Sitting at the orthodontist, sad to see the demeanor of two teens toward their mother. Some of the phrases and tones sound similar but the overall attitude is disappointing.
If only I could have seen things this way when I was a teen. Both of these teens are in braces which is likely a huge sacrifice for the parents. Of course, my twenty minutes in their presence will never give an accurate account of their lives. I am just expressing my feelings about what I saw.
It makes me chuckle because one of my teens said last night “I am so tired of the negative presentation of teenagers in movies.” The movie was ridiculously dumb and I would be embarrassed to say we watched it! The teen boy was angry at his dad for moving the family and would mainly just grunt instead of speaking. It bothers her, because she is nothing like that!
At times, the typical team rears it’s ugly head, but the one time I was overwhelmed with it I told my daughter. She honestly couldn’t see it – she was unaware of the way she was presenting herself and quickly changed her attitude. I think this “typical teen” stereotype is a cop out.
Don’t get me wrong though – we are a normal family. We have plenty of run ins,eye rolls,deep sighs and angry shoulders. I don’t have answers to most things that come up in life but I have learned that even if I don’t understand something – open communication helps anyway!