Friday, July 21, 2006

How dumb, really, do they think I am

John is really driving me nuts tonight, not because of his persistent declarations of disobedience, but because he thinks I’m stupid.

He is asking to go to the park. He has to be there at 5:30. He says he is not going to leave the park. So I say, “If you aren’t leaving the park, then why do you have to be there at 5:30?

J: ”Because that is when they go there.”

M: “Well, I’m sure you can stay and have supper with your grandma and aunt and then go to the park. They will still be there.”

J: “no they won’t, because they will leave.”

M: “So, you can’t go with them anyway, so why go down there if they are going to leave?”

J: “Give me some of my money.”

M: “You don’t need any money. They don’t sell anything at the park.”

J: “I’m going to walk to McDonalds after I go to the park.”

M: “You don’t have permission to go to McDonalds. If you decide you need to go there, come on home and we’ll take you to McDonalds.”

J: “No.”

M: OK, then, you don’t need money to go to the park.“

J: Why can’t I just do what I want to do?”

M: Because I don’t trust you.

J: Why?

M: Because last night you went to the park and left the park in someone else’s vehicle and were 1/2 hour late coming home.

“J: Shut the h*** up.”

The whole thing is annoying, but what is most annoying is that he thinks I’m not smart enough to figure out that he has no plans to stay at the park. He thinks he is going to go there and then he is going to catch a ride with the people who hang out there and go somewhere he doesn’t have permission to be.

But I’m on to him.... and he knows I am. So he’s not happy.

A casual reader of the blog, who has not been reading for the whole last year, might wonder why we have so many rules for John, but the bottom line is once he hooks up with people, he is a complete follower. He will allow things to deteriorate rapidly and get himself in the worst kind of trouble.

He wants us to believe that he has completely changed his behavior, but last night he showed us that it was not a change of behavior, but a lack of opportunity, that has got him to this point of the summer.

Parenting teens is hard work -- but parenting teens who are oppositional and think I’m stupid is somedays nearly impossible.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

I know it is not easy to deal with, but hang in there! Sometimes I tell my kids, "I'm not as dumb as you want me to be!". They are surprised sometimes when I have a clue about what they're up to!