Anonymous wrote:Please don’t discourage your teen from telling you things. You will damage your relationship and be left out of the loop in the future.

+1

Please don’t discourage your teen from telling you things. You will damage your relationship and be left out of the loop in the future.

Your daughter's been telling you about Australia, FFS, for a week, and you are complaining??
My mother-in-law has been telling me the same friggin' story about being pregnant with my husband for 11 years.
Count your blessings.

At least it's not a boy.

If you need a break or more headspace get it. If it's just about Australia and all other convos are not irritating find a way to make it interesting by tying it into topics that interest you or stretch the conversations wider. Or help her find ways to honor the memories and cement them with a journal or story about the trip, scrapbooking pictures with written in memories, etc.

I thought it was going to be a thread about dd having gone with your ex and their family or something. Why are you feeling irritated about this? How does it hit a sore spot?

That’s what my mom told me when I was your daughter’s age and just returned from a summer trip abroad. I was so excited about it and wanted to share it with someone I cared about. I was an awkward kid with few friends. I expected a snarky comment from my sister whichI got but not from my mom. I’m in my 30s now and even though it’s years later her comment to me still hurts. Basically you would be telling her you don’t care about things that matter to her. Is that how you feel?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't yet have a teenager, but I think I'd be super happy for my teen if she were this pumped about travel abroad. Are you jealous, or something?

+1. I don't know your kid, but I want to hear about it!

+2 Don't shut her down, OP!

No.

That's the thing about international education. The experience is so powerful - life changing - that you want to talk about it forever and she probably will over time as she reflects on it and what it meant to her in her life. My Mom told me I needed to absolutely love it, and continue to chase it as I grew up (I made a career out of it!) but that not everybody else will be able to talk about it/listen/care. It's her personal life changing experience. She'll love talking about it with others who have had similar experience. She'll probably study abroad in college. She now has a global mindset. You rock Mom!

Anonymous wrote:I don't yet have a teenager, but I think I'd be super happy for my teen if she were this pumped about travel abroad. Are you jealous, or something?

+1. I don't know your kid, but I want to hear about it!

Sure you can, if you want to be a jerk.

I don't yet have a teenager, but I think I'd be super happy for my teen if she were this pumped about travel abroad. Are you jealous, or something?

You'd think most parents of teens would be glad that their child was speaking to them pleasantly. Some families are dealing with kids never talking to them, on drugs, etc. You should count your blessings.

This, too, shall pass. One day very soon you may be on here wishing you could get your kid to talk to you.

Wow, really? It’s not hard to be a good listener. Do NOT tell her to stop talking about it

DD 16 just got back from a 3 week trip to Australia. The trip was through her school and I was proud when she was selected to go. She’s been back a week now and it’s all she talks about. I think I’ve heard every story twice. I get it was a significant time, but I’m tired of hearing every sentence start with “ in Australia ‘