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Original poster

Tell me about your teenager's stupid behaviour

633 replies

TeenagedTwit · 06/12/2023 04:30

16yo
Wants a job. Apparently.
Weirdly, a job hasn't fluttered into his bedroom and landed on his lap so he is most perplexed.

Picked up an application form for him from a local supermarket.
Encourage him to get a pen (no easy feat) and sit down to complete application.

20 seconds later... "What's my name?"

And that was just the beginning. I swear a 4yo would make a better employee. I fear for our future.

Note from MNHQ - we've edited the title as we had a few reports about one of the terms used there. We're sure there was no intention to offend but it was clearly upsetting a few people and we didn't want the issue to derail the thread

OP posts:
Original poster
TeenagedTwit · 07/12/2023 09:31

BobDylansMasterpiece · 07/12/2023 09:16

You could say the same about alcohol! Especially this time of year. Its called parenting

Show quote history

I'm afraid you are quite wrong. Please don't make sweeping statements about matters of which you are clearly ignorant. Alcohol is nowhere NEAR as.easy to obtain or as addictive as nicotine, nor is the major marketing campaign directed at children.

OP posts:
CharlotteBog · 07/12/2023 09:31

Tooshytoshine · 07/12/2023 09:22

You have no idea of the scale of vaping. Alcohol is regulated by licensing.

It's always the strictest parents that kids hide the most from - it is much better to parent with a silk glove than an iron fist. We confiscate dozens of vapes each week from kids in y7 upwards. They can just buy them from corner shops. Their parents are generally lovely, not permissive and only want the best for the children. Vapes need better regulation.

Show quote history

I think they've stopped the loophole whereby shops could give away the free trial vapes to U18s ie. not breaking the law.
Not sure of the date actually.

No more free vapes for kids

Government takes steps to crack down on rogue firms targeting children with free samples.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/no-more-free-vapes-for-kids

GinAndJuice99 · 07/12/2023 09:34

IhateHPSDeaneCnt · 07/12/2023 04:51

The majority of people responding to this thread actually seem to be proud / smug of their darling offsprings incompetence. In the hope they'll be attached to parents tits for evermore? Yup, I didn't differentiate which parents tits initially provided sustenance because that would be confusing.

Hope you've sobered up

SpiritedSneeze · 07/12/2023 09:34

When she was in year 10, left the flat to go to school and forgot her bag on the kitchen table.
Then panicked because the bag contained her keys so she couldn't get back inside to get it.
Then got really worried as her phone was in her bag too so she couldn't call me to come and let her in or bring her bag.
She ran to our neighbors and asked to use their phone to call me.
They did and l came right out- because I was in the flat, sat at the table where she had left me 5 minutes before.
I don't know how she forgot that she could knock on our own door.

theDudesmummy · 07/12/2023 09:34

Another one who will wear Crocs (with socks) in all conditions including torrential rain. We live in Ireland so his feet are always wet unless I prompt him to put shoes on.

EnoughPlayingNice · 07/12/2023 09:41

I rather assumed that trains were like buses; you could get one from any major station that would take you wherever you wanted to go.

But @meeplesmarples, that's not how buses work either.

tellmewhenthespaceshiplandscoz · 07/12/2023 09:44

CrispsandCheeseSandwich · 06/12/2023 12:53

I once held a pan of spaghetti over the sink and tipped it out to drain. Only I had forgotten to put the colander in the sink. Found myself looking down at a mass of pasta sprawled all over the bottom of the sink. I was a supposedly functioning adult at the time, too.

I once made stock, and then drained it as if it was pasta. So all the actual stock was down the drain, and I was left with the bones.

These Grin

ButterCupPie · 07/12/2023 09:48

EnoughPlayingNice · 07/12/2023 09:41

I rather assumed that trains were like buses; you could get one from any major station that would take you wherever you wanted to go.

But @meeplesmarples, that's not how buses work either.

We have a friend who 'doesn't do' public transport. She thought that too. She's nearly 40.

PineapplePomPom · 07/12/2023 09:51

Eldest DS (then aged 15) thought it would be great fun to let his mates throw him over their shoulders at school. He wasn't laughing when he had to spend 6wks in a cast from armpit to wrist for a broken elbow!

Same DS also managed to lock himself into police issue handcuffs (bought off eBay) DD had to take him to A&E, where she had to explain to the very bemused staff what he had done. Ultimately ended up at the local fire station at 11pm for an irate fireman (he had been sleeping on shift) to remove them with bolt cutters 🤣

SinnerBoy · 07/12/2023 09:52

PuttingDownRoots · Today 07:45

Was doing some DIY. Decided to see if his finger would fit through the whole on the workbench.

I work in an oil and gas related field and we get all sorts of safety lectures and films, this reminds me of one.

In Scandinavia, it's common for them to reconstruct accidents and incidents, with the intention of learning from them... On a ship in Norway, a piece of equipment was being lowered between two vertical metal plates, to be secured by two pairs of pins - one ate either end of each plate.

The man on deck put his index fingers through the holes for the pins, the equipment shifted and he lost both fingers.

During the filmed reconstruction, the witness said, "...and then he did this..." and also lost both fingers!

flowerchild2000 · 07/12/2023 09:56

Ok so apparently my first comment was too "shocking" to be funny (guess what, my DD had to clean her room anyway, I got all the sympathy from the cops) so I have another, although she was younger at the time, probably 7-12 she did this- I would tell her to put clean underwear on after her bath. Only she would pretend to take the bath, then keep the dirty pair on and put the clean ones on top. One time I caught her wearing 4 pairs of underwear 😂

ButterCupPie · 07/12/2023 10:11

SinnerBoy · 07/12/2023 09:52

PuttingDownRoots · Today 07:45

Was doing some DIY. Decided to see if his finger would fit through the whole on the workbench.

I work in an oil and gas related field and we get all sorts of safety lectures and films, this reminds me of one.

In Scandinavia, it's common for them to reconstruct accidents and incidents, with the intention of learning from them... On a ship in Norway, a piece of equipment was being lowered between two vertical metal plates, to be secured by two pairs of pins - one ate either end of each plate.

The man on deck put his index fingers through the holes for the pins, the equipment shifted and he lost both fingers.

During the filmed reconstruction, the witness said, "...and then he did this..." and also lost both fingers!

I think it was Wilfred Owen or maybe another of those World War One poets who had to attend an instruction class about a new type of hand grenade. The instructor sergeant said 'You have to be careful not to bang them in a certain place, like this', and demonstrated by tapping one hard on the table. It went off and killed him and two other soldiers.

badhappenings · 07/12/2023 10:14

@BobDylansMasterpiece
You must be very sheltered or the real world is spinning too fast for you. Jump on and educate yourself about what is really is happening and the very real dangers vast numbers of teenagers (and even younger kids) are sadly being faced with today.

Wiccan · 07/12/2023 10:18

IhateHPSDeaneCnt · 07/12/2023 04:51

The majority of people responding to this thread actually seem to be proud / smug of their darling offsprings incompetence. In the hope they'll be attached to parents tits for evermore? Yup, I didn't differentiate which parents tits initially provided sustenance because that would be confusing.

Your really fucked up !!

drspouse · 07/12/2023 10:18

Not a teenager yet, but when I did Guides I told one to use some elbow grease when she was mixing her cake. She looked at her elbows.

honeylulu · 07/12/2023 10:26

I'm ashamed to say this one was me and I was about 23, not a teen. I had just moved into my first flat, first time living alone and I'd had quite a sheltered life.

No hot water. (As I eventually discovered the element in the boiler had failed.) I phoned Thames Water to complain that no hot water was coming out of my taps and asked them to sort it out. They were actually very nice and patient about it.

BitchBrigade · 07/12/2023 10:28

Littlelucas · 06/12/2023 20:15

Yes my little drama queen phoned police to complain I wouldn't let his girlfriend come over. Was genuinely outraged that they didn't arrest me on the spot. They did come out though!

Jesus, I’d be absolutely livid if one of mine pulled a stunt like this (they wouldn’t though as they’re good kids)
What a waste of police time - what exactly did your ds think was going to happen? Is he that dense or has he just never been made to face the consequences of his actions?

Actually embarrassed for some of the piss-poor excuses for parents on here who seem to find incidents like the above amusing. It isn’t and you should be utterly ashamed.

Absolutely hate it when a decent, light hearted thread ends up with miserable sods on it like you trying to drag everyone down into their own miserable pit of despair.

I'm sure the OC was well aware that it wasn't brilliant on their teens part to call the police and waste time. The point of this thread is teens doing stupid shit, whether it's funny or not. Or are you too busy wallowing in complete and utter seriousness to comprehend the title?

ilikemethewayiam · 07/12/2023 10:30

curaçao · 06/12/2023 09:07

what a horrible thread!

🙄 FFS!

thesugarbumfairy · 07/12/2023 10:38

Can you get the towels out of the dryer please DS1?

Which one is that?

There are two options. The dryer is the machine on the right. Its always been the one on the right. I also say 'next to the fridge' in case we have a left/right problem. I ask him to do this at least once a week and have done for a good two years. He still isn't sure which one the tumble dryer is <give me strength>

BobDylansMasterpiece · 07/12/2023 10:47

badhappenings · 07/12/2023 10:14

@BobDylansMasterpiece
You must be very sheltered or the real world is spinning too fast for you. Jump on and educate yourself about what is really is happening and the very real dangers vast numbers of teenagers (and even younger kids) are sadly being faced with today.

I'm hardly sheltered, but I also dont believe in vague parenting - I do have dc, older teenagers, but when they were 13 I was the parent, they had internet controls, phones with restrictions, etc.

Seriously there is a difference between accepting dangerous behaviour and actively trying to stop it - where is your agency?

Projectile vomited over the living room because he vaped too much and made himself ill 🤮. Hopefully learned his lesson.

meeplesmarples · 07/12/2023 10:47

EnoughPlayingNice · 07/12/2023 09:41

I rather assumed that trains were like buses; you could get one from any major station that would take you wherever you wanted to go.

But @meeplesmarples, that's not how buses work either.

I was a little detached from reality back then 😂(and had had very limited exposure to public transport, although that in no way accounts for my lack of common sense)

SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius · 07/12/2023 10:52

SinnerBoy · 07/12/2023 09:29

borntobequiet · Today 07:01

When I was a form tutor in secondary school, I was surprised by how many children didn’t know their addresses...

My full name, address and phone number were drummed into me before I started infant school. My daughter was five when she could reel it all off; actually, she also knew both of our mobile numbers. I played a game, where she'd get a reward when she got it right.

My parents carefully taught me my phone number when I was very small (in the late 60s, when phones were not common). One day, while out with my dad, he stopped to talk to a motorcycle policeman he knew (he was a Special Constable). At that time, the radio handset on police motorbikes looked just like a phone handset, with a button in the middle that you pressed to transmit.

I saw the handset, picked it up, and broadcast my name and phone number to every Warwickshire police radio!

@IhateHPSDeaneCnt - maybe people on here are laughing, because the alternative is to cry? And I am sure they did not treat these incidents lightly in real life, but dealt with them properly and proportionately at the time, and did their best to rectify the gaps in their teenagers' knowledge.

Even the best educated and brought up teenager can have the occasional brain fart. No child is perfect - and no parent is perfect either - so why not share a laugh with other parents?

SinnerBoy · 07/12/2023 10:57

ButterCupPie · Today 10:11

That hand grenade one rings a bell!

Myfabby · 07/12/2023 11:10

BobDylansMasterpiece · 07/12/2023 10:47

I'm hardly sheltered, but I also dont believe in vague parenting - I do have dc, older teenagers, but when they were 13 I was the parent, they had internet controls, phones with restrictions, etc.

Seriously there is a difference between accepting dangerous behaviour and actively trying to stop it - where is your agency?

Projectile vomited over the living room because he vaped too much and made himself ill 🤮. Hopefully learned his lesson.

Show quote history

Ok, you've made your point.
You raised your children perfectly.
You're 'THE' parent
Everyone else is a failure without agency.
You don't need Mumsnet do you and certainly not this thread.
Why haven't you set up perfectparenting.co.uk?
🙄

Wiccan · 07/12/2023 11:13

BobDylansMasterpiece · 07/12/2023 10:47

I'm hardly sheltered, but I also dont believe in vague parenting - I do have dc, older teenagers, but when they were 13 I was the parent, they had internet controls, phones with restrictions, etc.

Seriously there is a difference between accepting dangerous behaviour and actively trying to stop it - where is your agency?

Projectile vomited over the living room because he vaped too much and made himself ill 🤮. Hopefully learned his lesson.

Show quote history

How do you cope with being so perfect ? It must weigh so heavily on your shoulders.
The vaping has already been explained over and over . I think you'll find that your kids do a lot of things you aren't aware of . It's part of life . My kids did some really stupid things and learned from it . It didn't mean I was a bad parent . You need to stop being so judgemental because none of us are experts at parenting .