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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Completely normal.

He’s in there gaming and beating off. Typical for a 16 yo boy.[/quote]

No, it simply isn't except for oddball kids.

My 16 year old son and his friends all work 20-40 hours per week and hang out together on a regular basis.  No one is holed up in their bedrooms.

Stop trying to normalize this behavior. 
I'm not trying to be a jerk but it simply isn't typical and it isn't healthy.  
[/quote]

Agreed. I think it’s so bizarre so many parents have convinced themselves this is normal and typical. I know a lot of teenagers and they all hang out with friends in real life. Most multiple times a week. [/quote]

If your teens have a good group of friends and they are getting together in person frequently, consider yourselves lucky. I think that most parents of kids who are spending a lot of time alone at home [b]would love this for their kids, but there’s only so much they can do.[/b] I’m not sure any of them are trying to convince themselves that it’s normal and typical across the board, only that it appears normal and typical for the type of kid they have right now. Many of whom who have quite possibly been marginalized by the kids who are getting together all the time, and are trying to figure out how to navigate the social minefield that high school can be. [/quote]

That's why I think requiring kids to work at least PT in the summer is important. If they can find summer jobs where other teens work, even better. So they interact with kids their own age but they don't have to be the ones who are making friends. They might make a friend with other teen camp counselors or not but the socializing alone will help even if they don't make friends with their co-workers. It's just good practice. Add in learning all of the other skills that go alone with working- learning how to take direction from a boss, learning time management skills, learning how to budget money, etc. My son sounded like your when he was 14/15 but after three summers of work, he is much more adult like. He gets up on his own, arranges to use the car (mine, he doesn't have one), fills up the car with gas when it is low, goes to work, runs errands for the family after work, saves 1/3 of his earnings in savings, etc. If he had sat in his room playing video games all summer, I doubt he would be as adult like now. He spends his own money on going out with friends, buying clothes, video games, etc. [/quote]

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