Anonymous wrote:Is anyone else annoyed by all this perfectness? Piano playing? Hiking together? Deep talks at farmers market?

what are you talking about? the angels sing when i go to get my 9 month old daughter in the morning, and little bluebirds follow us along the path as we make our way to the farmers market for organic kale.

but really --

Anonymous wrote:PP at 12:59, I'm right there with you about letting kids get a break. My teens are like yours, busy, helpful, and productive etc, and have heavy schedules much of the year. So I let them relax a bit in the summer. I look back fondly at the periods I got to chill as a teen.

I am with you. My friend just got back from Europe. She went with her son, her BFF and the BFF's daughter. The BFF make it like AP European history class. My friend was like, can't the teens just enjoy Europe without all the lectures and quizzes.

I use to lay around on the weekends and watch MASH and Taxi with my dad. Best memories, just chilling and laughing

PP at 12:59, I'm right there with you about letting kids get a break. My teens are like yours, busy, helpful, and productive etc, and have heavy schedules much of the year. So I let them relax a bit in the summer. I look back fondly at the periods I got to chill as a teen.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is anyone else annoyed by all this perfectness? Piano playing? Hiking together? Deep talks at farmers market?

You want a real answer... here you go.

My teen wakes up at 1pm and goes to the basement to binge watch something. I bring him "breakfast".

Around 5pm he comes up from the basement and says are we doing anything today. Sometimes we are going to a cookout, sometimes not.

If I say we are going somewhere he showers and we go.
If I say we are not going anywhere he asks if I will order Chinese and we watch a movie together.

I go to bed at 9 and he plays video games until midnight.

Why would you do that? He's a teenager. He can make his own breakfast. What is he doing for you, or for the household? It sounds like the answer is "nothing." I would not make him breakfast. If he were getting up at 6am each morning to help old people or be a camp counselor or do landscaping then sure, maybe I'd make THAT kid breakfast.

Because I like to... and he thinks it is funny.

He
does his own laundry
feeds the dog
walks dog 15-20 min in am and in the pm
feeds the fish
unloads the dishwasher (we rotate so he does it 2-3 times a week)
takes his dishes to the sink (which I only mention because in the relationship forum some people actually thank their H for doing that which is pathetic)
takes trash to can, to the curb and back up
he takes recycle bin to the curb and back up
He is learning to cut the lawn but my H actually enjoys it so he doesn't do that
He helped me plant the garden, that is a 2 hour job every Spring
Helps H prune trees in the Spring and Fall


He watches the younger kids at the cookout that I mentioned above. About once a month we go to a cookout with the same group and there are smaller kids, he plays Basketball, video games and board games with them.

He works at a camp 2 weeks a summer, volunteers with Special Olympics in the winter and was a 1-1 camp counselor last summer (dates did not work out this year)

His summer will also end August 8ish ... he will be doing tryouts (some are 2 a days) in the heat of August in DC.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is anyone else annoyed by all this perfectness? Piano playing? Hiking together? Deep talks at farmers market?

You want a real answer... here you go.

My teen wakes up at 1pm and goes to the basement to binge watch something. I bring him "breakfast".

Around 5pm he comes up from the basement and says are we doing anything today. Sometimes we are going to a cookout, sometimes not.

If I say we are going somewhere he showers and we go.
If I say we are not going anywhere he asks if I will order Chinese and we watch a movie together.

I go to bed at 9 and he plays video games until midnight.

Why would you do that? He's a teenager. He can make his own breakfast. What is he doing for you, or for the household? It sounds like the answer is "nothing." I would not make him breakfast. If he were getting up at 6am each morning to help old people or be a camp counselor or do landscaping then sure, maybe I'd make THAT kid breakfast.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is anyone else annoyed by all this perfectness? Piano playing? Hiking together? Deep talks at farmers market?

You want a real answer... here you go.

My teen wakes up at 1pm and goes to the basement to binge watch something. I bring him "breakfast".

Around 5pm he comes up from the basement and says are we doing anything today. Sometimes we are going to a cookout, sometimes not.

If I say we are going somewhere he showers and we go.
If I say we are not going anywhere he asks if I will order Chinese and we watch a movie together.

I go to bed at 9 and he plays video games until midnight.

Is this a real post, or a troll?

No PP, but not likely a troll. My DS sleeps til 1pm at any opportunity. Would play PS2 for the next 6 hours straight if allowed, punctuated by food breaks. I would also be in bed at 9, but scanning DCUM til 10.

I doubt it's a troll. More like a realistic description (except I bet he stays up later than midnight) of what a lot of teens do and have always done when left to their own devices. It's not that different (barring existence of Internet) from what my friends and I did as teens forty years ago. Once we were old enough we got summer jobs, and as soon as we had drivers licenses we could extend our range of activities. Not everyone has the money to spend on endless camps and enriching activities.

There is not reason to lie that he goes to bed at 12 since I don't care if he stays up until 2, which he does every blue moon. He went night fishing with friends 9p-12p (walking distance from my house) and they were cleaning fish until 2 am, in my front yard, which is funny, because he knew he didn't want to clean the kitchen because he is "lazy".


He also plays basketball with friends. I don't really track it that closely. But above is generally how it goes.

He works 2 weeks at a summer camp from 8-1 and he goes away to summer camp for 2 weeks.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is anyone else annoyed by all this perfectness? Piano playing? Hiking together? Deep talks at farmers market?

You want a real answer... here you go.

My teen wakes up at 1pm and goes to the basement to binge watch something. I bring him "breakfast".

Around 5pm he comes up from the basement and says are we doing anything today. Sometimes we are going to a cookout, sometimes not.

If I say we are going somewhere he showers and we go.
If I say we are not going anywhere he asks if I will order Chinese and we watch a movie together.

I go to bed at 9 and he plays video games until midnight.

Is this a real post, or a troll?

It's real. My kids leave for school at 6:30 am, are in school from 8am until 3:30pm are in sports until 5:30-8 (If there is a game) and do 2 hours of homework a night on average.

They volunteer 10-40 hours a year. They work a summer camp for 2 weeks every summer. They are kind and considerate and compassionate.

In the summer I let them sleep and relax. On the weekends I let them sleep and relax.

Their bodies are growing, let them relax.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is anyone else annoyed by all this perfectness? Piano playing? Hiking together? Deep talks at farmers market?

You want a real answer... here you go.

My teen wakes up at 1pm and goes to the basement to binge watch something. I bring him "breakfast".

Around 5pm he comes up from the basement and says are we doing anything today. Sometimes we are going to a cookout, sometimes not.

If I say we are going somewhere he showers and we go.
If I say we are not going anywhere he asks if I will order Chinese and we watch a movie together.

I go to bed at 9 and he plays video games until midnight.

Is this a real post, or a troll?

No PP, but not likely a troll. My DS sleeps til 1pm at any opportunity. Would play PS2 for the next 6 hours straight if allowed, punctuated by food breaks. I would also be in bed at 9, but scanning DCUM til 10.

I doubt it's a troll. More like a realistic description (except I bet he stays up later than midnight) of what a lot of teens do and have always done when left to their own devices. It's not that different (barring existence of Internet) from what my friends and I did as teens forty years ago. Once we were old enough we got summer jobs, and as soon as we had drivers licenses we could extend our range of activities. Not everyone has the money to spend on endless camps and enriching activities.

I work PT so I see my kids during the week and I know when they are too exhausted for a forced family fun on the weekend. My DH definitely needs some time with DD (14) so they have instituted a bagel breakfast tradition. It doesn't happen every week, but is an occasional father/daughter tradition. She's a tired, hungry athlete, so feeding her is really the best bet to get some of her attention) I do know a mom of 4 that instituted Sunday afternoon outings with some success. I find it's hard to do anything "regularly" other than make it to Mass as a family (thank goodness for the 5 different time Catholic churches offer Mass).

Thank god some normal people. No i don't think video games all the time are great but some of these parents just write up these super perfect lives and a fraction is true. When we don't have sport we do nothing. A happy day is me out at Starbucks with a stop chat with a friend. Child is still sleep and so is husband when I am back at 11. Lots of tv and me talking about making a special Sunday meal that only happens maybe 20 percent of the time.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is anyone else annoyed by all this perfectness? Piano playing? Hiking together? Deep talks at farmers market?

You want a real answer... here you go.

My teen wakes up at 1pm and goes to the basement to binge watch something. I bring him "breakfast".

Around 5pm he comes up from the basement and says are we doing anything today. Sometimes we are going to a cookout, sometimes not.

If I say we are going somewhere he showers and we go.
If I say we are not going anywhere he asks if I will order Chinese and we watch a movie together.

I go to bed at 9 and he plays video games until midnight.

Is this a real post, or a troll?

No PP, but not likely a troll. My DS sleeps til 1pm at any opportunity. Would play PS2 for the next 6 hours straight if allowed, punctuated by food breaks. I would also be in bed at 9, but scanning DCUM til 10.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is anyone else annoyed by all this perfectness? Piano playing? Hiking together? Deep talks at farmers market?

You want a real answer... here you go.

My teen wakes up at 1pm and goes to the basement to binge watch something. I bring him "breakfast".

Around 5pm he comes up from the basement and says are we doing anything today. Sometimes we are going to a cookout, sometimes not.

If I say we are going somewhere he showers and we go.
If I say we are not going anywhere he asks if I will order Chinese and we watch a movie together.

I go to bed at 9 and he plays video games until midnight.

Is this a real post, or a troll?

I have a teen and an almost tween, most weekends are sports related (attending their events) When not, we do a variety of things from vegging and catching up around the house to hiking or dinner out or pool, or sleepovers/hanging with friends. It varies.

Anonymous wrote:Is anyone else annoyed by all this perfectness? Piano playing? Hiking together? Deep talks at farmers market?

You want a real answer... here you go.

My teen wakes up at 1pm and goes to the basement to binge watch something. I bring him "breakfast".

Around 5pm he comes up from the basement and says are we doing anything today. Sometimes we are going to a cookout, sometimes not.

If I say we are going somewhere he showers and we go.
If I say we are not going anywhere he asks if I will order Chinese and we watch a movie together.

I go to bed at 9 and he plays video games until midnight.

Anonymous wrote:Is anyone else annoyed by all this perfectness? Piano playing? Hiking together? Deep talks at farmers market?

It's not perfect. When we go to brunch after the farmer's market she takes pictures of her breakfast and sends it to her friends (I don't know why they care). One time she went to the bathroom, brought her cell, and was in there for over 20 minutes and I had to institute a rule that electronics may NOT be brought into the bathroom.