I really don't like teenagers

Sometimes I just want my teenagers to go away.... and come back when they have turned into reasonable adults. But then I wonder if they would ever come back, because I'm not all that confident that they are capable of turning into reasonable adults.

Last night on the way home Steph was telling me about a girl at school (who I know quite well, and I know her parents also) who has been spreading rumours about her. My advice was to just let it go, you can't spend your entire life behaving like the girls on "Mean Girls", at some stage you have to get past this cat fighting stage, because it doesn't solve anything. Of course she went on to justify her behaviour, telling me all the reasons she should retaliate, and that she is of course right.

After listening for a while and trying to reason with her I'm afraid I lost my cool. What I meant to say was that getting involved in altercations with girls like this is not a good idea. Stephanie always loses. She is just not that good at being a "you know what" and in the end she is always the one who gets hurt. That's not quite how it came out. What I actually said was "Grow up and get over it, I'm sick and tired of this rubbish, you always lose, get hurt and then look to me to pick up the pieces"

That was yesterday afternoon. She still hasn't spoken to me.

My first instinct was to apologise, but having given it some thought I've decided not to. She knows I love her, but at some point she needs to start taking responsibilty for her decisions and not expect me to fix everything for her. And I really am sick of it. That's the first time I've ever pointed out to her how her behaviour effects me, and I think (well, to be honest, Kym pointed this out) it's about time she heard it.

The other teenager in my house has turned into a sullen, obnoxious, smelly beast. I do take some comfort in the feedback I'm getting from other people. His school bus driver stopped me in the street the other day to tell me what a lovely, polite young man he is. My first instinct was to check that we were talking about the same person! But it is nice to know that he is being pleasant in public, if not to his family.

In a few years they will be gone... and then I will blog complaining about that!

Dear Lord, please watch over Steph and Scott today. Please help Steph to move on from this stage in her life, to learn to settle disputes amicably without being so confrontational. Please help her to learn to forgive, and to not hold a grudge. Please watch over Scott while he is at school today. Help him to learn, listen and enjoy his studies. Also watch over Steph as she has her second day of work placement for her traineeship. Pray that she can forget about her issues and enjoy the day, and start taking those steps toward being a mature young woman.