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Teenagers

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

DD and DH don't get along

76 replies

BrightRedLipstick · 28/01/2023 14:22

Looking for some advice as am fed up of the mood in the house.
Not sure if this a post for the teenagers or relationship board
DD is 15 and a typical moody teenager.
She also has some issues with body image due to being overweight and is seeking counselling.
It's also GCSE year so she is extra stressed and grumpy. We hardly get a word out of her most days and is forever holed up in her room except for meals.
I find her behaviour hard but try and not take it personally hoping this is a phase.
She is normally not rude but her body language can be rude and this causes a lot of tension between DH and her.
She doesn't do a single chore but seems to manage her own washing and her messy room.
We are a boring family too.
Kids have clubs most days including weekends and school holidays are the only times we manage some things as a family which are increasingly becoming harder as DD doesn't want to join.

Things are increasingly getting difficult between DD and DH and I am caught in the middle.
She isn't as rude to me as she is to him but then my expectations of her are low which annoys DH.
She hardly talks in the car anymore and I let it slide as maybe she is tired or doesn't feel like it.
Today, DH was furious she wouldn't respond to conversation when giving her a lift back.
To be fair to her, he is very out of touch with the kids and is struggling with the teen phase. He doesn't make an effort to try and connect with her.
And to be fair to him, she isn't easy either. She has no hobbies or interests over which they can bond, refuses most invitations when asked out by us and generally wants to stay in her room alone.

I feel sorry for everyone and also helpless.
But I guess DH being an adult needs to find a way to get through and cannot lumber it on me?
Just fed up. Weekends are so awful:-(

OP posts:
Teenagehorrorbag · 06/02/2023 00:18

Not sure I agree that this is normal or acceptable behaviour. Yes - lots of teens are 'Kevins' but that doesn't mean we should allow them to be so rude. DS(14) can be very uncommunicative when I collect him after school clubs - I often say 'you're quiet, are you OK?' and he might say, 'yeah just tired'. Which is my cue to leave him alone for a bit. He'll come home and disappear to his room to do stuff on a screen for an hour or two, then he's fine. I let him because I know he needs that down time - although if he needs to be elsewhere or doing something he gets chivvied out of it.

But there's no excuse for blanking a parent or being rude. Maybe sit them down together and discuss good manners and basic expectations. She needs to be polite and respectful, he needs to allow her to have some quiet time if she asks nicely.

I'd also be slightly worried in case she is struggling in other ways. You say she has no hobbies or interests. What is she doing in her room? Is she just revising? Or chatting to friends or gaming? Or glued to old episodes of Dr Who (my DD)? All those things are normal enough - if not physically very healthy - but just lying on her bed could be more of a concern......

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