Last weekend I went to the funeral of a friend, who had a 14 year old daughter.
Three teenagers showed up at the wake and took care of her daughter. It was beautiful.
The kids are alright.
Similar happened at my grandads funeral my cousin has mental health issues social anxiety and is on the spectrum, 4 of his friends showed up to support him, polite young men, it was a lovely sight to see on a very sad day
That was pretty much the experience a decade ago when mine were around that age. I've met lots of inspiring youngsters over the intervening years and very few twats. Good luck to them all!
Good to know, thanks! Not met many twats yet, although a few of previous group of friends were very shallow, it turned out. With the demeanour this lot have shown so far, I'm sure they'll all do well.
Kids these days are very different from back in my day. The other day I was in Bristol and this lad sprints up to a small group near me and says "J! J! You have GOT to try this shirt in topman mate, it would look so good on you trust."
That is so lovely! I’ve only had positive teenage experiences with my teenagers and their friends so it’s nice to hear of more. Last year my 8 year old did Race for Life Mud Run, she needed to raise £50. My 17 year old not only donated some of his money but shared the link with his 6th Form class, by the end of the week we had £600 in donations. I cried like a baby when I realised what they had done.
When I did a sponsored walk to raise money for mesothelioma research (my dad died from it), my sixth form students got hold of the just giving page and all donated. Even after they'd left and gone to uni, somehow they snuck a birthday present onto my desk! (I suspect the use of a strategic younger sibling for that). I bloody love teenagers, they're amazing.
I'm glad you had good folks around when you came off your bike. (Trying to work out how to say 'nice' without it sounding like you crashing was the nice thing = difficult at this time of night! )
I can tolerate mine being moody and miserable at home to us as long as they are polite in public. I thought I would BURST with pride when someone told me I had lovely kids. I had a wee cry in the car before I went home.
Aw same! A little old Polish lady told me I had very well brought up girls a couple of years ago. I couldn't have been more proud, I also had to have a little cry! Mad isn't it?
Teenagers get an awful press. Our best friend’s daughter (aka everyone’s favourite teenager) tends bar in our local, tells her Dad when he is being a pain, and walked my dog for a couple of hours today when I visited my Dad. She is ace and I love her very much!
I was in Spain a few months back and I heard cars beeping outside the flat I was in. The car at the front of the queue for the traffic lights had broken down and all the drivers behind were hitting their horns angrily.
There was a gang of teens chatting on a bench by the park, and they all went over to see what was happening. When they realised what was going on they pushed the car over the junction and into a parking bay so that he could call a recovery service.
They made sure he was alright in precisely the way the adults didn't.
Weirdly similar, my wife and I watched our daughter participate in a dance show this afternoon noon, hour of ballet and then a mix of performances afterwards.
Not in Frome was it?
I am so pleased you shared this. I work with teenagers and my experience is on the whole, as positive as yours. I get so sad when I see people (including politicians!) complaining about how rude/thoughtless/lazy/incompetent kids are.
What a lovely experience for you and your family. And thank you for reminding us that the kids are alright really!
She did very well, thank you. She has an elegance and grace, and memory for choreography, that she surely did not inherit from either of us! She's a beautiful dancer.
Well thank you. We like to think we had good material to work with, and our 'village' was solid too.
I remember someone telling me, when she was small, that if you listen to your child talking about 'nothing' when they're small, you set yourself up to be able to listen to them when they have something important talk about, when they're bigger. We did that, amongst other things, and now have a great relationship with her.
Good luck to you with yours.
That's so wonderful! It's great that she has such a supportive group - I hope they can stick together. It reflects very well on her and your family.
Teenagers can be lovely; a couple of young lads on bikes helped my mum free a trapped lamb last year. They drew a crowd and got a round of applause!
That’s a weird take and a sad byproduct of social media. Too many people only share bad experiences online or use social media as a tool to attack all and sundry. If the majority of SM interactions were positive the world would be a much better place today.
My son had bad experiences when he moved to senior school. Was being bullied, along with others, by a bad element. He found a couple of good friends and they started to help out at the Chaplaincy after school one day a week. He’s 15 now and embraced Christianity (dad is lapsed Church of Scotland, I have no specific experience), and at 15 was confirmed into the Church of England, along with his two friends, on Easter Saturday at our little Cathedral. He has never used bad language (unlike his mum, as I am a sweary mare) and is kind and polite. I am very proud of him, if a little baffled!
This is so wholesome!
Last weekend I went to the funeral of a friend, who had a 14 year old daughter. Three teenagers showed up at the wake and took care of her daughter. It was beautiful. The kids are alright.
Similar happened at my grandads funeral my cousin has mental health issues social anxiety and is on the spectrum, 4 of his friends showed up to support him, polite young men, it was a lovely sight to see on a very sad day
That was pretty much the experience a decade ago when mine were around that age. I've met lots of inspiring youngsters over the intervening years and very few twats. Good luck to them all!
Good to know, thanks! Not met many twats yet, although a few of previous group of friends were very shallow, it turned out. With the demeanour this lot have shown so far, I'm sure they'll all do well.
Yeah, you seem to leave the twats behind at secondary
I found that the twats seemed to grow up
They get humbled, one way or another.
Kids these days are very different from back in my day. The other day I was in Bristol and this lad sprints up to a small group near me and says "J! J! You have GOT to try this shirt in topman mate, it would look so good on you trust."
But top man haven’t had physical stores for years 😅
I think kids these days are a lot more thoughtful/empathic/kind than we were back in the day (90’s kids)
I've certainly seen that, yes. They're taught stuff like mental health and inclusion at school that we had to learn on the hoof.
Most teens are good people, prettt much who they'll grow to be as adults. Tis just a few dickhead teens (like I was) that ruin it for everyone else.
Oh I love this! Congratulations to your daughter. X
That is so lovely! I’ve only had positive teenage experiences with my teenagers and their friends so it’s nice to hear of more. Last year my 8 year old did Race for Life Mud Run, she needed to raise £50. My 17 year old not only donated some of his money but shared the link with his 6th Form class, by the end of the week we had £600 in donations. I cried like a baby when I realised what they had done.
When I did a sponsored walk to raise money for mesothelioma research (my dad died from it), my sixth form students got hold of the just giving page and all donated. Even after they'd left and gone to uni, somehow they snuck a birthday present onto my desk! (I suspect the use of a strategic younger sibling for that). I bloody love teenagers, they're amazing.
Came off my bike on the roundabout a couple of years ago. A group of teenage school lads came up and checked on me.
I'm glad you had good folks around when you came off your bike. (Trying to work out how to say 'nice' without it sounding like you crashing was the nice thing = difficult at this time of night! )
That is so lovely to read! Not all teenagers are moody, miserable sods.
I can tolerate mine being moody and miserable at home to us as long as they are polite in public. I thought I would BURST with pride when someone told me I had lovely kids. I had a wee cry in the car before I went home.
Aw same! A little old Polish lady told me I had very well brought up girls a couple of years ago. I couldn't have been more proud, I also had to have a little cry! Mad isn't it?
This has made me feel really happy for you. Thanks for spreading your joy and happy thoughts
You're welcome. Sometimes it's necessary to choose, and actively look for, 'joy and happy thoughts' as you say. Happy to share mine with you today.
Teenagers get an awful press. Our best friend’s daughter (aka everyone’s favourite teenager) tends bar in our local, tells her Dad when he is being a pain, and walked my dog for a couple of hours today when I visited my Dad. She is ace and I love her very much!
Sounds like she has a mint friend group!
Yes. They're all lovely, as far as I can tell.
This is lovely. People being good to each other and enjoying life.
Nice one! Encourage this group. Long may they continue
I was in Spain a few months back and I heard cars beeping outside the flat I was in. The car at the front of the queue for the traffic lights had broken down and all the drivers behind were hitting their horns angrily. There was a gang of teens chatting on a bench by the park, and they all went over to see what was happening. When they realised what was going on they pushed the car over the junction and into a parking bay so that he could call a recovery service. They made sure he was alright in precisely the way the adults didn't.
Teenagers are great in my experience 🤷 Edit: this was the next post 😂 https://www.reddit.com/r/mildlyinfuriating/s/n8EDpdcfRI
Weirdly similar, my wife and I watched our daughter participate in a dance show this afternoon noon, hour of ballet and then a mix of performances afterwards. Not in Frome was it?
Nope, Cornwall. Hope yours was as good as ours 😊
Give yourself a pat on the back, I've no doubt you set her up to make good choices here 👌
Thank you. Hubby and I will do that. We've been trying... seems to be working!
I am so pleased you shared this. I work with teenagers and my experience is on the whole, as positive as yours. I get so sad when I see people (including politicians!) complaining about how rude/thoughtless/lazy/incompetent kids are. What a lovely experience for you and your family. And thank you for reminding us that the kids are alright really!
That's so sweet of them How did your daughter do?
She did very well, thank you. She has an elegance and grace, and memory for choreography, that she surely did not inherit from either of us! She's a beautiful dancer.
I always find dancers fasinating. I struggle to walk without tripping over
I really hope I get to say something similar in 14 years time. You obviously did a great job raising her. It’s your success as much as hers.
Well thank you. We like to think we had good material to work with, and our 'village' was solid too. I remember someone telling me, when she was small, that if you listen to your child talking about 'nothing' when they're small, you set yourself up to be able to listen to them when they have something important talk about, when they're bigger. We did that, amongst other things, and now have a great relationship with her. Good luck to you with yours.
I like to think I got to do this for my parents when I was bringing them and friends to gigs and shows (my mum works with me now anyway).
That's so wonderful! It's great that she has such a supportive group - I hope they can stick together. It reflects very well on her and your family. Teenagers can be lovely; a couple of young lads on bikes helped my mum free a trapped lamb last year. They drew a crowd and got a round of applause!
What lovely friends.
How depressing that people think kid’s being not nobheads isn’t the standard
That’s a weird take and a sad byproduct of social media. Too many people only share bad experiences online or use social media as a tool to attack all and sundry. If the majority of SM interactions were positive the world would be a much better place today.
That’s the same take that I posted but about the real world.
Brava!
My son had bad experiences when he moved to senior school. Was being bullied, along with others, by a bad element. He found a couple of good friends and they started to help out at the Chaplaincy after school one day a week. He’s 15 now and embraced Christianity (dad is lapsed Church of Scotland, I have no specific experience), and at 15 was confirmed into the Church of England, along with his two friends, on Easter Saturday at our little Cathedral. He has never used bad language (unlike his mum, as I am a sweary mare) and is kind and polite. I am very proud of him, if a little baffled!