Does anyone else have a mumbling teenage boy?

[inthesticks]

Just a rant really.
DS1 has a very deep voice but speaks quietly (unless he's shouting at the x box).

We've had all those converstions about speaking clearly to adults and looking people in the eye, but I can't hear a word he says. Admittedly my hearing isn't perfect but he knows that.

Now he has a cold and so his voice has gone down several octaves and is even quieter.
I feel like I need an eartrumpet.
Or semaphore.
Or sign language.

@ MooMoo

If only I were joking Lady

When grandparents are around with potential cash donation he sounds like Prince Charles

MooMoo that is so funny!! :o My youngest son is a terrible mumbler, often when he's asking me something or replying to one of my questions (ie, is your games kit around, it hasn't been washed for a fortnight...); I end repeatedly asking him what he said, which culminates in him bellowing "Stop shouting at me!!". My daughter, on the other hand, speaks perfectly loudly but at 100 miles an hour so I'm continually asking her to repeat herself too (confused).

I think my 16 yr old is starting to come out of the mumbling phase. My belief is he mumbles when he doesn't want me to hear what he is saying! He is very clear when its a request for money or a playstation game. He enunciates very clearly about the exact name of the game! He is also crystal clear when speaking with friends on playstation. I hope the worst is behind me.

noddyholder you are SO right!! :o

Hmm thanks toomuch - only about another six years of it to go then

Also have a mumbling teenage boy.

Mind you, his dad & paternal GPs all talk quietly.

I have tinnitus, so my hearing is not the best.

Have a teenage daughter who currently talks too loud, but conversations are no better, for example-

She went to a friend´s confirmation & a party afterward recently.

Me:did you see anyone you know there?

Daughter: well, that woman with blond hair to here (indicating shoulder length) and her blond son, who we know from somewhere.

Me:Kindergarten, school?

Daughter:well no, otherwise I would have said

Me: well, with that info, & no names, I´m afraid I don´t know who you mean.

Daughter:really mummy, sometimes there´s just no point in talking to you!

Me:

DD2 uses "proper" a lot as in:
"OMG, see today, right, it was proper funny cos Mollie was like, in French?(uplifted inflection), and mrs T had a proper gob on, she is, like, a proper COW!, and Mollie was like, swinging on her chair, you know, and she like, fell off it and we were like, major lols, and mrs T had a proper Ragie and like, lost it major time big, and i was PML at Mols, and it was proper awesome!"

If she´s bothered about her appearance, I´m quite surprised that she doesn´t consider washing & teeth cleaning to be a part of that tbh.

My 13yr showers daily-has done for a couple of years.

My 14 and 12 yr old boys shower at least once daily, always before school, hair wash daily and have general good personal hygiene but ds2 has a friend who avoids showers and teeth cleaning and his mates are beginning to alienate him. I think personal hygiene is so important for everyone but around puberty it can be a smelly disaster if it's not kept on top of. Mumslife I really think you should insist on Dd getting into some good habits.

Demented, are you in Derbyshire?

Mumslife - she will grow out of this phase. It's really not uncommon for a teen to be manky. I have 12 year old triplets. DD is clean as can be, DS2 is pretty good but DS3 is a minger. We have to force him to shower and brush his teeth. He puts more energy in trying to get out of doing it then it would take for him to actually wash! DS1 was a bit of a minger too for a while, but he's lovely and clean now he's growing up. (18)

Mine are all obsessed with hygiene, have been since age 10 or so. I spend my life cleaning hair out of the bath.

My 11 year old is exactly like that too Madlizzy - the more I battle with him the more effort he will put into avoiding washing, and as Alouiseg says, I tell him if he's not careful his friends won't to sit next to him and they'll start laughing at him. When he was about 9 or 10 we'd often see him lock himself in the bathroom, run taps,rattle around a bit for 5 minutes and pretend to clean his teeth, but come out not having actually done it!

Luckily puberty hasn't kicked in yet so he doesn't smell, but it drives me nuts when I say he really should take a shower and he looks at the palms of his hands and announces 'it's fine - I'm not dirty.' I had one the other day. I remember with my eldest I was always having to 'remind' him to have a shower or clean his teeth, but all that stopped the minute he discovered girls, at 14!

My middle DS (the grunty monosyllabic mumbling one) has always been very good with showering. It's his only redeeming trait at the moment.

ahh mine has just past the mumble stage we have now entered the look of disgust face when trying to strike up a conversation.however we do manage to have a few words utterd when a mums taxi or mums bank is required.
been here before and they do evolve into nice adults in the end this can take some time but we do get there.

They are not all bad though, those Teenage Types. I've just been to pick my 18 year old up from an all night party where they camped in a friend's field. They are all a load of long-haired grungey hippy looking scruffbags who would probably frighten old ladies, but they are the nicest most polite and charming kids you could hope to meet. They turned this party into a mini Latitude festival with everyone doing a little turn of some sort. They had two heavy metal bands playing sets, one did a DJ set of reggae and dubstep and ska, some lounge music, one lad did some recitals of his own poetry, one did a 'stuntman show' (rather worrying ) and another group wrote and performed a comedy sketch. One played the ukelele and another one the didgeridoo. No fighting, no arseholery, just lots of love and creativity and beer.

Fellatio, that's the sort of crowd my eldest hangs round with and I love it. My son has waist length blond hair and is very striking.

Have to say though, when you do get a load of these lads together in a small room, it's better to breathe through your mouth.

I love them. It's such a source of pride and relief to me that he has such good judgement when it comes to choosing the company he keeps. His friends are a delight, even if they have got bits of straw in the hair, and peculiar beards.

Yes, mine has a peculiar beard now and again. I do love his mates too.

I actually prefer them in a big group! My ds plus mates is very nice its just on his own he's a pain

They are great. They have different views to lots of things and it's so nice to talk to them about stuff. We just swapped my car for a smaller one that our youngest can practice driving in, then hopefully drive sometimes when he passes his test. So funny watching him and his best mate on the driveway checking it out when I bought it home. Doesn't seem 5 minutes since the pair of them were 18 month olds on push-along wooden bikes in our garden, now they're inspecting cars for gadgets and boot space!