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 :)

INterestingly, this thread is running in active ATM and has completely different responses. I wonder why that is?
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/teenagers/1557869-Q-A-for-parents-of-teenage-girls

oh dear! I always think of the middle class mum in kidulthood when I hear people say "I was young once, I know how it works"

the drugs available are VERY different
the internet barely existed when I was a teenager
Perceptions of sexual norms have changed
I don't feel at all qualified to understand the experience of today's teenager

do you think I'm right OP?

I'm a teen on mumsnet! hardly much of a teen anymore, but I still have the mindset....no one's asked for it back yet

My mum's fab, she's a v. clever teenager-child in disguise......'young at heart' phrase was made for her, I think......I'd rather ask her if I need advice about understanding a teenager's mind, she has it down pat. And I don't!

ALTHOUGH....one thing she and I are severely confused by- what's the attraction with the "keep calm and carry on" posters? everyone's got one. I can't think of anything more boring to put on your wall. What's up with that OP?

Harry Styles - thoughts?

No, don't think he's had one yet.

Arf!

Not all grownups were once teens. My mum never was! (To listen to her talk, she never did anything outrageous, exciting, breaking-the-rules, putting-herself-first, going out on the town...)

Anyone else noticed the OP hasn't been back since we questioned her motives ?

Hello mistysolitude

I have some questions;

Why does my 13yo think two 10p packets of Haribos constitute breakfast?

Why, when I tell him he either puts his glasses on, or stops playing computer games, he chooses to stop playing computer games?

Why does he think hiding under his younger brothers bed when he's just about to fall asleep so utterly hilarious?

Can you blame the poor girl? I would be scared off by less than that.

@quirrel - tru' dat. See, I'm so down wid da kids, innit. I don' need no interpreter

Hello mistysolitude. Just wanted to say your idea is a good one. If only parents could open their minds and listen more to younger people. You're right, all the parents on here are seeking other parents' advice, it's a brilliant idea to hear the perspective of someone who is a teenager right now. We're here to guide our children, but sometimes you can guide us too. :)

My questions were really easy...I was working up to harder ones.

Why is my 13 yo DD angry almost all the time with DS and I but absolutely charming to her friends and most other adults even though it causes endless rows and misery for her too ?