[Jo Ellen]

We have a 14 year old son and 16 year old daughter. and havent had major issues with the "typical" teen years but from time to time to have to work through some of it .... we all do. As far as the door slamming when this happens at our house I go to their room and show them how to close it quietly. I have even done this when they have company and it is amazing that the door isnt slammed so much. I have heard of kids losing their door for a period of time. Yes the parents take the door off the hinges.... at least there isnt any door slamming that can happen. The eyes rolling.... i cant say much about this one since i was guilty of it and still am from time to time especially with my adad. Now everytime it happens he refers back to how much I use to do it growing up. I dont do it out of disrespect but usually when he has said something silly. All this to say and as others have said this too shall pass. Enjoy your kids as much as you can and dont sweat the small stuff.

[Emily222]

Originally Posted by paigeturner

1) a. “I’m not doing that!”…ok, let them make the choice…the consequence is YOU”RE not doing something as well…like driving them to an activity, making dinner or something else they’ll care about. Say nothing and then when you get the chance, mimic their exact language.

Oh, now THAT'S brilliant!
I don't have kids yet but I'm going to have remember that one for when I do. My gosh, I'm almost looking forward to it. Heh heh.

I used to kind of do that kind of thing with my nephews when they whined over stupid things. I'd just start whining out of the blue "It's not FAAAAAAAAIR. I want to be with the GROOOOOOWN ups but you want to plaaaaaayyyyyyy and I don't waaaaaant to (a foot stomp here) and now we have to watch yoooooouuuuurrrrr TV show so youuuuuu can be happy and IIIIII wanted to see the neeeeewwwwwwwsssss!"

Always made them laugh -- and always stopped the whining.

[Mommy24]

I have no advice and no pity for you Welcome to my world, aren't you glad I invited you?

[crick]

No Pity????

FINE! BE THAT Way!!!!

dON'T COME CRYING TO ME WHEN YOUR TEEN TAKES A DATE OUT FOR A RIDE IN HIS NEW CAR.....

[oasis]

Just sit back.. relax.. and of course pull your own hair out!!!
I have 5 teens, a 19 yr old, two 16 yr old boys, two 15 yr olds .. the youngest is an emotional roller coaster thanks to birth family..
Thank God daily that they are healthy enough to slam the door. ( doesn't help much, but it keeps you positive)
I prefer to make light of the slamming.. I "Ask them if they want to keep the door?" They usually reply with the "DUH" look. If you haven't seen it, you will and it sets your hair on fire.. I have actually removed bedroom doors!! LMAO!! Then they are like "O M G, are you serious?" Just grab a coffee and say quietly, "No.. it was stolen by the unicorns!" or "OMG!!!! Wait till Dad sees what you have done" ( good idea to warn hubby first) I found it effect to keep the door for a week..Make them earn it back.. They hate it. Plus all chores done with out moaning. =) big plus for us mommies!
Make chore charts and behavior contracts. That made my life so much easier. No blaming brother for a chore that was theirs. Less fighting, and with three boys this close together.. GOOD heaven it has been a Monday night smack down.
Say " I love you" when they say I hate you..
and guess what?? if they were good boys before, in a year or two you will have some really great young men. I promise... till then wonder where that beautiful well behaved child went. He is there while he is sleeping..

[melissa_bear003]

I read the thread and giggled the whole way through.

My homeschooling 9 (soon to be 10) yo dd is a master of the whine and 'tude.

I've found that severely limiting what she watches on TV helps enormously. I was naive enough to think that the Disney channel would be ok...but have you seen the kids on those shows? Smart mouth, talking back, parents are portrayed as either absent, clueless or both. I found my dd was mimicking a lot of what she was seeing there, and banning them helped.

I am a fan of the echo treatment. She whines, I whine. I've been known to throw myself on the ground and howl, complete with kicking heels. Laughter goes a long way around here. Or when asked to do something, wailing, "I don't wanna! The other moms don't hafta! You're soooooo meeeeeeeaaaaaaaan!!"

Best survival method I've found in parenting is my own twisted sense of humour

[finallyamom0310]

Since there was a post on here today I too found this thread and laughed a lot. All teens are the same. My stepson is about to turn 16 and the only thing that helps his mouth most of the time these days is to threaten he can't see his girlfriend today if he doesn't knock it off. That and the fact that when she is over he won't mouth off and cause an argument in front of her.

Here is my thing, I decided to do it again. DD is only 18 months old and I will have to go through the teen years again!!! What was I thinking? Can anyone tell me if there is a way to keep them small till they are adults and skip the teen years? Maybe a magic potion to help them along?

[akcskye]

I know I'm in line for this, too...being kiddos are 11 and 12 respectively.

They're at that age that they know they're growing up (OMG...the # of times I've heard "I have more hairs there!"...when they're grown, they'll remember that and DIE of embarrassment! LOL), but still don't have much of an attitude...YET.

I have experienced SOME attitude, especially with my daughter. She's the 12 year old.

I just give it right back to her. She rolls her eyes...I tell her, "that's lame! THIS is how you roll your eyes!" and I make a big exaggerated eye roll. LOL

She scoffs, I scoff bigger.

She storms off...I storm off bigger.

We usually just end up laughing about it and start dinner.

But, I know that won't last long. LOL