Teenagers Are Sharing Specific Things Their Parents Do That Really, Really Bother Them
Parents — can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em. And growing up, there's bound to be some conflict. So Redditor kissableecassy asked, "Teenagers, what’s something your parents do that secretly drives you insane?" Here's what people said about their parents' most frustrating habits and tendencies.
1."They comment on literally everything, to the point where I was scared to listen to music for years because I didn’t want my parents to comment on my music taste. (Which is pretty mainstream; it’s just different than theirs). Whenever we meet someone, they tell me afterward their thoughts on that person and point out if they had acne, had too long hair, wore a cropped shirt, etc. They view their comments as harmless observations but it causes insecurities."
2."My mom will make suggestions that aren't suggestions at all. She'll first say it in a kind, ambiguous way. When you thank her but say it's unnecessary, she'll repeat it again in a more insistent tone. If you decline again, it usually becomes an order (for a teenager), or as an adult, she'll just start martyring herself and making up catastrophes that will happen because I didn't take her advice. Needless to say, I usually wind up giving in out of frustration."
3."They always talk about how smart I am, like I'm a a child prodigy, a Sheldon Cooper. It bothers me because they place too many expectations on me."
4."When my parents commented negatively on anything I said or did as their first reaction. It taught me to keep secrets, tell lies, and avoid informing them of anything until right before or after it happened..."
"...They once wanted me to get a job, so I did. It was full-time seasonal and paid well, just a 30-minute drive away. They scolded me for not finding something closer. They made me call my manager and resign. I was 16 or 17 at the time. This wasn't a one-time thing. It was really frustrating growing up, always expecting a negative reaction to things."
5."When I tried to talk about my feelings or the things my mom did that hurt or upset me, she just immediately turns to this distraught 'I’m such a terrible mother!' And the whole conversation stops being about me, working through my issues, and listening to my emotions because I have to sidetrack to comfort HER."
6."If I say I like something once they make it my whole personality."
7."I’m now in my 20s, but my mom started doing this when I was a teenager and still hasn’t stopped. She’ll say something like, 'You’re probably going to get mad at me for saying this, but…' and then tell me something unnecessarily rude about my appearance or weight that is entirely unhelpful and uncalled for. I’ve started cutting her off and telling her that maybe she just shouldn’t say it then, but it was a lot harder to stand up to her when I was 14."
8."Being outwardly judgmental. I don’t ever tell my parents about my music taste or my friends or a lot of my interests because I know I’m going to get some snide comments if it’s not up to their standards."
9."Me: 'I want to be left alone right now.' Mom and dad assume that means I wanna talk."
10."Turning everything into a lecture. If I'm telling you that something bad happened, I don't always need it turned into a life lesson. 😐"
11."i work a full 40 hours a week, but if I spend my Saturday playing video games, it's all I do."
12."My mother always offers to help me, but if I let her, she brings up every individual task she's helped me with the next time she's upset and tells me I've done nothing to deserve her help or her kindness. Now she's angry that I never accept her help, and she doesn't understand why I never take gifts from people before knowing what's expected of me in return."
13."Not a teen, but something my dad said he learned from me when I was a kid was to not compare me (and my siblings) to other people’s kids. Our mom used to always do that; she would constantly say,' Why can’t you be more like the name?' It bothered me because it wasn’t like she was comparing 'bad' kid to good kid..."
"...She just had friends whose children were talented in ways that she had hoped we would be (musically, academically, in sports.) We had our own talents and did average in school, but that was still grounds for not being good enough. I felt comfortable telling my dad how hurt I was every time my mom said those things. So he said he learned right away to not compare us to others like that (my parents are still married; this all happened under the same household.)"
14."Not a teen, but still live with my parents. A lot of little things get on my nerves, but the one thing that I absolutely hate is my mom asking about my day only to immediately start scrolling on her phone, completely ignoring me when I tell her. It's even worse when she randomly starts listening and has no idea what I'm talking about. Worst of all is when I confront her about this, she always denies it."
15."I"'m an adult now, but it was definitely my parents second-guessing anything adventurous I wanted to do. Going out to a party... watch out, they do drugs at parties. Going on a road trip... watch out, you could get hit by a drunk driver. Going on a vacation... watch out for thieves and muggers. Just a constant burden of worry and warning for anything I wanted to do. And that burden became so heavy I just stopped trying to do things after a while or simply would do things without telling them. Sometimes, I think they were so worried that I might die that it never crossed their minds that I would never live."
16."Telling me that I’m angry when I raise my voice but complain they can’t hear me because I’m quiet and mumbly. I can’t help constantly talking in a whisper, but if I speak louder, apparently, I’m being rude. And now I question if I have anger issues or not because everything I do is me being 'angry,' according to them."
17."Spying on my bank account even though I'm 18 now. I just don't want them to see my purchase history."
18.'When they make it so that their pain is worse than whatever I have going on. If I have a fever, they have the flu; if I have a headache, they have a headache and a stomachache; if my entire body hurts, theirs wants to make them go into the hospital. My mother likes to make it about herself all the time, and it's made me more prone to anger nowadays."
What is something your parents frequently do (or something they did when you were growing up) that bothered you to no end? Tell us in the comments or in this anonymous form?
