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Teenagers

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

Do I just need to stop caring and let DS 17 get on and do nothing?

16 replies

Blewitt · 22/02/2023 12:50

I am so exhausted with the emotional toll of parenting teens. DD 19 is doing ok, just got back from uni as restarting in Sept but plenty of ambition and plans, had fair share of mental health issues with her but seem to be out the other side. DS17 is ticking every box for being a teen, I feel like he needs constant input and support. He has ADHD which means he does need more help and that's fine but he just does so little to help himself. He is not depressed, he is not anxious, he is actually quite happy with things as they are. He attends college, reasonable attendance score although skives off quite a bit, but should come out with a BTEC if carries on as he is. Outside of this he basically lies in bed. He eats too much. He is gaining weight but doesn't care. He is still growing but it's slow growth, not shooting up or anything and the fact he is gaining weight (is now overweight) suggests he isn't needing the extra calories. His appetite is affected by his meds but he only has them on college days, he eats so much at weekends and at night, buys himself rubbish, generally not too much "bad " stuff at home (he buys that himself), just lots of food - pasta, eggs, sandwiches, cereal. He does no activity / sport, a year ago was really into rugby but didn't go back this season. One thing he enjoys is being in a band but this only takes up a couple of evenings a month at the moment. He has a part time job, meant to do two shifts a week. Today he called in sick, despite me saying he was not to, as he is "too tired" to go. I am really cross with him for cancelling, how can he be too tired to work, when he does barely anything outside of college. He has no idea what he wants to do in the future and has no drive to do anything. He does go out with friends at weekends. Vapes, smokes, drinks. All the usual. That's what all the money he earns goes on, we no longer supplement it with "pocket money" due to it just being spent on his vices. He saves nothing and never has spare to buy things like clothes / shoes. This partly due to ADHD and I try to encourage saving but he just can't seem to do it. I am constantly trying to be supportive to him and encourage him and talk about healthy lifestyle etc. I rarely get cross, we have a really good relationship and he is honest with me. I do everything I can to help him keep his job as I feel it is really important for him to do this but wonder at what point I just have to let him get on and be who he wants to be right now, "it's my life" but it is just so hard to watch him doing so little.

OP posts:
musicalgymball · 22/02/2023 12:51

Charge him rent.

C4ou56 · 22/02/2023 12:53

ADHD is a mental health disability. ADHD acauses extreme fatique. It also sounds like when his meds wear of or when he hasn’t taken them, so evenings and weekends, he can’t control his impulses hence the binge eating.

It looks like a med review is needed

junipermerry · 22/02/2023 12:58

I am no expert but sounds like this is down to his ADHD. My daughter is very similar. She finds it very hard to motivate herself to do much unless she is super -interested in it (most things dont fall into that category unfortunately).

Justforlaffs · 22/02/2023 13:06

I think it’s wrong to expect a 17yo to buy essentials like clothes/shoes from their (presumably very small) wages. Dd17 has a weekend job paying between £50-100 pw and we do encourage her to save some of it but also she uses it for things like makeup/tickets to gigs. If she wanted something particularly expensive clothes-wise we’d make her put half towards. We also still give her a small weekly allowance.

But IMO at 17 they’re still a minor and still in education and basics like clothing should be paid for by parents.

I understand the frustration around the laziness/eating lots of food - I have two older ones who were the same and all I can say it’s it’s pretty typical teen behaviour (especially from boys) and they eventually grew out of it.

At least your ds has a job, is studying and has a hobby. The ringing in sick when there’s nothing wrong I would be on his case about.

Justforlaffs · 22/02/2023 13:07

musicalgymball · 22/02/2023 12:51

Charge him rent.

Seriously? He’s 17?! A student.

This is terrible advice.

Blewitt · 22/02/2023 13:08

We had a very recent meds review. He is on maximum dose and has been for a couple of years. When in the system he eats nothing. So weekday evenings I expect extra eating. But at weekends none on board so should eat more normally but doesn't, you are probably right that it is the impulsivity that pushes him to eat more.

OP posts:
Blewitt · 22/02/2023 13:10

@Justforlaffs sorry that wasn't clear, we buy all basics like clothes and shoes, toiletries. He just never saves to buy anything special. He keeps saying he wants to go to a festival in the summer for example but not even managed to save £10 since he started his job in November. I think this is predominantly ADHD which is why I try so hard to help him save.

OP posts:
Girliefriendlikespuppies · 22/02/2023 13:34

He sounds like a normal teen, there's lots of time to make 'healthy choices' when he's an adult...

He goes to college, has friends, a pt job, has a hobby (band) and has a disability. I'm not sure what more you want tbh 🤷‍♀️

Swimswam · 22/02/2023 13:43

Would he consider (it isn’t cheap) an executive functioning coach?
Someone outside school to help build executive functioning skills and make plans for the future eg saving money

Blewitt · 22/02/2023 14:04

@Girliefriendlikespuppies I agree, he ticks all the boxes for "normal" teen, the book was written about him right now, I just find I am mentally exhausted supporting it non stop and trying to fight his natural inclinations so he doesn't literally just lie in bed all the time and does get something out of these years. He wouldn't get up for college if we weren't on the case for a continuous 20 minutes every single morning, he would miss lots more college lessons if he wasn't answerable to me and the threat of driving practice being stopped if attendance isn't good, he wouldn't have a job because he would have missed so many shifts if he had it his way they would have fired him, and so on. It's a constant effort on my part to get him to where he is currently at and I don't know whether I need to keep on plugging away which is definitely taking it's toll on me, or give in to him and let him just fester for a bit and lose his job, get into trouble with college. See if that leads him take a bit of personal responsibility so it is not all down to me pushing him on each day to ensure he is not failing. It is always a tricky balance between supporting his ADHD and the implications of that but also enabling him to get used to how the real world works and what is going to be expected of him one day.

OP posts:
Blewitt · 22/02/2023 14:05

@Swimswam he did some sessions with an ADHD coach recently, he engaged well but I don't think has managed to put much into practice. Maybe it would help to try again.

OP posts:
TheFretfulPorpentine · 22/02/2023 14:06

He will probably buck his ideas up when he finds a girlfriend/boyfriend.

CherriesSpring · 22/02/2023 14:16

I think if he is having reasonable attendance at college, and being in a band, then let him off a bit to be honest. I have a DS with ADHD and their self esteem can be rock bottom sometimes from the constant effort of life really.

Tackle this from another angle. Pay him specific compliments whenever he does something Iike make it to college. I had no idea how much my DS needed me to ‘be in his corner’ so to speak, until I started praising what he WAS doing, not constantly going on about what he couldn’t.

Then pick things wisely, don’t let him eat stuff in the house by making it hard to have snacks around. Hide them! Try and get him to see himself as a person who can take pride in himself, tell him he looks good on a day that he makes effort etc. Slow change… plant the seeds… be the parent who bigs him up.

Swimswam · 22/02/2023 14:18

My DC is using a coach. We were told a minimum of 6 months is needed to see any meaningful change. I have two ND DC. I know how you feel. Keeping all my jobs in my head and theirs as well. It’s exhausting.

Blewitt · 22/02/2023 14:29

@TheFretfulPorpentine I think you are probably right!
@CherriesSpring , yes, this is good advice, I am feeling particularly down on him today as he cancelled that shift and has now called me all chatty and definitely not "tired". Just be so nice if he Wanted to earn and save and all that. It can all feel quite negative at times.

OP posts:
CherriesSpring · 22/02/2023 14:34

I do understand, my DS could spend 36 hours in bed! Forgets everything, all of the time. Late, all of the time. Forgets to eat, to drink. Barely made it to college. Nearly kicked off lots of times.

But it was quite a revelation to me when I realized how ‘internalised’ his feelings of being rubbish were. I guess it would be make sense, you are always late, forgetting stuff, sleeping loads, often lazy yes, makes you feel bad about yourself. When I started to praise him more, honestly he bloomed. Helped so much.

All that scattered stuff is still there, drives me a little crazy, well sometimes really crazy as I’m picking up the pieces a lot. But he is getting there, he will always be a bit like this. And I don’t just praise, sometimes I do have to say ‘come on DS’ but he’s happy. I let a lot of things go, life is now teaching him lessons about lateness (jobs are great for this - nothing like real experience).

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