UK teenagers are awful

I currently have 8 teens in my house. Lots of laughter. They’re loud but lovely. Also, the parks round here are great. Occasionally vandalised but council acts fast to rectify. When travellers trashed a local park and rec the community, including teens, got together to tidy it up.

some teens are dicks. My memories of Germany are mostly fond but there was a lot of Graffiti.

And by the way i don't think UK teens are especially awful- I think there is a lack of focus on stuff for them these days - be it youth clubs or Saturday jobs at 15 etc

I live in an EU country and there is a big difference. For example insolation rooms are unheard of as not needed. The kids if naughty get a get a naughty point and I suppose a call home to parents is normally enough to fix the problem.
They also generally seem to have close relationships with grandparents. It's the norm to go there for meals at the weekend...I think this helps with respect towards elders.

@Plasticstaircase absolutely!! Very much the Same when we lived in Denmark- as a Brit I accept the UK has aspects I do like - but if I had young kids again then Scandinavia , Netherlands and Germany in my opinion are way easier to bring up a family- have fun and keep your sanity at the middle income level

I agree! When I was a teen, the only option was girl guides/scouts.
No games consoles, 3 TV channels, the cinema was an annual treat, holidays were spent playing on our bikes with our friends and going to the park. If parents could afford it, we'd go swimming and get some chips afterwards, that was the highlight of our week.
Children now have more to entertain them than ever before.

Yes there are bad teenagers or cause trouble, wreck stuff etc. And there's plenty of teenagers like mine, who certainly aren't angels at home but have never and will never do anything like that, whether in a group or not. And I also know plenty of teenagers who do amazing things (volunteering in many different ways) and put plenty of adults to shame. I'm sure Germany has the same, but maybe instead of wrecking playgrounds their bad teenagers cause trouble in other ways. You can't just say "UK teenagers are awful" as the majority are not.

Sorry needed to end that post-We have created an incredibly immature and needy younger generation because we have loaded them with debt to get qualifications, no affordable housing and often not especially well paid jobs after all that debt-

But also aggressive parenting at the other extreme. I watched a child of around 10/11 hit my daughter in a playpark on holiday, I was looking around for his parents to go say something, and then saw her hit,swear and scream at him for not looking after all 4 of his younger siblings while she was getting drunk, and i then thought better of speaking to her, she was really scary. These are children who are raised with aggression and violence as their normal, and therefore think this is the standard way to behave.

It’s way more than blaming gentle parenting. It’s about a whole structure of society that doesn’t support families. Housing, healthcare, education and so on. If you’re a German parent you’ve had access to good early years affordable childcare, secure long term affordable housing tenancies , longer school hours and so on.
For the record most of the parenting I saw in Germany was far more gentle than in the Uk, but I always figured this was because parents were more supported by society and less frazzled and stressed.

None of the playgrounds where I live get vandalized 🤷‍♀️ it happening in one location where you live doesn’t = the entire UK. Likewise it not happening where you are in Germany doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen anywhere in Germany. YABU.

May I suggest those of you determined to think 'everywhere is the same read '@Plasticstaircase post below. I know Germany well with work and lived in Copenhagen for 20 months its an attitudinal thing-nowhere is perfect , but we are bringing up a load of people who by necessity think shared houses or living at home till 30 are normal-our youth in the main are extraordinarily needy and incredibly immature due to the obsession with Uni as some kind of overgrown kindergarten, helicopter parents and lack of any kind of social underpinning needs to help suppport young people- we have created an obsession about pensioners due to our right wing press -and yes some pensioners struggle but how many policies are there directed at helping out young people financially?? - very very few- and do most over 60s give a shit ? - nope ( and I'm 62) - and yet plenty of over 60s are moaning about their fuel allowance despite owning houses in many cases 'outright' or close to it-how many 26 year olds in shared houses are gifted cash- none whatsoever.

@Hunglikeapolevaulter as I just said I thought it reported that he was a teen.
My original comment was actually a question. Now I have my answer. It wasn't German teens involved in the stabbings. No need to jump down my throat because I asked a question.

a Syrian who lived in Germany though. So a "German teenager".

Firstly calling a 26 year old a teenager is stretching it a bit. Secondly the terrorist arrived in Germany in 2022, he's not a German citizen.
In no way, shape or form a German teenager.

Gentle parenting and a lack of real consequences have a lot to answer for.

@Hunglikeapolevaulter a Syrian who lived in Germany though. So a "German teenager".
Edit : I thought there were teenagers involved. I am only going by what was reported in the press. I confess I might be confusing it with the threat to the Taylor Swift gigs in Austria.

There are arseholes in every age bracket, in every country, across the world.

Wasn't it teenagers who did the stabbings at that German festival?

No it was a Syrian terrorist. He is 26 years old. German teenagers wtf, no.

I am on a German campsite right now at 22.51 German time and there are a lot of pissed German families partying with their very very loud teenagers playing in the kids play park..thank goodness we're on an overnight stop and leaving tomorrow.

I don't think all UK teens are awful, but a small number are very disrespectful I agree. Our village playground was burnt down by teenagers (caught on cctv after it was installed following multiple incidences of vandalism), and there were weeks where people were scared to walk through it at night as teenagers egging people. This is an affluent area, but a very low police presence which makes it an easier target.
But at the other extreme we have teenagers who organise litter picks, volunteer with local children's groups such as Rainbows, fundraise for charities etc. All raised within same area as the ones who vandalise, attend same schools etc, so I do wonder how some are so helpful and kind and some are so destructive.

Also, just came back from a popular UK holiday park, and the behaviour of a small number of children was terrible. Witnessed a younger child being pushed off a roundabout at speed by teenagers and hit head was bleeding, another mum told me her daughters arm had been broken by teenagers pushing her down a slide, my 9 year old was pushed and shoved and sworn at in the playpark and no parents were anywhere to be seen.

So yesterday it was all about how British kids are horrid and French enfants are so much more civilised.

Today it's British teens who are 'awful' and German teens are perfect.

What's up tomorrow? British cats are nasty but Polish cats are just adorable?

I grew up in the UK but now live in Australia, I agree with you, I think if that happened here it would literally make the local news.

If you read the Australian Reddits, youth crime seems to be a major concern there, particularly it seems, in Melbourne. A quick Google reveals numerous recent Australian articles on the subject and measures that are being put in place to tackle it.

The fact there was a manhunt on speaks volumes.

I agree. I love Germany and although the city centres tend to be clean and lovely the outer areas are thick with graffiti.

I never understand the "nothing for teens to do" argument.
I was a teen late 80s/early 90s. We didn't have youth clubs (except "uniformed groups" like Scouts or Cadets) or any that did exist were aimed at under 12s.

Yes we live in a village. My 5 year old goes out with our litter picker and cleans up after them. She shouldn't have to but she doesn't like using the play area with smashed up vapes and empty cans on the floor.

I'd love to run a youth club at our village hall but by the time I'd done my DBS and paid out for stuff I can't imagine I'd recoup much back. I'm not sure teens these days actually want an indoor space to meet up at. I might be well out of touch though.