Teenagers, You just gotta love them

Not you alone! I did it as a teenager....now my kids have started. What goes around comes around, I guess,...lol I hear that from both of them ....and now I understand how my parents felt. They talked themselves hoarse trying to clear the air....and then they reverted to silence. I think I should be taking that stand too.

Its is in my house too but I have a daycare full of three year olds that are already trying these lines. Their favorite right now is "I didn't make the mess" which is usually not at all true. I also get "Oh man" every time I ask them to clean up, thanks to a 6 year old we had with us a while back. Oh the things they learn the quickest. Good luck with your sanity LOL.

Do you live with them or do they live with you. That makes a difference with how you can handle them. I raised my son, he is on his own. Took awhile for that too, he had to come back a few times. I now have my step daughter and her teenage daughter living with me. off and on the other two kids come too. I call them house apes. This was supposed to be a very temporary arrangement. Temporary has done worn off months ago. I'm ready to go "postal". I have had to deal with so much crap its unreal. I told my granddaughter the other day that, "although I love you dearly, I do not like you". She has been told repeatedly not to make long distance phone calls. She does whatever she wants too, no respect. I had to take long distance off my phone. I opened up my phone bill the other day. For 18 days before I cancelled long distance, she made 144 long distance calls. See why I say I am ready to go postal and why I do not like her and why I call them house apes. I just don't understand how people can do that, specially when you take them in your home when they have no place else to go. Thats my rant for the day. Good luck with them teenagers.

Oh yea, I know them. Of course my responses are. 1. Because I told you to. 2. Your right , It's my turn & my chore is to punish you. Would you like to skip my turn? 3. She just finished her chores. Now YOU do yours. 4. Then your experienced at it. Get it done. Of course the latest thing is "So!" I told my daughter the next time she says "So" I'm going to add "your going to do ( insert # ) of pushups to make up for giving us a hard time" to the end of her sentence.

Ah, you bring back memories! Memories of my sister and I doing that same spiel while my mother looked at us both like she'd like to chuck us out of the window. While both my sister and I did that, my sister more often than I, would be successful in getting out of her chores. My mom gave me some good advice. She said to prove my sister did this or didn't do that, before I did any chore, I should write down what it was, and then have my sister sign it to verify it. That way my sister couldn't lie. Because I had her signature. And it worked. We used to trade chores. But then she'd deny having done that, forcing me to do both of our chores. Using the contract method stopped that.

I have to tell you that it definitely isn't just your family. Reading this discussion took me back to the time when I was a teenager and all of those things sound all to familiar to me. Now, I've got an eight year old daughter of my own and I know that it is going to be terrible when she is a teenager because she is already starting to show signs of doing those kinds of things already. She was the first child and first grandchild on both sides so I think that she believes that she really can get away with anything.

O M G ! Three teenage girls? I have one preteen at our house and she is so crabby and all, I can't imagine three.. We love her so much, but hoping she evens put when she begins her menses! Yet I remember all too well, how lo n g my daughter thought I was an idiot.. (That was after I was the koolest mom ever when she was younger cause her friends could hang out here).

A big heck yes! I have a 16 year old daughter. I chose my battles and pray pray pray

we had certain chores that were ours alone, so there was none of that "I did it last" or "its not my turn". I loaded the dishwasher and washed the hand washing dishes. My sister unloaded it, set the table and made the salad. I don't remember what my brother's chores were, but I do remember he had to mow the yard, something he was always trying to get out of. Besides that, we had to take care of our own rooms. Did I learn anything? Well, I can load a dishwasher better than anyone I know!

I think it's everybody's family! I remember saying those things myself and I actually thought I did do it last and I was just being picked on! Then my own boys went through that and it drove me nearly crazy. I'll bet teens all over the world are just like that!

Hi dee, I too find teenagers a lot of fun to be with, though a bit annoying because of their irrational behavior. But that is to be expected.I have had very little problem with my 3 children since they were balanced.We did have our ups and downs but nothing serious....and thankfully we have become the best of friends now . They share everything with me and vice versa . I too have had experiences like o your where work or doing a chore is concerned, they try to pass it on to the other and finally I end up doing everything lol...

And once my niece asked her father: why does it only children receive order from parent. When can children order their parent in turn?