Teenagers v Parenthood . . . a no win situation!

By Ken Oxley on Feb 4, 09 06:16 PM

Strange isn't it, the way teenage minds work? You'd have thought I would have an idea about these things.

I was, after all, a teenager myself once upon a time. But that was long, long ago and the finer details have been lost in a fug of misty-eyed nostalgia.

It was the 70s, a decade regarded by many as belonging to the Golden Age of the Teenager. Whereas today, they have never had it so bad . . . apparently.

I'm forever reading about how our poor beleaguered teens are more stressed out and troubled than those of previous generations.

The weight of the world is on their shoulders, poor mites, a double-whammy of pushy parents and peer pressure setting them up to fail before they've even begun.

I cringe every tme I read this twaddle, because the truth is many of today's teens are spoilt brats who don't know they're born.

Back in the 70s, if you wanted something you had to save up for it. That meant finding a job - any job - and putting money away diligently every week until you'd reached your target.

Today's teens, however, just ask - and expect - a loan from Parents Plc.

Back in the 70s, it was normal for teenagers to help out around the house with chores. There would be no expectation of payment or reward . . . it was simply the done thing.

Today's teens regard any job foisted on them as a contract of employment, even if you're just asking them to empty the dishwasher or put their dirty clothes in the laundry basket.

A request for them to tidy their room has to be made through the proper channels, coupled with a written guarantee that they will be adequately compensated for time spent away from the Playstation.

And if you argue the point, you're just being "pathetic" . . . or "sad". Regale them with stories about your teenage years and how you were expected to chip in and that's just, "so random".

Household jobs - even five minute ones - can always be put off. Promising to do them "later" should be enough to settle any dispute. And, no, it's not necessary to specify precisely what is meant by "later" . . . that's just you being "lame".

Someone - Mark Twain I think - once wrote: "At sixteen I thought my parents knew nothing. I was surprised at how much they'd learned by the time I was 21".

Let's hope that at some point in their twenties our teenagers realise how much smarter we've become!