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Teenagers

Parenting teenagers has its ups and downs. Get advice from Mumsnetters here.

i dont know anything re teens!!!

7 replies

dangbody · 01/04/2011 13:36

Just posted re dd and realise that i know little re teens !!!! M
My father was very strict and we simply did not behave moody etc as it was not allowed-.or if we did came down on us very very hard such as grounded for month ,not allowed to be a veggie -etc.
i think that i need to learn more - im quite strict and believe that listen have to be fair but find moods etc difficult as i have no experience of em being acted on!!a friend of mine sates that her sisiter had doors of the hindges with door slamming and it occurs to be that i dont know were to start to know what is ok and what isnt as i dont want to be walked over also !! ive got the get out of my life book btw....advice please xi feel quite at a loss.

OP posts:
Maryz · 01/04/2011 14:15

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

mumblechum1 · 01/04/2011 14:18

That's so true, Mary. Anyone reading this board on an average day would be packing their children off to boarding school on their 13th birthday - we don't say positive things about our teens, I guess, because we don't want to tempt fate/rub the noses of mums having a hard time.

Beamur · 01/04/2011 14:20

Teens are great, you see these kids you've known for years morphing into proper grown ups with whom you can have interesting conversations. On the downside they can be a bit messy/moody and so forth, but like Maryz says, its not all negative by any means.
They are still your kids not aliens who have been delivered from another planet (although some days it may seem like that) Smile

cyrilsneer · 01/04/2011 14:51

Don't be hard on yourself dangbody... None of us are experts at this - we're all making it up as we go along and not always getting it that right. My parents were strange creatures and my childhood was unhappy... I am certain that it has to be easier to be a parent when you've been given a fantastic model in your own childhood of "how to do it" - not to mention, in lots of cases, on-going support. Many of my friends in their forties are still being parented, loved and supported in umpteen different fabulous ways by their Mums and Dads. I can't think about it too much or I'd cry with jealousy and the injustice of it all. I would love/ have loved a fraction of what they had and still have.

Back to you though - you're getting the most important things right you know - you love your kids and you are thinking carefully about how you parent them because you care very much about getting it as right as you can. That's all you can humanly do.

This board is a great source of advice and information. No-one here is an expert on teenagers... We all WERE, of course, before we had teens of our own and then all your chickens come home to roost!

Don't hesitate to post your dilemmas here often and read about how others are handling the various different situations that teenagers are throwing at their parents.

That "Get out of my life" book is alright, in my opinion, but there may be better ones out there - I've seen "Divas and Doorslammers" recommended and a friend has lent me her copy of "Queen Bees and Wannabees" which was VERY helpful and enlightening - specifically for Mums of girls of this age. It's all about how girls have to fit in with the clique, adopting the dress code, language and rituals that define the group, in order to survive. Might be very appropriate given what's going on at the stable.

Also, you could watch "Mean Girls" with your daughter too - it's based on the book and provides great material to discuss with your teenage daughter.

Hang on in there dangbody...

GetOrfMoiLand · 01/04/2011 14:58

I love dd being a teen. This is by far the most enjoyable bit of motherhood. She cracks me up.

What was hard was the tweenie stage - when she was 11, 12. That was a nightmare. School transition stress, High School b,loody musical on all the time, stroppiness, periods starting, stress.

She is a dream now. Love spending time with her.

Yes she can be a stroppy madam, and christ she is a scruffbag, but she is a good girl so don't come down like a ton of bricks. Being a teen is pretty stressful these days I think.

I have made it up as I have gone along - we all do - so don't be too stressed. But treat her woth respect - I don't shout at DD, or order her about, I give her the compliment of treating her like a responsible adult, and as a result she behaves very well.

Just don't go shopping with teens. That is an unadulyerated nightmare.

dangbody · 01/04/2011 15:02

cyrilsneer - thanks so much for you r post it almost brought tears to my eyes as i could have written same- about my childhood and lack of role models -being aware that mine was much more strict than a lot and that love was conditional thats why i was so" good" and i sometimes feel dont know what to do!!i will hang on in there - thankyou for saying im on right track!!! i do think lack confidence can be an issue!!

OP posts:
cyrilsneer · 01/04/2011 15:48

(sneaks dangbody an un-Mumsnetty hug - shhh!)

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