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Teenagers

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

Thread Four: Holding on to the end of the rope

479 replies

Pegsinarow · 07/02/2020 15:35

Hello PoTs!

I am so very sorry to have been absent from the second half of thread three. I've been a overwhelmed by rl: some good, some bad and some a bit ugly! Confused
I hope you are all doing as well as possible in the circumstances.

I saw thread three was on 998 posts and thought I had better start up thread four here!

I'll catch up in a bit but for now the previous threads were as follows:

Thread one here

Thread two here

Thread three here

Welcome back and feel free to vent here! And I'll try to stick around a bit more ... .

OP posts:
vjg13 · 19/02/2020 22:19

Mumtooneboy If the taste of toothpaste puts your son off, there is a non flavoured, non foaming one called Oranurse. Amazon sell it. Or maybe try a high fluoride mouthwash.

Mumtooneboy · 20/02/2020 06:29

Vjg13, thank you. I think he sees his toothbrush as dirty. I have offered to buy sterilisers etc but he prefers to treat the heads as one-use. I bought mouthwash, but it didn't get used. I will keep trying, and the toothpaste is worth a try, certainly. 🙂

Aramox · 20/02/2020 07:22

My parents use to say that ‘little girl with the curl’ to me! I have been leaving ds to his own devices much of this week but any attempt to ‘control’ him starts him insisting he’ll do what he wants. As he says- I can’t physically keep him in, make him do his hw, or impose any discipline except taking his phone. Feels like he is really testing the relationship and I’m not sure how best to respond. He’s just 14 btw. Also rather keen on getting into mild trouble - he enjoys the thrills. Won’t do any of the more wholesome ways to have fun I suggest. Any suggestions? Calm discussions are very rare as he resists all engagement.

ghogday · 20/02/2020 17:27

I have just read this thread and heaved a sigh of relief. Apparently I'm not the parent ruining my 17 yr old dd's life. The source of all her problems.

How do you know where normal teenage angst ends and mh issues begin? She tells me she thinks I should have got her help these last few years but we honestly thought it was standard teenage stuff for the most part. Feel crushed. Almost feel that the open communication has made things worse.

Have emailed a counsellor - wonder if she'll throw things at her and swear when she makes suggestions ....

Jaxon123 · 20/02/2020 21:04

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Jaxon123 · 20/02/2020 21:04

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Jaxon123 · 20/02/2020 21:07

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mcmen05 · 20/02/2020 21:38

@Jaxon123 welcome to the thread.
Is your dd too far from old school to keep in touch with friends
It must be hard for him moving school at 11.
Have you any relatives near you to mind during holidays.
Our pay a babysitter.
In a years time he will be 12 and want to be out with friends in summer and playing on games.

Jaxon123 · 20/02/2020 22:49

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

gingerfreckles · 21/02/2020 01:11

I'm still reading (trying to keep up) from the previous thread. I don't really know what to write only to say that I am emotionally spent from parenting my teen. I desperately need time out (haven't slept properly for weeks) but I know he's going to feel like I'm abounding him and probably just make things worse. I feel like I'm just in over my head.
Sorry I cannot write in more detail but I'll probably make it too identifiable but all of your posts are helpful to read. The success stories give me hope and the not so great stories remind me that I'm not alone b

Pegsinarow · 21/02/2020 08:47

Hello everyone , I wrote out a long post in the early hrs but it's gone AWOL.

Welcome to all newcomers!

Jaxon I see you have withdrawn your posts overnight so I won't repeat the two
points I was going to make but I hope you are ok Flowers

Staywithmemyblood Grin I looked up the poet and its Henry Wadsworth Longfellow not Belloc. Must admit I am familiar with a second verse that is not quite as optimistic as your version!

Aramox I'm no expert by any means but if he is testing your boundaries he probably wants you to stand firm at some point along the way so don't be afraid to change the WiFi password. Trouble is, this will also probably mean that he will go round to a friend's and use it there but it will still be an inconvenience. I'm not convinced consequences work as well with teens as they do with younger dc anyway , they often don't work with some adults eg repeated parking or speeding tickets. And he's right that you can't make him do things he doesn't want to. I think it's more about your relationship at this age. The only thing that seems to work with DD (after a period of reflection from her that usually takes longer than is optimal!!) is expressing disappointment, and withdrawing emotionally. Not in a manipulative way but just not engaging with her as normal, getting on with my own stuff and being a bit "cold", so she knows that if she wants to engage with me, she has to come and have a proper conversation and apologise and talk sensibly about what has happened. And try and improve a bit on whatever is contentious and work on a bit of give and take. Doesn't often work. She will often do exactly the same thing 15 mins later and with spectacular rudeness, but hopefully over a much longer time-spqn, the message will get through. This endless merry-go-round is very wearing though.

Ghogday you are definitely not alone! Flowers I keep wittering on, on these threads, about a book called "Untangled" by Lisa Damour. It's about bringing up teen girls and contains a useful reference on how to tell when something is a mh issue and something is most likely "normal" teenage angst. I personally found it v helpful. At least I think that section is in that particular book, I have so many of them, will check! It's very helpful in other ways too though. Hope the counselling helps.

Gingerfreckles sorry you are going through such horrible stress; you sound exhausted Flowers. Obviously, I don't know your circumstances (and absolutely no need to explain further here) but are you sure you can't get away, even for a night or two? You sound as though you desperately need a break and there is the old cliché of not being able to keep paying out when the bank is empty and all of that. If you don't give him much notice, so he can't get anxious, and couch it in terms of going to do a specific errand or visiting a relative in need maybe? If not soon, I hope you are able to arrange some respite or support before too long.

Hang in there everyone! Hope all PoTs have as relaxing weekend as humanly possible in current circs.

It's half-term here next week. Feel like slobbing out as it's been full on here, but we have yet more visitors. Hoping DD will be cooperative... it's touch and go currently ... .

Hope

OP posts:
Pegsinarow · 21/02/2020 08:54

Aramox I read in one of the teen advice books that quite a few "non compliant" DC grow up to be innovators, rule-changers etc. Apparently Steve Jobs was a nightmare and raging at the status quo from an early age Wink. Seriously though, the world needs a few shakers and free thinkers maybe not Dominic Cummings.

OP posts:
Pegsinarow · 21/02/2020 09:01

Was going to say at end of first post there "hope springs eternal"

But in reality atm it's more like "hope waxes and wanes" Confused

OP posts:
Mairyhinge · 21/02/2020 09:09

I'm still living by the mantra ' this too shall pass'
Ds is 17, and has no direction. He doesn't even possess the skills to communicate. He needs his guitar fixing, so I suggested he messages his guitar tutor for help, ' what do I say?'
🤬
Then last night my friend sent me the perfect little job for him, he said ' looks alright that'
But will he have sent a message enquiring about it? You bet your arse he won't have. Because no doubt ' I don't know what to say'
I am finding myself dangling by a thread now, and saying 'fuck OFF' a lot under my breath.
He MUST be bored rigid. He's lazy, gaining weight, won't go to the gym he pays £10 a month for, won't eat properly. Looks miserable all the time.
I KNOW as a mother I can't apply for jobs for him but by god it's tempting.
GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!! 😡🤬

Phew 😅 needed that!

Pegsinarow · 21/02/2020 09:56

Mairyhinge Gin Hang in there and vent any time.

My sister had pretty much the same thing with my nephew. No initiative. No motivation. Wierdly, lots and lots of energy spent on avoidance and being stubborn. Grin

You'll be relieved to hear that after some "tense" years doing not a lot, he found bar work, then went back to studying, now is doing a Masters and working full time (but flexi) hours at same time. Do you know when the RAF appeal result might come through? Maybe that my spur him on, which ever way it goes? Has he thought about related fields if he doesn't get in?

I think one of the books talks about teens withdrawing in to their room as the first stage of separation from their parents and it being totally healthy. The thing to watch out for is when lack of motivation turns in to apathy and depression. So difficult to know though and when to intervene and how.

Sorry for rambling but I have the opposite problem atm. DD has emerged (for the moment) from her girl cave recently very very full on! We want her to share responsibility for some things of course and we've always included her in important decisions - I hope she feels her voice is always heard in family discussions - but honestly she seems to think she is in charge currently, knows better then anyone , on every subject (even things people have thirty years experience in) and dh and I can barely have a conversation, on matters totally unrelated to anything to do with her, without her butting in quite aggressively with an opinion usually as to why I am- always - wrong and why dh is always right--. Trouble is, at the same time her self confidence in rl is quite fragile - which makes things tricky. . Maybe she is practising on strengthening it with us? Actually, thinking about it, that could be it. Confused It's hard work though currently and I am finding it really really trying, holding my temper in. Have developed a groove in my bottom lip from biting on it so much ... .

Thinking back, it makes me appreciate my parents' patience more. I distinctly remember a Saturday morning conversation with my late dad when he was polishing shoes. I think I was about nine yrs and badgering him endlessly for something and he said a bit crossly "you are very persistent aren't you? " I remember saying "is that good?" And him replying after a long pause (with a weary smile) "yes, it really can be".

OP posts:
Decorhate · 21/02/2020 10:02

Can I join in please? S2 (15) is pushing the boundaries. I work in a school so know it is relatively minor what he is doing and totally normal for teens. His older siblings were very easy teens though so I feel unprepared.

His dad & I had to have a firm conversation with him last night due to something that happened. Waiting to see what the mood will be when he surfaces today...

Pegsinarow · 21/02/2020 10:10

You are very welcome Decorate hope the day goes well!

OP posts:
Pegsinarow · 21/02/2020 10:12

So sorry - autocorrected your NN - that should have said Decorhate !

OP posts:
Decorhate · 21/02/2020 10:13

Thanks! I love the letter at the start of the thread.

For ds I think it’s the perfect storm of hormones, GCSEs and suddenly bring the only child left at home.

Pegsinarow · 21/02/2020 11:19

Good luck with it all Decorhate and with negotiating what sounds like a difficult treble whammy. Hopefully the half term break will do him good.

I'm going to have to log off this thread for a bit now as have some urgent editing work to do and after that, some guests to prepare for and a whole house to clean and tidy. Will try and pop back in during the week though.

Remember to take some time out for yourselves PoTs Flowers. Take yourselves away from the worries and the disputes and the all-consuming stress for a bit if you can. Remember that no one else tends to do this magically for us; which means we have to, in order to help ourselves and our teens, who in their unique way, are lovely and horrible all at the same time Confused. They take their cues from us, so if our mh is sliding, theirs will often follow suit. As the parents in this equation, it's good to break that cycle if we possibly can Brew Cake but it takes a lot of energy and inner strength. Good luck and have a good w/e everyone.

OP posts:
Mairyhinge · 21/02/2020 11:27

@Pegsinarow thanks for answering where no answer was really needed I guess, it's just nice to know people do listen and understand.
So far the RAF are still saying no, but we've an appointment with the cardiologist in 2 weeks and I'm praying he'll help us.
Also ds has his practical driving test 2 weeks today so if he passes that hopefully it'll give him a lift.
It's that fine line between lazy apathy and depression, I don't THINK he's depressed but then again mental health is so hard to work out who knows?
I just said to him ' why am I breaking my balls helping you appeal when you do nothing? No excessive , no healthy eating?' Despite knowing full well what he should be doing he still isn't doing it. 😫
Hope everyone's weekend is good. Mine will be spent waiting for him to surface mid afternoon no doubt.

Pegsinarow · 21/02/2020 15:17

Good luck to your da in two weeks time with driving and cardio tests! Hope all goes well. It's got to be hard for him with everything up in the air. Hope you catch a break from the worry soon too.

OP posts:
Pegsinarow · 21/02/2020 15:20

Argh, meant your ds obviously, not your da!

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Mairyhinge · 21/02/2020 15:47

Thanks @Pegs
Today seems to have been particularly difficult. ' the more you ask me to do it, the less likely I am to do it'
Oh fuck off and grow up. It's HIS guitar, not mine! And it's HIS chance of playing in a band gone if it's not fixed.
Idiot. 🤬

TheletterZ · 21/02/2020 19:07

Can I join as well?

My 15yr old daughter is suffering from very low mood and suicidal thoughts. Which seems to have come from no where, all good at school (possibly too high achieving and puts pressure on herself) some good friends and no know problems, no trigger that anyone can tell.

School has been fantastic and supportive but don’t want her back until it is safe for her, but who knows when that will be. Which means I have to take time off work to look after her.

She is seeing a specialist on Monday (we are fortunate that we can pay) so will take it from there. Just wish I knew what to do to help her.

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