Typical teenager or not?!

[Sleepingbunny1]

So i have a 13 DS who i dont know if its a typical teenager or just a little sod.

I understand that at this time emotions can run wild etc, but he constantly is angry and rude and pretty much entitled.

He has a little paper round job, which this morning he quit as he cant be bothered any more- super easy job and easy money, so thats done.

He is just constantly rude, back chatting- calling us mugs and when we try to talk Shhhh-ing us and telling us to shut up etc.

I struggle to believe this is normal teenager behaviour.

That's not common to all teenagers, no. It's extremely rude and disrespectful. Do you sanction him when he behaves like this?

No, that level of rudeness is not usual. But just to say a paper round isn't that easy. I used to help my teens with theirs and it was surprisingly difficult to get it done. Unless his was a few houses with only one paper each.

Being rude, angry and entitled is really normal - you could almost say a milestone because it’s so normal for the teenage brain - but the way you say it, it’s a lot of the time which isn’t normal.

He sounds really unhappy 😞

Have you read Phillipa Perry’s book? There was a good piece about it in The Guardian when it came out:

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/jul/10/the-book-you-wish-your-parents-had-read-philippa-perry-review

He gets a bit of help with his round in which my DH drives him around some of the time.

Things aren't always easy as he has an autistic sister which is pretty difficult, but we have always tried hard to support him all of the time and support the various other activities he does, i just don't know how to support him if im honest and feel like i am failing as a parent.

He gets sanctioned- take away his phone and xbox etc and we say for 48 hours and review if his behaviour improves, its just im lost in knowing what to do for the best anymore, and i feel so down about it all

He has a sister with complex needs. That’s one thing that’s going on for him. What else does the world look like from his eyes? 👀

You’ve done the right thing looking for help - that makes you a good (thoughtful, conscientious) parent, not a bad one.

Is he getting enough sleep? My teen is at his worst when he's tired.

No not normal, I’m on my third teenager now. We’ve never had anything like that level of rudeness in our house.