UK teenagers are awful

[Fedupwithteenagers24]

I live between two villages in the UK. Both have playgrounds aimed at under tens. Both are frequently trashed. Broken bottles left there overnight, stuff sprayed over the equipment. This has been particularly bad over the summer holidays. Currently in Germany. Loads of playgrounds, toys are left there anyone can use them. Nothing is vandalised. Why are things so bad in the UK? And before I get asked neither the UK venue or German one have any areas aimed at teenagers. But somehow the German ones don’t wreck their surroundings.

Maybe, due to cuts to youth services, they are just bored and frustrated

The cuts to youth services since 2010 have been awful.

There is one country in Europe that has had rioting and looting by rightwing hooligans this summer and it wasn't Germany

Reading this thread, I'm starting to think Sunak's National Service idea wasn't so bad after all 😂

I agree op. My 6 year old recently fell in some glass at our local park and it was just awful (he had to go to hospital). It fills me with rage that the parks get trashed in this way!

I have lived in both places and things are notable. These are a few of my reflections . German teens are given more practical responsibility and trust from a younger age. Walking to school alone, taking responsibility at school , and so on. A few funny things that struck me in a German school... the kids have cleaning spray under the desks and at the end of lessons they cleaned the classrooms perfectly before moving to a new room. Lovely. Also sex education.The kids were much younger and the lessons were more thorough , with both sexes taught together about everything, in depth. No separating the girls off for the period talk.
Homework! They have so much that it doesn’t allow a great deal of time for pissing around after school, there are real consequences for children that don’t comply.
Uniform is rare in German schools, and they are less like prisons.
German teens have more access to wholesome leisure facilities, good swimming pools, excellent cycle lanes, sport centres, tables tennis etc. There’s less need to hang around on street corners and playgrounds if there are age appropriate activities available.
Also some German cities have curfews for teens. Each year of age has a different curfew , and if children are in the streets alone after the curfew time parents can be fined.
Then there’s the possibility of older teens enjoying a beer in a bar legally at 16. Here we’d rather they drink vodka in parks 🤷‍♀️
In a nutshell, Germany has retained a lot of the facilities for healthy teenagers that have been eradicated in the Uk.
We give our teens less and less autonomy and wonder why they’re off the rails . Just look at the recent uproar about the interrailing 15year old. Crazy.

Last time I looked not in the UK then.

Absolutely correct

i agree with you totally

Also it’s not all idyllic btw. Last time I was in Berlin there was a manhunt on for a person intentionally contaminating playground sandpits with shards of glass. Don’t think it was teenagers though.

Did op go to every city in Germany?

Out of interest, what's the teen culture there instead? This summer there's been a lot of "children are too controlled" messaging (partly Kirty Alsopp inspired, appreciate that's a different issue and her teen isn't trashing anything), but what do teens do in Australia? I'd assume they spend a lot of time outside.

German teenagers, especially ones in bigger cities, seem to enjoy decorating most available surfaces with grafitti.

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.

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.

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

The fact there was a manhunt on speaks volumes.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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

@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.

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

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.