101 ways to embarrass your teenager.

[LoisInTheMiddle]

I have discovered what fun it can be embarrassing teens. And so easy.

I always knew that teenagers found their parents embarrassing and my 14 year old DS has now reached that stage. What I didn?t know was how little it takes to cause intense embarrassment and humiliation.
I have turned into Lois from Malcolm in the Middle. Apparently I am the most embarrassing person on the planet. Did I dance at his school disco? Kiss him in front of his friends? Wear something unsuitable for my age? No, nothing like that

This is what I did.
We were on holiday in a self service restaurant at the pool bar. Alongside the cutlery were some table mats so I took four knives and forks and four table mats and set them out on our table. DS1 sat down and said, while looking as though he wanted to crawl under the table,
?Mum , how could you??.
?What have I done??
?The mats. No one else has table mats.?
?Well I thought they improved the sticky plastic table?
?Mum, I beg you, please never do the table mats again?

Of course I made it worse by laughing.

Mums of teens tell me yours. Have you managed to humiliate your teen with anything as trivial?

Jaybird That has to be the funniest thing I've read in quite some time.

Apparently, should I find myself giving a dd's friend a lift home, I should avoid trying to engage friend in any kind of conversation, ESPECIALLY if I don't know said friend very well.

In fact it is better all round if I remain silent for the whole journey until said friend has been deposited at his/her destination.

Remember that old one? Mothers Should Be Seen and Not Heard.

DS1 (15) doesn't have the embarrassment gene. He is as cool as a cucumber in any given situation.

DS2 (13) makes up for it. I am embarrassing because I...

Use one finger to type a text on my iphone
Hang my underwear on the radiators to dry
Speak to strangers in shops and cafes
Call his friends by their shortened names and not their proper names
Sing
Hold hands with DH
Say hello to his ex-primary teachers if I pass them in the street
Complain in the bank when there's a huge queue and one teller

But the most embarrassing thing I ever did (allegedly) was admire a "randomer's" jacket, and ask her where she got it from.

Oh yes - mine tell me off for speaking to strangers, especially the old ladies on the bus!

DH has a canary yellow shirt which he saves for embarrassing occasions such as picking Ds1 up from gigs he's just played at.

Jaybird that had me weeping with laughter

I can see dp developing a set of embarassing traits in future years....after all he has been known to run down the aisles of the supermarket arms flung wide yelling Blackduuuuuuuuuck whilst I studious pretend I don't know him, so he'll have no trouble with ds in later life...

My phone is an embarrassment, just sitting there. And its ringtone is the Mexican Hat Dance. And texting, obviously not on predictive. And I said hello to a boy dd1 has known for 13 years, he said hello to me...that was wrong apparently.

Have to say that he spent at least a year after that moaning quietly to himself "my girlfriend's MOTHER thinks I'm too small"...no, darling, she was just joking...

No Madmn52 - just got an approximate six month suspension from attending any events.

But was still 'cool' enough to pay for his subs/coach fare/spikes etc - oh and I was still allowed to make his special pasta tea - the night before. Also he wasnt too ashamed of me to take my lovingly made packed lunch.
But I nearly got the red carded from doing that aswell after putting in a little note of support - complete with kisses .

you are all very lucky to be allowed to embarrass your teenagers

I am not allowed out with mine

I am not allowed to be a fb friend of my DS(16)

Oh Jaybird, that is brilliant

custardo my DD did that to one of her brothers when he brought a girlfriend home. She grabbed hapless fool and say that DH and I were very religious and we always said grace before meals and it would be a really nice touch if she volunteered to say it. And then she enlisted the help of her other brother to reinforce it.

Actually embarassing your own teen is fine, but embarassing a guest is pretty low - I can vividly recall some of the crap dps family (sister and father) put me through and it wasn't in the slightest bit funny. The only reason I didn't walk out is dps family live in the middle of no-where and I couldn't get home...

my mother (who was actually pretty good at being embarrassing without trying :)) got fed up with my brother never calling home when he first went to university (pre mobile phone days, even pre-being able to call in to a lot of student residences, ok I am officially old) - so found a very babyish postcard and sent it to him, just saying 'please call your mummy'.

I understand it was effective

My dad still comments loudly on the state of my hair. He usually asks me if I've washed it, and even if the reply is, "yes, this morning," his stock reply is, "it looks a bit greasy."

Thanks dad

It's just as embarrassing now as it was when I was a teen.

Although now he doesn't rifle through my hair like a monkey, looking for nits. I've had nits once in my whole life, why he felt the need to regularly double check my nit-free status, in public, is beyond me.

As Bob Geldof said it is the job of every parent to embarrass their child/children at least once every day!

On many topics I will be opposed to Bob; but on this one - I totally agree.

Hi. My daughter is only 6 at the moment and i was told i embarrased her on Friday. She had her 2 female friends over and 1 boy. They were in her room using the drywhite boards and pens she has, then i come in the put her clean cloths away in her chest of draws. Was asked "Why are you doing then now mum?" Reply "otherwise they will just stay down stairs and never be put away until tomorrow". All i got was a sigh and a mummbled so embarrassing. I walked out the door after asking if they wanted anything to eat or drink, (Which is also embarrassing.) After geeting a no the door was promptly shut tight behind me by said daughter and all her friends said "god you mum is soo embarrassing".
My thought was 'she is only 6yrs old what the hell' and 'my daughter is growing up.'

Not quite so funny, but apparently I embarrass my 13-year-old ds3 by being so fat. I am actively discouraged from going up to school to see him off on trips, or for parents evenings etc, because this means his friends will see me and take the mick about how fat I am.

Apart from that, I do all the standard embarrassing things - trying to hold their hands in public, singing, calling them by pet names etc.

dinasaw oh yes, the gigs! I was allowed to attend ds1's, but only on condition that I didn't show anything other than mild interest, even if everyone else was going wild around me. Ex-H was discouraged from attending because he made what ds described as embarrassing 'seal noises' to show his appreciation and support.

Ask him if he likes Barry Mannilow

Dd (13) was just beginning to think we were the most embarrassing parents in the history of the world until some of her friends who we gave a lift to one weekend told her we were just like the parents in Outnumbered...apparently that's cool

I have been promising for years never to put my DD through the same emotional torture my parents made me endure:

answering the door to my friends dressed as a Christmas fairy (age 15)
calling me sunshine infront of boyfriends, friends, teachers, ok pretty much everyone (age 2 - present!)
picking me up from from outside a nightclub in the brady bus whilst shouting "over here sunshine" (age 17)
removing my bedroom door as a, very effective, method of punishment (aged 15 - 17)

So imagine my turmoil when I received the please do not embarrass me at school talk from DD - she is 4 and a half and only started school last Monday!

I really must be turning into my mother - no wear did I put my fairy wings

Removing the bedroom door? That isn't embarrassing - it's appalling.