Having Teens Is Like having bad roomies

[Homicidalheathen]

They eat your food, take your stuff without asking.....make messes and you get to clean it up. And you have no recoarse....it's like bad room mates that don't go away.

[Head Wreck]

untill they move out and become roomates to some other unsuspecting victim/doormat/schmuk

yours.

HW

the official teenager of the williams houeshold

[The_Dark]

I like having my teen boys around. Sometimes, I need something heavy moved and I dont feel like lifting it. Other times.. well, I need a cup of coffee and walking to the kitchen is too much work.

[Neptunebaby]

I have a fifteen year old son. There's never a dull moment. He's a long-haired skater punk (or.. sk8tr punk -- as he would type it) ... but I love him just the same. I wonder what my seven year old will be like at that age.

[gothicmom]

I like having my teen boys around. Sometimes, I need something heavy moved and I dont feel like lifting it. Other times.. well, I need a cup of coffee and walking to the kitchen is too much work.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

LOL :laughing agreed!!!

[xorderofchaosx]

LOL :laughing agreed!!!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

yeah we teenagers are mostly a seemingly ungrateful bunch, but without the equally crazy parents we have to put up with us, we wouldn't do very well...if it weren't for my mom buying my food and smokes, id be so fucked haha

[Brenda Starrr]

I don't even want to think about my kids becoming teens...

[Onyx]

They eat your food, take your stuff without asking.....make messes and you get to clean it up.  And you have no recoarse....it's like bad room mates that don't go away.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I find taking away internet access causes an instant attitude adjustment. :grin

I've been getting tougher on my teen in getting her to clean up after herself. Sometimes it's more work than just doing it myself, but she's gotta learn somehow. I only expect a little help and it's only fair that she clean up her own messes and do a few chores. I did a lot to help out when I was her age.

[Homicidalheathen]

Yah I was like that 'till I lost my job and both of my kids got their first. I do love them. They are damn good kids. I shouldn't complain.

I find taking away internet access causes an instant attitude adjustment.  :grin

I've been getting tougher on my teen in getting her to clean up after herself.  Sometimes it's more work than just doing it myself, but she's gotta learn somehow.  I only expect a little help and it's only fair that she clean up her own messes and do a few chores.  I did a lot to help out when I was her age.

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[Scary Guy]

They eat your food, take your stuff without asking.....make messes and you get to clean it up.  And you have no recoarse....it's like bad room mates that don't go away.

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Heh, yeah and they grow up and become 20 something room mates, who blast their crazy industrial music during all hours of the night. :woot:

[ManicQueen]

My soon to be 12-year old might as well be 16.. she acts like it. She's becoming uncontrolable *until I put the smack down, down* Bitchy little mouth she has.. GAWD!

[Homicidalheathen]

Just nice to know we are appreciated. Your a cool kid.

yeah we teenagers are mostly a seemingly ungrateful bunch, but without the equally crazy parents we have to put up with us, we wouldn't do very well...if it weren't for my mom buying my food and smokes, id be so fucked haha

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[Homicidalheathen]

You look 16 and have a 12 yr old????

My soon to be 12-year old might as well be 16.. she acts like it. She's becoming uncontrolable *until I put the smack down, down* Bitchy little mouth she has.. GAWD!

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[Scary Guy]

You look 16 and have a 12 yr old????

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Yeah WTF is up with that, I knew you had a kid but not THAT old.

[Lilith]

When i was a teenager i was not allowed to do a damn thing till the entire house was clean. This meant i did a touch up on every room but my moms every day. Then once a week her and i would do the big clean, scrub the tub and toilet, mop, vacuum everything, dust, empty all trash cans etc....... I even did all the laundry every week and i folded it all and put i all away even my moms stuff.

In the summer i had to mow the lawn once a week, and sometimes my grannies lawn too, i was also responsible for driving my granny around when she needed it, if i did not do it i would not get my gas $ or $ for insurance.

In the winter i removed the snow with a shovel we had no snow blower.

I also went to school full time, had a part time job, and at some point my mom got cancer so i had to care for her the entire house and drive her to all the extra appointments and i helped with grocery shopping.

I also did allot of my own cooking, she would never allow me to make a meal she was going to eat but i did do allot of cooking for myself.

I bought my own smokes, i paid for my own car repairs, my own cloths, beauty products and my mom never gave me $ for entertainment, i paid for all of that my self.

Hell i was 16 years old and i had to paint my moms entire house to get my first car, i painted 5 rooms, and one stair well top to bottom including ceilings, I did all the prep/clean up all by myself.

I did all that on top of getting her "coffee" and lifting all the heavy stuff.

When i was 17 i got prego and i still did all of the above and have more or less ever since at time I have had to do more.

The law only requires they are fed properly, have a roof over there head, have cloths on there bodies, receive proper medical attention, go to school and proper guidence/disipline.

All they need to eat is meat, veggies/fruit, grains, and dairy, and water, they don’t need candy n chips and pop.

There cloths don’t have to be bought at the mall, they have perfectly fine cloths at the Salvation Army, and you don’t have to let them pick the cloths out either.

The roof over there head does not have to be anything special, other then it be safe, they don’t need to have rooms with everything in them, all they need is a bed and a place to store there cloths and school books

You don’t have to provide smokes; actually it is illegal to provide smokes to any one under 18.

You don’t have to pay for soccer, cheerleading, football or what ever else they want to do.

You don’t have to give them spending money while they are out with there friends and you surely don’t have to drive them and there friends any place, they have feet.

You are not required to let them watch tv or go on the internet (unless it is for school) or have every game system known to man.

All the extras we give out kids are privileges and well what happens when an adult abuses a privilege, they suffer and get it taken away, and well teenagers are not under some invisible shield they too can suffer with out the privileges if they can abide by the rule set by the parents. Sometimes a reminder of this helps, I know I was reminded about the money I did get and well it straightened my ass out with in a few hours.

Yes it is sometimes harder to be tough and stick to your guns then it is to give in but honestly when you give in what are you really teaching your kids? To give up and not stand for what is right, are they learning to be an upstanding hard working productive part of society.

They are not learning to work for what they want, all they learn is to ask mom n dad for it and that mom and dad will give in and fork it over. ( I have heard my 10 year old’s friends say “just keep bugging your mom she will give in mine always does”)

No i don’t have teenagers yet , but i was one once and i am now an adult who does not ask mom and dad for hand outs( i have asked for a loan in emergency situations and i always offer work or a repayment), i work my ass off weather it be at home or on the job, no i don’t always make it but i am not afraid to try and i am not afraid to do the hard jobs to get my stuff taken care of, i loose hope but in the end i always work my ass off to meat my mark.

I also married a man who was handed everything, hell his parents gave him 3 freakin cars before he was 18 and he totalled all of them, and i have spent 8 years reteaching him in a way, he will admit it too, if his parents had made him work for the things he had gotten when he was a teen/kid he would have had allot easier start to his adult hood and not been blown away by responsibility, (OMG YOU MEAN I HAVE TO WORK!). Perhaps he would have been better prepared to deal with tough times too.

Yes every kid is different and i could see where implementing allot of SMACK down all of a sudden could cause more problems then you already have, and i am by no means suggesting that any one else be required to do all of the stuff i had to do, but you have power, and recourse, you are the one with the $ and the knowledge and life experiences. Don’t let your kids walk all over you, they are not your roommates they are your kids and you are the parent.

That’s all for this edition of “Lilith’s Soap Box” and as always this is never directed at any one person or even a group of people, everything above is just my own thoughts and rambles. They are subject to change as I grow and learn.

Lilith

[Onyx]

YES Lilith!!!

Those are excellent points.

I have tended to spoil my kids in the past but had a big wakeup call when someone close to me pointed it out. It's really not doing them a favor when they don't learn to work for what they want.

[Fierce Critter]

I fully agree with Lilith.

Kids these days are way too coddled.

My parents took good care of me, my sisters & brother. We didn't have as much as my friends did, but we grew up happy, smart, & healthy.

On the flip side, I cringe at people who seemingly had little "slaves" instead of children. I understand chores & responsibilities. But I've seen a lot of people who make their kids do EVERYTHING.

Either way, I'll stick to FURchildren any day! :grin

[Dollardave]

Kids can drive u nuts. I can see why you're experiencing anxiety from kids.