It is the beginning of a new school year. Which means what? Time to talk about attitude with the teen. I have to say the conversation twisted in ways you might not expect. Talking with a teen is never a dull experience, that is for sure. So, being the dutiful parent that I am, we sat down and our conversation went something like this:
It is the start of a new school year. That means there is a clean slate. Everything from the past two years is over, done with, in the past.
Duh.
What I am trying to say is that there are new people. I know some of your friends moved and some went on to new schools. But, you will be fine. It is a chance to make new friends. New starts.
You act like I have never been through this before.
I just think it is important to talk about this.
Whatever.
So, what if you are with a group of people and they are all worked up about something, does that mean you have to get involved with their drama?
Depends on the drama.
No. It depends on whether or not it effects you. And the mean girls? What about if they start giving you grief?
I make them cry. It’s not like they won’t deserve it.
No. Just no. You walk away and ignore them. They feed off of stuff like that. You will just make it worse.
*eyeroll*
Now listen, and this really is important. Teachers. You have to show them the respect they deserve. I mean it.
What? I am totally cool with the teachers. Teachers love me.
Do I need to remind you of the incident with the Hair Dean of last year?
No. But in my defense it was completely stupid and SHE started it.
Irrelevant. You didn’t have to take the bait and you certainly didn’t have to goad her into conversations just for your amusement to fluster her.
Yeah. But it was seriously hilarious.
Not. The. Point. I just want it to be a good year for you. Last year was tough. I know it was tough for all of us, but you seemed to have a bit of a chip on your shoulder. I just want it to be good this year. For everyone.
Okay. Okay. I get it. Can I go now?
Hang on. One final thing. I know you want to get involved and enjoy this year, but you need to remember not to overcommit yourself. You have to have time to relax and not be so stressed about school stuff.
I know.
And if you find yourself overwhelmed and stressed out? Then what?
I ask for help.
There is no shame in asking for help.
Jeez! I know all this. Come on! I want to go play WoW. Can I go now? *eyeroll*
Yes. I think it was good for us to have this talk. But remember, Mom, it is all about your attitude. Keep it in check, okay?
Fine. Now go do your homework. I have a raid tonight.
—
Teens these days! They can be such a pain in the ass sometimes with their “you should have a better attitude” speeches. *eyeroll*
Whatever!
Ha! Good thing I’ve got another 12+ years to steel myself up for these experiences (and you to prepare me for them!)
My 12 year old gave my wife and I pretty much the same talk. Though I tend to be the one who unloads on the stupid people of the world more so than her Mother. I just haven’t learned tongue control.
Namaste.
Great post, but I have to admit that I’m NOT looking forward to that.
I know! Teenagers are soooo naggy, eh? Mine is always on me about the volume at which I play my music. Then she wants me to change my geeky clothes. And the other day? We had a long lecture about the amount of time I spend on the internet, especially Facebook. What? Now I can’t even talk to my friends? God, I can’t wait until she’s 20 and I can move out and do things my OWN WAY!
Yea. 15-year-old boy. Going to be a junior. The eye-rolling thing? Lots.Of.Practice.
Last week, he accused me of being weird because I wanted to talk about school 2 weeks before it started.
I just figured it was going to take that long to have the conversation in the bits and pieces I’d be able to lure him away from the damn computer.
I started wondering about the perspective when the Hair Dean argument came up. Okay, Mom, you have your attitude all set, right? right.
Wait a sec, was this talking to your teen or mine?, I can’t really tell…
Thanks for the reminder that I should enjoy the “easy” first 13 years and be grateful for debates that pretty much start and end with choice of breakfast cereal.
Ah, back to school. We have a new principle who really doesn’t know anything about me. Unfortunately, for her, I tend to show up in the office a lot. Good thing the staff knows me. They’ve probably already warned her. My daughter is in 6th grade and already I have issues with the curriculum. Luckily she’s only 11 and doesn’t seem to be embrassed, yet, about me.
God help us. I expect my daughter to have this conversation with me when she’s in first grade, which is in 3 years. She already is correcting us when we use “ugly” words (like stupid). I tremble for the future.
Hehehe, this cracks me up! You’re right, those mean girls probably deserved it. I think my son might have to have this talk with me in the future.