UK teenagers are awful

Violence is glamourised in films worldwide.

Lack of respect in the U.K. There are films where vandalism is glamorised. Parents not teaching kids to respect eachother at a young age. Sense of entitlement. Right to shoplift. Drugs being taken, so many things and lack of police etc.

It was an eye opener to think that Saturday jobs are a thing of the past in the UK.

Certainly not where we are! NW coast. Our youngest worked at Maccies from 17 all the way through uni. Our daughter worked in a bakery on Saturdays at 15, our son in law and his brother, both mechanical engineers now, were working in the care home across the way from 15.
It’s very common here where lots of kids can’t rely on bank of M&D.

"I don't understand all this "blame the teens" nonsense"

The teens in these areas grow up watching adult men (or women) trashing playgrounds and will be doing likewise and worse in a few years because nobody is doing anything to stop it.

I've had a similar experience with villages in the UK.

First one started ok and became awful after the local crop of new teenagers started harassing people, causing damage etc. This has become a real problem for residents but their parents don't care.

Second village is great. All children and teens (and adults) I've come across are pleasant and respectful, and the communal/play areas are clean and unmolested.

Something is different about the two, but I'm not certain precisely what.

Don’t think it was teens who chopped up a local toddler park with a reciprocating saw in the nice area.

This doesn't happen in all of Scotland or all of the time.

There are still youth clubs where I live too (Scotland).

I don't understand all this "blame the teens" nonsense.

I don't have teen gangs trashing things. Adult men seem to think it’s fine to litter, throw things out the car window & I see a fair amount of older dog walkers who don’t scoop that poop.

I actually feel quite sorry for the teens where we live. They have quite a hard time. Many don't come from very well-off homes, they go to "zero tolerance" schools with very strict uniform and behavioural policies, many spend up to 3-4 hours a day "commuting" to school and back (a bus, then train, then bus again isn't uncommon for a lot of them), there are frequent public transport delays and traffic jams and the schools do not tolerate lateness because the children "should have factored the possibility of delays into their journey and left earlier". I mean, I can see this viewpoint, but many of them are already getting up around 6 already. And they have hours of homework. The bus drivers chuck all of them off the bus at the first sign of trouble (or if the bus is too busy and there isn't space for all the adults) and I often here them moaning to each other as the doors close on them "that's another detention then!" They make being a teenager look like less fun than working tbh!

*I hate it when people say there is nothing for them to do. How about taking up a hobby? Play sports at rhe weekend? I have two teenagers and a 21 year old and it wouldn't occur to them to trash the local park, however bored they are.
However I have always let their fringe come and go freely so they as do some of their friends parents so they have a place to hang out socially. *

Maybe they haven’t got hobbies or don’t have the money for them or sports. Maybe their parents don’t have space for their friends to come & go? As a teenager I spent a lot of time hanging out in shopping centres/high streets as well as sports & friends houses. Shopping centres/high streets aren’t what they were though.

@Blueybanditbingochilli I am from a medium size midlands town and my husband is from a different medium size midlands town.
We visit both regularly.
Any damage/littering done in parks is mostly done by adults. Not teens. The teens don't hang out at 3am drinking beer and leaving their cans/bottles everywhere or their drug paraphernalia.
Both towns are a bit run down.
I don't understand all this "blame the teens" nonsense.

Yes. After 14 years living in 3 different areas of Germany, 5 years working in high schools. The difference is noticeable. In schools and on the streets.

Visiting home (Scotland) last year with DH and my two kids, coming home on a city centre bus at 6pm, around 30 teenagers piled onto a single decker bus, started screaming, shouting, banging and rocking the bus. My 3 year old was scared. I also had a 5 month old with me. Though he didn't care as much as had no clue what was going on. My DH was a bit perplexed it was even allowed to happen. Police would've likely been called immediately here. The poor bus driver had to stop the bus and try get them off. They didn't move. Whilst some were concerned my son was scared and yelling for the rest to "shut up there's a baby here" and some lovely teens apologised when they eventually got off, the majority didn't care. The bus driver eventually threatened the police and they FINALLY got off the bus, it took around 30/40 minutes in total.

This is the kind of shit I grew up with in Scotland all the time. I'm not saying teenagers are perfect angels in Germany, of course you get antisocial behaviour here too. From my experience, it's just not as common. It's rare to see things like the above happen (I've never seen it in 14 years as I say whereas I've experienced it multiple times growing up and as an adult too in Scotland).

And yes, this is all MY experience, I can't speak for others.

I read recently that Germany still has youth clubs.. perhaps that keeps them off the streets/out of the play parks?!

Teens are fine round here. Urban area, so lots for them to do. Most of them want to make money. And the playgrounds round here are incredibly busy and used by families from dawn to dusk so anyone who fancied a little vandalism would be hard pressed to find an opportunity.

I’ve lived in crap areas as well, thank you. Grew up on a not very nice council estate in the SE, so yes deprivation does exist believe it or not in the South east, who knew that !
Just telling my experience as it is now

So the majority of the ones you personally have encountered then ?

I said the majority🙄 and from my experience, the ones I have met (and worked with as I work in a high school here), the majority are more mature than the ones I encounter when I'm back in the UK.

Teens are shits almost everywhere, I'm pretty sure they're just as bad in mainland Europe but when you go on holiday you don't tend to visit the areas where people live.
I think the people claiming they're not little shits must live in posh areas, well we already know most of Mumsnet lives in kent. Although actually Ive heard the teens in Kent are little shits too 😂

So lots complaining about nothing else to do. What kind of things in your mind needs to be on offer? Remember any activities will need to be paid for as well.

The truth of the matter is those that are out vandalising have not been brought up properly. Full stop.

You won't see any litter in Germany either.

You will in many areas of Berlin. I found the parts of Bavaria that I visited including Munich to be incredibly clean but Berlin was much less so.

Is Grafitti not a form of artistic litter?

My neighbour likes moaning about the "gangs" of "feral" teens hanging around...

They are literally just sitting there chatting. Admittedly some like sitting on top of the bus stop, but they aren't actually doing anything.

Most of the teens who go to park just want a quick go on the swings or climbing frame... they move off if young kids appear.
Its more likely to be parents leaving litter!

YANBU
Having lived in both countries, it is quite plain to see that generally speaking the Germans have much higher standards.
You won't see any litter in Germany either.

The parks in my my village sometimes get trashed. Can't be sure who's doing it though.

On teenagers they are bored, we tell them they can't be on screens too much, they need to go out etc etc. but where? Where are they supposed to go.
I'm just over those year's and I don't think my two ever trashed a park but finding facilities and stuff for teens to do that gives independence without it costing a fortune isn't easy. So we are a mess because past primary school we don't do enough for young people in communities