What have you done to ruin your teenager's summer so far?

[NotDarkGothicMama]

I have:

• Woken DS up "too fast" to unload the dishwasher when I got home from work at 7pm.
• Locked down DD's phone after 3 hours of asking her to put away the vast array of dirty crockery, nail art supplies and dirty socks decorating the sofa.
• Booked a holiday in accommodation without a swimming pool.
• Arranged to take DS and DD on a work trip abroad with me.
• Refused to exclude DD from said work trip at DS's request.

How have you ruined your teenager's summer?

Ahhh yes, the body building diet 🙄 DS1 once threw a teenage strop because I refused to weigh a chicken breast after cooking it to calculate the protein content so he could add it to his daily total intake. I told him if he wished to weigh a cooked chicken breast he was welcome to do so, and pointed him in the direction of the scales. This was akin to neglect apparently.

DD (17) appeared at lunchtime on Monday to say she was in a bad mood because I’d disturbed her with my vacuuming. In fact, I hadn’t done any vacuuming, after asking her at the crack of dawn (10.30am) if it was too early. They were doing some tree cutting in the nearby block of flats.

You monster.

My husband woke our son up for school this morning. Luckily he is only 13 and saw the funny side.

Booked a city break

How dare you earn money to buy them things!! What were you thinking?

Ha! These are almost exactly my crimes.

Particularly not answering the phone quickly enough to give money.

I’ve also ruined DS’s summer for suggesting he read the school book he’s meant to be reading and making him put his football boots away (he’s now got three weeks off training and my hall is size of a postage stamp).

but then he made me a cup of tea unprompted so I love him really 🫣

I don't even know what to do with this slice of evil.

I'd be paying for years of therapy for all of us.

Woke him up on time to get to a sport club he wanted to do, then made him walk to said club as I was working.

Said hi to his friend.

Haha some of these are really bloody funny!
tbh I had an operation on Monday, first day of ds school holidays and he’s been an absolute diamond, dh and older adult dc have also been about and rallying, keeping each other entertained and keeping me loaded up with pain relief and snacks. Ds is 14, he’s been coming to lay down with me and watch telly, asking me if I’m hungry and unloaded the dishwasher this morning without being asked! He’s clearly shocked that I’m quite immobile as I’m never usually in bed all day!! Still, when I’m up on my feet again there will be plenty of opportunities for me to cause trauma I’m sure 😂

I made a salad for dinner

I refused to pick him up from his girlfriend's house (a miles walk) at 9pm when his younger 2 siblings were sleeping (single mum so can't leave kids alone). His excuse was he couldn't walk as his legs hurt from sports day the day before. Although he did walk there by himself earlier in the day, he is also 15 and a keen sportsman and is very fit!

Ah - the unprompted cup of tea. Makes it all worthwhile, doesn't it?!😂

I too ruined one of my sons days by waking him up at 6am as he requested the night before so he could leave on time to travel abroad with his friend.

I'm not sure if be too happy about being taken on a work trip or accomodation without a pool either (if it's a hot destination).

Ruined ds life because he asked to go camping with friends, I said okay but the location must not be near water (there have a been a few fatal drownings of young people near us this summer). They chose next to a reservoir, I said absolutely no way, so they changed location to next to a Loch, nope, not happening. I'm the worst mother EVER!

I once ruined dds life by saying hello to her friends mum while walking out of the pound shop

Life as she knew it was never going to be the same

Not only had I been in the pound shop ('cheap as fuck') but how dare I say hello to her friends mum (who was walking in-that was fine)

Soon changed her tune when she had to start buying her own bits and bobs

I once ruined ds's life by owing him 15p

It was like living with a bailiff-I managed to get some change together and he wanted interest!

I ruined his life by not giving him a pound!

He was 8/9 at the time

PMSL at all of these! Especially saying hi to a friend. That’s unforgivable!
Mine are washing and putting away DD’s clothes after she came back from PGL.

Apparently she can’t find anything unless it’s on her floor!

I also didn’t manage to buy ice lollies before the heat wave. They both declared this to be “outrageous!”

The simple fact of my existence

Asked DS to put together a revision schedule, seeing his mocks were dire. Never mind about doing some actual revision 🙄

Asked DD to put away her clean laundry that’s been gathering dust in her room for nearly a week now.

I asked them if they wanted to come on this work trip and they said yes. I've booked a hotel with a pool so will do touristy things together over the weekend and will then leave them to chill out while I go to the office. Which is exactly what they'd be doing at home, but with a pool.

The holiday accommodation is next to a beautiful, crystal-clear lake in the Alps, which is open for swimming. DD is outraged that she's expected to swim in a dirty old lake. And where will she get her piña coladas?! The injustice of it.

I still remember the week when then-teenage ds3 tidied his room unprompted, did his homework without being nagged, and gave me a unsolicited hug!. I nearly fainted.

fair enough, sounds nice, they don't even know they are born 🤣

Booked the show he really really wants to see (as a Christmas present) for the matinee on his 18th birthday. I thought he could still do something in the evening if he wanted. NB he's not at all sociable so wouldn't be at the pub or anything. Apparently it's a ridiculous time of day and nowhere near any good restaurants (ok, central London is known as a culinary waste land- silly me).