

8. Their fashion sense is... umm... experimental - Red with pink? Not a problem. Dirt-stained denim? That's how it's supposed to look. Ill-fitting t-shirts? Who cares if it's got a picture of a unicorn on it? Converse with a party dress? Of course!

9. A visit to the loo can take all day - Teenagers, like toddlers can make a three-day festival out of what the rest of us manage in moments. Unless they're actually at a three-day festival...

10. They will happily eat cereal at any time of day (or night) - where there are toddlers, there will be Cheerios. By the time they're teenagers, they'll probably have progressed to Crunchy Nut Cornflakes. But as far as I'm concerned, it's a qick and easy way to satisfy grouchy kids. More than once have I wondered, what did parents feed their children before breakfast cereals were invented? They cooked? No, really...

Truth is, I haven't got any teenagers yet - but I'm bracing myself. Any insights anyone?