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Original poster

Today my teenager was upset because.....

856 replies

Positivelypatient · 18/10/2021 00:03

On the back of the amusing threads about the irrationality of toddlers and their meltdowns, I have this for you.

Today my 17 DD is upset because I suggested booking an expensive (for me as a single parent) spa day for her and her sisters and me that we would go to on her 18th birthday. I hasten to add this is NOT in place of presents, cake and special attention for the birthday girl. Apparently I have made her feel worthless for suggesting she share her special day with her family. Confused

OP posts:
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5
crazycrofter · 18/10/2021 11:19

We were on holiday in the Lake District and thought it would be fun(/hair raising!) to drive up Hardknott Pass. Dd (14 then) came reluctantly and decided it would be a good time to read a book (she hardly ever reads?!).

She didn't once look out of the window, but every so often, as we reached a particularly steep part of the road she'd moan that it was making her feel sick and she couldn't concentrate on her book! We made her get out at the top to enjoy the view, but she wasn't impressed - 'Snowdonia is much better' - and told me how unreasonable we were not to be taking her to Brighton, where her best friend was on holiday!

Triffid1 · 18/10/2021 11:20

@TheLadySif

My 17 year old granddaughter has an ongoing rant because her mother gave birth to her in the summer, making her younger than most of her friends who are now old enough to go clubbing and have passed their driving tests.
My 50+ brother is still bitter about how his birthday negatively impacted his ENTIRE LIFE. Grin
AnyOldPrion · 18/10/2021 11:25

@WhoWants2Know

My eldest was angry this morning at the entire subject of geography because she can't be arsed about rocks.
Mine is the same about maths. Never going to use it in life and therefore it’s utterly pointless even trying.
MissAmbrosia · 18/10/2021 11:26

I went away for the weekend recently and on my return, 17 dd announced that she had had to live on toast all weekend as there was NO FOOD! Despite fridge/freezer/cupboards being rammed. She's fussy so normally cooks for herself, but apparently she was too busy to pop to the shop/ask DH to order a takeaway etc etc. She gave me such a sad "poor me" look that I felt momentarily guilty for abandoning my baby in her hour of need. The rest of the time she tells me how she can't wait to leave home as I fuss too much.

JudgeJ · 18/10/2021 11:26

@Lanique

My list is endless:

We had the temerity to suggest earlier that we all go to Antigua next Summer after their exams, but it might clash with 'other things' such as parties and drinking in fields with their mates

We 'threatened' to take them back to New Zealand for another Christmas next year, which was totally unacceptable as they like Christmas at home and could mean them missing out on Christmas parties. Bless them the poor lambs are still traumatised by the experience of being made to spend Christmas Day on a beach in Abel Tasman National Park a few years ago.

We took them to Dubai three years ago and dd2 still hasn't got over us 'making her' miss Halloween.

Other than that they're perfectly lovely girls that are, believe it or not, not spoiled at all other than in cases such as the above where the possibility of 'missing out' is too much to bear 🙄

I recall standing in the queue at check-in for our flight to the US and our teens moaning that they'd rather go to Butlins! We cured them of it though, we took them for a weekend, never mentioned it again! I now sit back and watch them with their teens, karma springs to mind, something for you all to look forward to. My mother once baby-sat at my brothers while he and his wife went to Parents' Evening at their daughter's school. When they came back, faces like thunder, Mum had to hide in the kitchen as they gave the daughter a telling-off! Brother had the good grace to look shame faced.
takingmytimeonmyride · 18/10/2021 11:27

My 17 yo twins were moaning about the restrictions I've put on the internet. It goes off at 11.30pm and comes back on at 8am. It's just soooooo unfair.

Tbh, I do it as much for myself as well as them. None of us need to be staring at a screen all night after staring at a screen all day.

I told them I'd turn the restrictions off when the youngest is 18 (he's 14) and goodness, the row! I bloody hope they've left home by then, they're off to uni (hopefully) next year, so I pointed out they won't even bloody live here. They said they'd choose a uni close to home.

I might move far away. Grin

starfishmummy · 18/10/2021 11:30

Mine is older than a teen but has SN so we get everything from the terrible twos to the teenage stuff.

He tells me several times a day that he is going to pack his bags to which my responsibility varies along the lines of "please do" to "shall I find you a bag?" He's still here.

starfishmummy · 18/10/2021 11:30

my response!!

KittyMcKitty · 18/10/2021 11:30

What is it about Halloween? We went to Venice over Halloween 4 or 5 years ago and whilst they had a great trip the horror of missing Halloween is still spoken about in hushed tones - dd checked early in the summer that we weren’t thinking at doing anything like that again this year.

cheeseisthebest · 18/10/2021 11:31

My daughter is 14 in a week. I had her and her friend in my car at the weekend and enjoyed commenting that the roadsign for speed bumps looked like boobs. I am such a child.

ineedsun · 18/10/2021 11:31

Just to warn you that I caught my autistic son climbing out of the bedroom window with his wash bag once after I played down his threats to leave.

Nice that he’d thought to make sure he could keep himself clean though.

cheeseisthebest · 18/10/2021 11:32

My daughter was sort of mortified but also amused.

SedentaryCat · 18/10/2021 11:35

She rang and asked for a lift home as she had too much to carry. So I stopped what I was doing, negotiated rush hour traffic, located her, and then gave her partner a lift home.

I happened to mention that my father - who had been in hospital all weekend - was home. Which was apparently the wrong thing to do.

'Why are you talking at me about Grandad?' said in withering tones. Rude.

I am also, apparently, wrong for expecting DS (not quite a teenager yet) to have done his homework while he has been online all day. I shouldn't make a big deal about reopening his access to the router (which switches off at 10pm).

BathshebaKnickerStickers · 18/10/2021 11:37

We bought our 17 year old a car.

She does not like the car.

She refuses to drive the car.

JudgeJ · 18/10/2021 11:39

@TheLadySif

My 17 year old granddaughter has an ongoing rant because her mother gave birth to her in the summer, making her younger than most of her friends who are now old enough to go clubbing and have passed their driving tests.
Reminds me of the very early days of my teaching career when it was announced that the school leaving age was going up for 15 to 16. One lad in my form was blazing, his birthday was September 1st so he had to stay until at least Easter of 5th year, (year 11 in current terms). He was even more angry when he found he had been born 3 minutes after midnight, 'I told her she should have pushed harder!'.
SunshineCake1 · 18/10/2021 11:40

@chafingstraightjacket

One night last week Ds and his new college friend missed their bus. I was summoned to pick them up and had the sheer audacity to speak to them in the car.Wink

Ds arrived home the next day and threw an envelope at me. It was a thank you card from his new friend who apparently embarrassed Ds in class by telling him how lovely his mum is.

I may have used the line "Well X thinks I'm wonderful" several times when Ds had a complaint over the last few days.

This is lovely. What a nice chap. Your son could learn something from him. No disrespect to you.
sueelleker · 18/10/2021 11:40

WhoWants2Know

My eldest was angry this morning at the entire subject of geography because she can't be arsed about rocks.
Has anyone else noticed that she's mixed up geography and geology?

EvilRingahBitch · 18/10/2021 11:41

We went to New York over October half term one year as a once in a lifetime special holiday when DC were tweenagers. We did loads of New York hallowe'en things while we were there and were back just in time to go trick or treating on the (mid week) evening itself but still got massive angst over missing the events for Halloween weekend in the UK.

Hadjab · 18/10/2021 11:42

@Lanique

My list is endless:

We had the temerity to suggest earlier that we all go to Antigua next Summer after their exams, but it might clash with 'other things' such as parties and drinking in fields with their mates

We 'threatened' to take them back to New Zealand for another Christmas next year, which was totally unacceptable as they like Christmas at home and could mean them missing out on Christmas parties. Bless them the poor lambs are still traumatised by the experience of being made to spend Christmas Day on a beach in Abel Tasman National Park a few years ago.

We took them to Dubai three years ago and dd2 still hasn't got over us 'making her' miss Halloween.

Other than that they're perfectly lovely girls that are, believe it or not, not spoiled at all other than in cases such as the above where the possibility of 'missing out' is too much to bear 🙄

To be fair, I’ve spent Christmas on a beach, and absolutely hated it - I was a very long way past being a teen 😂
CaveMum · 18/10/2021 11:44

@AmazingBouncingFerret

I allowed my 15 year old son to connect his Spotify during a car journey.

He was OUTRAGED to find out that I knew all the words to Gangsta’s Paradise.

I had a similar experience with my 7yo DD last week. Her class had to learn the words to "Fresh Prince of Bel Air" for National Poetry Day and she was mortified when I declared "Ooh, I know that!" and launched into my own version. Her response was a withering "Don't do that again!"

I'm dreading the teenage years!

CatherinedeBourgh · 18/10/2021 11:44

My 15 yo had a 15 minute rant about how unfortunate it was to be human.

Fortunately he has a good sense of humour an ended it up by saying ‘hey, I’m having an existential crisis. I should write a blog about it.’

Apparently his brother and I were very cruel to have laughed so much about it, though.

LowlandLucky · 18/10/2021 11:48

If my children had called me a bitch there life would have been so bloody hard. Why would you allow your child to disrespect you ? Having a strop about having to share her birthday, fine, have nothing but a card, she is 18, an adult not a bloody child.

IthinkIsawahairbrushbackthere · 18/10/2021 11:49

My middle daughter was yelling at me from her room - "Come and stop him! He's jumping on my bed and messing up the covers!"

She was 15, he was 22 and he was supposed to be helping her put posters on her ceiling.

DottyHarmer · 18/10/2021 11:53

Laughing at these. Frankly I think I was a worse teenager than mine are Blush

The shame of stomping round Venice on day trip glowering and agitating to go back to base (where Romeo was awaiting....).

BathshebaKnickerStickers · 18/10/2021 11:54

Last week I took her to England