Ask a Teenager!

[mistysolitude]

ok so i know this site is technically MUMSnet, but i thought a little input from a young person might be useful, after reading a few threads.
i'm 17, female and willing to answer as well as i can whatever queries you have about the minds of the teenagers of today; what's considered normal for us, how we feel about our parents, and how parents can help in making life easier for everyone. no guarantees i'll have defintive solutions, but sometimes a different perspective can help a whole lot. i'll probably insert personal experience, or that of friends, and i may venture into the land of tmi (just to warn you).
so ask away :)

I was a teenager myself once so I kinda know how teenagers minds work.

That's a nice thought, but I have teenagers of my own, and they have friends. And you know what? All of them are entirely different individuals with very different needs and relationships, interests and ambitions.
So although you are wanting to act as a guide, all you can discuss is your own experiences and what would make your relationships with your parents easier, and what your view of normality is.
Which is lovely, but one size does not fit all teenagers.

Just a thought, what A levels are you doing?
Are we a research project?

If you're a teenager, how come you haven't got better things to do than hang out here with us old fogeys?!

I think we might be.

We were all teenagers once you know.

I was only just not a teenager when I joined MN

Honestly? Just get stuck in on the site, enjoy it and don't feel the need to tell everyone how old you are with every post. You'll never be able to leave

i'm perfectly aware that everyone was a teenager once, but i think a lot has changed in the 10/20/30 years since then, and today's teenagers do live in a different world, with different attitudes to those their parents may have had back then. i'm just an offering an insight from someone who is experiencing it all now, not remembering it all from a very different time.
and i don't pretend to know the specifics of how every teenager's mind works, but how different is it from parent-to-parent advice? you're all offering guidance based mostly on your own experiences, and that's what i'm doing.
no you're not a research project, i genuinely do want to help! my A levels are biology, chemistry, maths and further maths if you really want to know.

Just because we were teenagers, 10, 20 etc, doesnt mean that we are not aware of the world today, I know more about teenage life, technology, peer pressures, drugs etc than my teens do!

Its all a bit "lets help the old gimmers because they dont know my life" which is totes offense...lol. Y U No See That????

Sorry, this is a wind up, isn't it? But maybe not as the poor punctuation means maybe it is a teenager with a (slightly) odd sense of self.

Perhaps you have something you want to say specifically?

What's all this about then?

Why do you keep breaking your mobile phone.
And take those bloody earphones out!

:)

I was a teenager in the 90s, my parents were teenagers in the 60s

it's a fair assumption that the 90s were pretty different to the 60s but my parents managed without anyone being killed so I'm sure we will cope

Don't tell anyone, but there are some teenagers lurking posting on Mumsnet quite happily. Unlike many places on the 'net, it's full of entertaining, intelligent and opinionated women. Join in, you might like it...

I'm 17 too
I rather enjoy mumsnet

Well cinnamonnut, perhaps you can tell me how private facebook events work. Also, what is the etiquette for inviting friends out for dinner to celebrate a birthday - are they expected to pay for themselves?

What exactly do you mean by how they work?

Basically, the host of the event creates the facebook event and sets it so it's private. They then invite the people they want to come - these people are the only people who can see the event. They say whether they're attending or not.

And re the birthday dinner - in my group, we always pay for ourselves (whether it's a birthday or no special occasion) and we tend to pick places that don't cost too much, so everyone can come even if they're a bit short on money.

Ok why do the teenagers in my bus have the sound on when they have their earphones in? Why do I have to listen to their music all the way into town
Gets on my wick

Thank you for your answers. Is it common for a significant percentage of the invitees not to reply or say they'd like to go to an event, but will need to check?
If someone else is added as 'co-host' of the event how far does this 'implicate' them in the actual event?

Um

If you're going out with someone do you expect to ce in contact with them every day?

with different attitudes to those their parents may have had back then. i'm just an offering an insight from someone who is experiencing it all now, not remembering it all from a very different time.

Don't you think that teenagers have ALWAYS thought differently to their parents?

I was a teen in the 1980s, I spent my spare time playing with computers, having sex with my boyfriend and working part time jobs. Has that really changed? I didn't drink then, or do drugs but many of my peers did.

I teach teengagers, they are all different, from diverse backgrounds (at one time I was teaching in three different FE collages and tutoring) but the problems are always the same, and they are the same as they were when I was a teenager.

teenagers don't have sex! what you implying sashh there are many teens lurking around, it's very fun seeing what parents are thinking, and reading posts thinking... ooo i did that i still don't understand twitter...