"What? You?!" Sneery Teen

[PyongyangKipperbang]

He is 15 and literally NOTHING existed in the world until he heard of it, which I am sure he is not alone in.

He is into musical theatre. Goes on and on about various musicals he has found and likes. Ok, no problem there except he does it in a very sneery way as if I coudlnt possibly know about these things but I generally let it go.

When I was younger I planned to go into acting and part of my unofficial training when I was waiting to go to drama school was being trained in theatre production. There is a really good theatre nearish to me and I did some am-dram and got a lot of training in sound for stage productions and I really loved it. I decided that I would rather do sound than acting. Then life happened and I didnt go to school and blah blah but I did still do sound for am dram for a few years.

Last night I get "You probably wont have heard of it but there is this great musical called Blood Brothers which has great songs" and I said "yeah I know, they are good". "Oh you've heard of it?" and it just put my back up. So I said "Of course. Its been around for years and is very well known. I did the sound on it when it was on at X theatre about 20 years ago"

That was when I got "What? You?!" in an incredulous disbelieving sneery way. "You dont seem to me to be someone who could do that" And I got really annoyed and did shout that yes believe it or not I do actually know things, that I did have a life that didnt involve being a mother and to not look down his fucking nose at me. Oh and by the way, no he doesnt fucking know it all. I then asked him a few technical questions "do you know how to....." which he didnt and I could say "Well I do, so...." and he bogged off upstairs!

AIBU to think that sometimes it is justified to give them a smack round the earhole, because I have had the most incredible urge to do just that ever since.

@Margotshypotheticaldog

Idon’t know why some people are so convinced that he’ll grow out of it by himself if OP doesn’t come down hard on it. So very many men speak like this to women into adulthood. I’m sure most of us have worked with or dated them This. I think mothers have a duty to knock it out (metaphorically speaking) of their wannabe alpha boys.

This in spates.

I teach teenagers and not all develop this attitude but many do and it takes putting them in their place to undo it.

I really don't know why people object to parents reminding their kids that they're parents and not just RoboMum on Earth to serve diddums

Gross!! Every single time he says something like "you've probably never heard of xyz" shut the conversation down. Tell him you've absolutely no plans on listening to whatever he's about to tell you if he's going to talk to you like that!!

It's your job to stop your son growing up thinking it's acceptable to talk down to people and mansplain everything!!

@HaveringWavering

Musical theatre...it’s a cliche but is there a chance that he is gay and struggling with the idea of coming out, which is making him more emotionally fragile and prone to lashing out?

Did you manage to touch any stars with that enormous reach?

You absolutely did the right thing for his age. Teenagers are knobs,

I've got a teenage dd in the house and the faces she pulls are incredible. We also use the phrase 'you know nothing John snow' and we call her Kevinetta from time to time. She asked why so I showed her a scene from Kevin and Perry, queue another 'flounce' out of the room plus the 'stoooooooooop' shouted when she hears me taking the Micky.

My dd is in an 80s phase and loves everything 80s. Makes me laugh when she's telling me all about the fashion and music, she seems amazed when I talk to her about it, I think she thinks I grew up in the 1940s, I was a teenager in the 80s

@JamesMiddletonsMarshmallows 😆😆

Fgs sometimes people (especially teenagers) are just utter dicks. He needed to be put in his place, and OP did so quite rightly.

Blood Brothers is great. My favourite musical.

It reminds me of Kevin and Perry Go Large when Kevin's parents are loved up singing Wonderwall and Kevin is totally horrified that they have even heard of Oasis 😂

3 cheers OP! Does teens no harm at all to realise their parents are people who had lives before parenthood killed it off.
We found an old home video the other day snd DS said " wow, you used to be pretty mum". Yup, before having kids you mean?

This thread is hilarious.

It takes me back to when DS was 14, DH and I were discussing an article in the paper (feminism related) and DH said something about mansplaining...

To which DS turned to me and said “so, mum, mansplaining is when....”

I don’t like music and even I’ve heard of blood brothers.

Its just a phase. A bloody annoying one but it will pass.
I have been a huge fan of Nick Cave since the Birthday Party years in the late 70'sbut if you listened to my son at 14 you would think Cave didn't exist until 2004 when my kid ' discovered him!!!
Sometimes you've got to roll with it. Since those days son sends me messages if he hears any news about The bad seeds weve been to gigs together and our relationship is close and respectful.
I have told him he was an annoying prick back then with all his eye rolling and dismissive wave of hands!! He is mortified!
BTW me and same son went to see Blood Brothers when he was doing his Gcse's. Fantastic play!

To which DS turned to me and said “so, mum, mansplaining is when....”

I don’t like music and even I’ve heard of blood brothers
And?

@BornIn78

This thread is hilarious.

It takes me back to when DS was 14, DH and I were discussing an article in the paper (feminism related) and DH said something about mansplaining...

To which DS turned to me and said “so, mum, mansplaining is when....”

Ahahahahahaha.

Mine were genuinely surprised that I knew all about and had watched every Friends episode, what with, you know, being the same age as the cast and around when they were actually broadcast, rather than on endless loops on obscure TV channels.

Dd (16) spent 12 years sneering at indie music, said it was rubbish, awful, I have no taste. Now her 'friend' (18 year old lad) is a massive Oasis/Stone Roses/etc fan. Sorting shed out before Christmas found my big box of cds. Brought them in and suggested she look through as there is stuff she might like. 'Really mum, your music? I don't think so.' Said oh, I thought you and M were into this stuff these days'. And started reading out album titles.

She was a good hour going through them then disappeared upstairs all day going through her haul.

Teenagers think they invented everything.

I teach sixth form and they are often like this when they start - challenging you, acting like you (the subject specialist teacher!) know nothing, baiting and goading...I always crush it completely, it’s the only way. Not unkindly, but firmly - “I’m paid to teach this. I’ve been teaching this since you were I nappies. I definitely know more than you about it. If I say something wrong, by all means correct me, but I’m not interested in your opinion of my teaching or my lessons. If you want to leave, please go now so I can get on”. It shrinks them but it’s temporary and they often are very keen after that.

Funnily enough upper 6th very rarely try it, unless with a brand new teacher. It seems to end by 18.

I think you were a bit overly defensive to be honest. I would probably have just laughed at him and said something like, yeah, I did have a life before you came along.

I can understand if he does things like that all the time though, it would get frustrating.

I get this from my teen all the time. She watched Grease for the first time the other day and told me about it. I said yeah I love Grease too. She said, 'What. You've heard of it?!' Honestly, I think she assumes that no life passed by me before she was born

Omg I could have written this post. My teen is just the same. Thinks she has the monopoly on life itself! Hates to be proven wrong so we don't bother anymore . Lots of eye rolling when she's not looking between DH and I !

If it’s any comfort, my DH’s eldest was with him in the car, aged 23 and out of the blue said to him, “Dad, I want to apologise for being such a dick when I was a teenager, I know I was awful and I’m sorry for what I put you through, I do appreciate you.” DH nearly crashed the car!

This is reminding me of when kevin the teenagers parents sang along to Wonder wall "you can't know who oasis are because you're nearly DEAD" 😂😂😂😂😂😂

Oh God I remember when DS was a teenager, he went on and on about the film Grease. I had told him it came out the year he was born, but he wouldn't have it. Insisted it was new and that I was wrong.

I went to the shelf and got the album down for him ( the albums he woukd never look at as I only liked old music).

He sulked off with it. I then had to put up with it full blast. Better than bloody Nivana though

Teens! Gotta love 'em but you were right to pull him down a peg or two.