13 Family Stories That Prove Teenagers Need Even More Attention Than Babies

Many parents claim that it’s difficult only with infants, and when they grow up, it becomes easier. This is partly true: at least they become independent and parents have time for themselves. But as they grow up, other things come up, like teenage rebellion, for example. And parents have to get used to the idea that their offspring is no longer a child, but a separate, self-sufficient person.

• I have 2 adult daughters, and I’m embarrassed to say this, but I love one of them more than the other. You can throw stones at me, but it’s impossible to love someone who constantly pushes you away.
  My elder daughter was a long-awaited child, but since she was a baby she has never been affectionate, she is cruel and mean. We tried to be friends with her, tried to evoke empathy and tenderness in our daughter, but that’s just the way she is. At the age of 18, she literally ran away from us, went to study in another city.
  She calls once in 3 months, comes once a year for the birthday of her grandmother, who she loves. But she apparently doesn’t love me and my husband. And I love her. But much less than the younger daughter, who is affectionate and kind. © Ward #6 / VK
• I always wanted to learn to do pull-ups, but lacked motivation. Now I have a teenage daughter. It’s hard with her, but I love her very much and try to stay calm.
  So when my patience runs out and our dialog becomes non-constructive, I do pull-ups (we installed a doorway bar for this purpose) and drink a glass of water. Steam comes out, and I am ready for dialogue again. Gradually reducing the load of expanders, I’ve learned to pull up without them. © Overheard / Ideer
• My older sister limits her son’s computer time. Every evening, when he sits down at the computer, she controls the time and doesn’t allow him to sit longer than 11 p.m. Around 10:30, she starts reminding him that it’s time to go to bed.
  And once, my parents and sister were invited to someone’s anniversary party, and I stayed with my nephew. We had dinner, and after that we both were busy with our own thing. Around 10:40 p.m. my nephew asked, “Why don’t you remind me it’s bedtime?” I said, “I’m not your mother, you’re 12, you’ll figure it out on your own.”
  And he replied, “Oh, yeah? You don’t care about me, and you don’t care about my eyesight (apparently, my sister was pestering him that he was going to ruin his eyesight), I’m still a teenager!” With those words, he made his bed and went to sleep. What was that? © Spiteful1990 / Pikabu

• I was in the subway and witnessed a conversation between a mother and her daughter, a teenage girl about 12–13 years old. Her mother said, “We need to buy you a phone for school, because you drowned yours in the camp. What phone do you want?” The girl replied, “I want a Samsung like Paul’s.”
  Her mother objected, “Let’s buy you something more expensive, because at school all the girls have iPhones, and you’ll have this cheap phone.” And the girl replied, “Mom, why would I need an iPhone at school? Someone can steal it, or I’ll be constantly afraid that someone will steal it. Let’s better save this money for Grandma’s dental treatment.”
  I couldn’t hear them anymore. But it felt like I was in a parallel universe. © Trapezium / Pikabu
• I’d like to share a life hack for the couples with teenage children. We have 2 teenagers who always fight with each other. But we have a country house which is 15 minutes away from our house. And when these 2 start bugging me and my husband, we just leave for the country house. And the kids stay at home with a fridge full of food (it happens on weekends when they don’t need to go to school).
  No, we’re not running away from them. We always invite them with us, but they won’t go because the Internet connection in the country house is very weak. And an evening without children helps me and my husband keep our sanity. We eat goodies that no one takes away and watch movies. And the kids do better without parental care than they do with us: they cook and clean, as long as they have the Internet. © #goodmotherhood / VK

• I didn’t forbid anything to my sons when they were kids, their actions were their own responsibility. As a result, their rebellion period was very short, and at the age of 25, they became boring and rational family men.
  On Sunday, I call one of them and say, “Let’s go swimming and have a barbeque party.” And he answers, “My wife and I plan to clean the house and go to the supermarket.” I ask the other son about where he’s going to spend his vacation, and he says that he’ll stay at home to install the flooring.
  Oh, God!! Is it only me who can ride a bicycle at night at 52? © doovy / Pikabu
• Recently, our teenage son brought a girl home. Blue hair, nose piercing, tattoo of a spider behind her ear. My husband became immediately nervous, but I welcomed the young people, baked a cake for them and gave them money for the movies and snacks.
  After they left, my husband began to criticize our son’s choice. And I took out our old school album and showed him my own photos when I was their age. Green hair (I dyed it with brilliant green and shampoo), piercings in the nose, 6 earrings in each ear. But I grew up, changed the hair color, removed the piercing.
  Now I work as a pediatrician, don’t have bad habits. When we are young, we look for our place in this world, we rebel and make mistakes. I will never allow a person to be stigmatized just because they have blue hair, for example. © Full Story / VK

• My 15-year-old daughter is friends with a 20-year-old guy. They are just friends. They met on social media because they shared common interests. She tells me, “Dad, am I stupid? Dan and I are just friends.”
  Yesterday, she went to his birthday party with a sleepover — he lives in the city, and we live in the village. I have nothing against it: I know his address, his and his parents’ phone numbers.
  And then in the evening, I got a call from his mom, “Blah-blah, Mr. Matthews, don’t worry, thank you very much that you trust our son! Lena will sleep on the sofa in the living room, don’t worry.” I thanked her, but thought to myself — the only person I trust here is my daughter. © feldkurat / Pikabu
• Yesterday, my son took me for a walk! He’s a big boy — almost 22, but he lives with us now. So, I came home late from work and really wanted to go for a walk in the evening when it wasn’t that hot outside. My husband didn’t want to, my daughter went out with her classmates, and I didn’t want to go out alone.
  Then my son came home from work. I told him, let’s go for a walk. But it turned out he’d already agreed with his friends to meet later. I was upset and said half-jokingly, “Take me with you,” and he did.
  We walked around the neighborhood, then went to eat fast food, and then they rented electric scooters, and we rode all over the neighborhood — it was my first time. I was very happy! © #motherhoodhappiness / VK

• My daughter is almost 16. Recently, she came to me with tears and said that I don’t love her, because (attention!) I control her too little and don’t forbid her anything!
  It turns out that all her friends need to go straight home after school, and I let mine go for a walk and don’t bother her with calls as long as her homework and chores are done, and she comes back by 10 p.m. Her friends’ parents choose the extracurricular activities for their children themselves, and I let her play soccer because she wanted to. But her friend’s mom said that soccer is not for girls, music is more suitable.
  I also don’t check my daughter’s phone and don’t read her social media, but all other moms do, and they know all their kids’ passwords. In general, I’m a bad mother because I give her choices and don’t control her. That’s the way it is... © Asaly / Pikabu
• My niece is 14. She recently threw a tantrum, screaming that she has an unhappy childhood. Because she can’t go out after 8 p.m., she can’t post her photos in a bra (and her friends can), she can’t use her phone at night, she is forced to go to the pool once a week.
  After that she promised that she will make her mother divorce her stepfather, and she’ll go to live with her grandmother, because there she doesn’t control her and doesn’t make her do homework. The girl is just very gullible.
  So, when her “friends” tell her that they can go out till 2 a.m., and in summer their parents let them go alone to another city, she believes them. And when you ask her — how they traveled, where they stayed at the age of 14 — she shouts, “You don’t understand anything.” © evadoll / Pikabu

• My daughter is 16 years old. Those who have dealt with teenagers know what it’s like. Every day I hear how mature she is, that she is capable of making her own decision, that she will prove everything and do everything on her own, “respect me as a person,” and things like that.
  This year, she enrolled in another school to specialize in chemistry and biology. The new class teacher is very strict, even my wife is afraid of her. She is not like the daughter’s old class teacher, who had been running around them like a mother chicken since the fifth grade.
  One day, my daughter had to call her new class teacher for some reason. And my grown-up, independent daughter, a person capable of controlling her own fate, making decisions and fighting for justice, comes up to me, hands me the phone and says, “Dad, please call Ms. Donovan. I’m afraid.”
• My teenage daughter has learned to bake pancakes. She gets up early, makes the batter, then bakes them — all by herself! They’re delicious.
  She makes them with all kinds of fillings: with berries, fruit, ham, cheese, herbs, potatoes, broccoli, chicken, cabbage, onions... In short, with whatever she can find in the fridge. Or she specifically asks in the evening to buy something in the supermarket.
  That’s all very nice, of course. But 6 extra pounds on my sides and stomach depress me. I don’t want to offend my daughter, and I don’t have the willpower to stop eating these pancakes. © Overheard / Ideer

But small kids can also make your life unforgettable. Check out these stories.