Please or to access all these features

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To have binned all the pens

14 replies

CucumbersForMyCat · Yesterday 23:02

My 13 year old is struggling at French lessons at school and was sad about this, so I paid for an app to help with learning French. I also set her up on Duolingo. She didn't use either. I explained that she asked for help, I got her the app and now she's not using it, and suggested that at do it together. She did it a bit but was really reluctant and grumpy. After a while she refused to do it and said it didn't help anyway. I said that her French is improving but it takes time, but she insisted it was useless. I was a bit annoyed that she was so ungrateful and said "fine do it yourself. I've tried, you don't want my help, so I'll cancel the subscription". She's now struggling again with French, but I'm not going to fight with her to learn.

Today she was doing her homework and needed coloring pens. I have a box of colouring pens that we've accumulated over the years and she was going through them choosing the ones she wanted. I asked her to bin any that she found that didn't work. She looked at the box with contempt and said that none of them work and they should all be binned. I don't keep this box of pens for me, I keep them for her and I feel that whatever I do for her is not good enough. So I picked up the entire box and chucked it in the bin. Most of the pens were fine and I'm so tired of the ridiculous untrue sweeping statements of how crap everything is.

OP posts:
TheGirlWhoLived · Yesterday 23:05

She’s 13, you have to learn some patience otherwise you will be at loggerheads for the next 5 years! Teenagers are stroppy and ungrateful, they can be very loving too but you need to not lose your temper over a box of pens. Really you need to relax a little bit

Besidemyselfwithworry · Yesterday 23:06

Okay……..

Noras · Yesterday 23:07

Pit on her favourite films but set the language to French

Tippexy · Yesterday 23:07

Do you think she realises you don’t like her very much?

escapegoats · Yesterday 23:08

You are supposed to be the grown up who is able to control their emotions

Perpetuallywondering · Yesterday 23:09

YABU.

Also, she’s right - Duolingo won’t help with school level French.

Chunkybabythighs · Yesterday 23:09

13 year old is an ungrateful arsehole: news headline.

HeddaGarbled · Yesterday 23:09

Come on now - you’re the grown-up: you don’t have to match her teenage behaviour.

ToKittyornottoKitty · Yesterday 23:10

I’m not sure why you think acting like a 13 year old yourself will help, but YABU anyway. You need to learn some patience and not act like a grumpy teenager yourself. How is she doing the homework with no colouring pens?

CherryKerry · Yesterday 23:17

Languages aren't for everyone, any way she can drop it and do something more suitable?

yourSUGAMAMA · Yesterday 23:21

You lost your temper, happens to the best of us!

CucumbersForMyCat · Yesterday 23:32

Ok, you were right, I was childish. I've fished the pens out the bin and I'll colour in the poster for her as she's asleep now and she needs it tomorrow morning. I'm just worn down by trying so hard for her and it never being good enough.

OP posts:
ToKittyornottoKitty · Yesterday 23:38

CucumbersForMyCat · Yesterday 23:32

Ok, you were right, I was childish. I've fished the pens out the bin and I'll colour in the poster for her as she's asleep now and she needs it tomorrow morning. I'm just worn down by trying so hard for her and it never being good enough.

She’s 13, you need to get used to it! And if you have a strop every time like you did with the app and the ones then you’ve only got yourself to blame for her attitude, as it’s the same as yours. She’s a massive ball of hormones, don’t you remember what that’s like? She’s not personally attacking you to piss you off.

Mumtobabyhavoc · Yesterday 23:46

escapegoats · Yesterday 23:08

You are supposed to be the grown up who is able to control their emotions

Controlling one's emotions isn't what makes a grown up.

New posts on this thread. Refresh page