Princess Bitchface...
Is it just me or does everyone worry about teenage girls and their mothers these days?
I have a fifteen year old niece - and a sister who writes me emails every day about the latest tirade of abuse she’s copped from Ellie…
And Ell is a lovely kid - I adore her! But she’s very tough on her Mum and subsequently, my sister invests a lot of time and energy running around from party to shopping centre…to workplace….for not a lot of reward…
I read yesterday about a new book due out next weeks by child psychologist Michael Carr-Gregg, is The Princess Bitchface Syndrome, a guide to managing adolescent girls.
Michael Carr Gregg is actually the "Agony Uncle" for Girlfriend magazine, he’s also the person who invented the cancer charity Can Teen and he says he’s noticed something "terribly wrong" with adolescent girls.
He says “By the time girls turn 13, they look like they're ready for anything. But they're not."
The adolescent brain is not fully formed until the 20s, and today's adolescents are "arguably the most vulnerable generation in Australia's history", says Carr-Gregg.
If you know what he’s talking about, you might like to buy the book for a few pointers.
By the way research has found that children who "butt up against boundaries" develop a part of the brain that doesn't develop in children whose parents don't set limits.
In other words, you can’t expect a kid who has never had to adhere to rules to effectively govern their own behaviour…
Michael Carr-Gregg says in his opinion, no thirteen year old girl needs a ‘best friend’ who’s 45 years old…and if you still don’t see his point, he recommends watching the 2003 movie ‘Thirteen’, starring Holly Hunter.
Holly Hunter plays a well meaning mother who’s daughter is completely off the rails, he says it’s must see viewing for any Mum and Dad who think they don’t need to get tough .
I think it’s a tough gig being a teenager these days…I’m dreading getting there myself with my own daughters…let me know what you think…
I have a fifteen year old niece - and a sister who writes me emails every day about the latest tirade of abuse she’s copped from Ellie…
And Ell is a lovely kid - I adore her! But she’s very tough on her Mum and subsequently, my sister invests a lot of time and energy running around from party to shopping centre…to workplace….for not a lot of reward…
I read yesterday about a new book due out next weeks by child psychologist Michael Carr-Gregg, is The Princess Bitchface Syndrome, a guide to managing adolescent girls.
Michael Carr Gregg is actually the "Agony Uncle" for Girlfriend magazine, he’s also the person who invented the cancer charity Can Teen and he says he’s noticed something "terribly wrong" with adolescent girls.
He says “By the time girls turn 13, they look like they're ready for anything. But they're not."
The adolescent brain is not fully formed until the 20s, and today's adolescents are "arguably the most vulnerable generation in Australia's history", says Carr-Gregg.
If you know what he’s talking about, you might like to buy the book for a few pointers.
By the way research has found that children who "butt up against boundaries" develop a part of the brain that doesn't develop in children whose parents don't set limits.
In other words, you can’t expect a kid who has never had to adhere to rules to effectively govern their own behaviour…
Michael Carr-Gregg says in his opinion, no thirteen year old girl needs a ‘best friend’ who’s 45 years old…and if you still don’t see his point, he recommends watching the 2003 movie ‘Thirteen’, starring Holly Hunter.
Holly Hunter plays a well meaning mother who’s daughter is completely off the rails, he says it’s must see viewing for any Mum and Dad who think they don’t need to get tough .
I think it’s a tough gig being a teenager these days…I’m dreading getting there myself with my own daughters…let me know what you think…
posted by Caroline Hutchinson at 9:46 AM
4 Comments:
Damn skippy! Right on caroline, teenagers need bounderies!
Your girls should be fine, because your not an irresponsible idiot. :-P
Okay it is true but it's the majority of this adult generation that has to accept blame for creating these Princess Bitchfaces. I set rules and boundries but her friends parents don't, they also provide drugs and alcohol and what happened to the good old, I'll just confirm with your parents. This gerneration of adults has caused it with their do goody attitude so consequences have been removed and learning from them has ceased. Deal with it, you caused it.
I have trouble with this. I am a mohter of a teenage girl who was fine right up until the last year. Yes we all lost someone close to us, but she thinks she has the right to tell me what to do. Yet she was raised with boundaries. I think what it comes down to truthfully is that a child when they feel vulnerable or uptight/angry whatever, they take it out on the one person they know is not going to leave and yes I do think they take their mums for granted. But to say that its because of a lack of boundaries, obviously there is a lack of proper research into this. She is 17 nearly 18 and expects me to drop everything all of the time, and if I don't do it, then I am the worst mother in the world. Even hounding me at times when I am taking time to visit someone else.
I agree , I live the queen of princess bitchfaces and she has been butting up against boundaries since she was 2 ! This is because wePUT boundries and stick to them but she seems to lack that reasoning side of her brain that tells her that if tantrums don't work , don't persist with them . She simply refuses to learn this lesson and the advent of mobile phone means that she can persist in her tantrum from wherever she is - quite often encouraged by her friends . I do agree that there are many parents who allow all sorts of things because they want there kids to think that they're "cool" but I am not one of them and am constantly told by my princess that I am unreasonable because so and so can do anyhing she wants ! I don't think it;'s my parenting - I withstood the blame from everyone for years and yet my 12 year old boy , whom I raised the same is totally rational and understands that no means no .So why doesn't she - I think it's a little to do with parenting and alot to do with society and my own opinion is that access to the internet is the most difficult thing to combat. If my daughter is "grounded" and tells her best friend , she may say , "well don't do that again " and another friend will say " oh your mum's a witch" but if she goes on the internet and complains ( which they all do ) she will have 100's of peers who agree with her 2nd friend and this means that their understanding of how the world works is unbalanced , because they only find people who agree with them and not the broad range that we had .Balming all mothers is very unfair . We are already suffering at the hands of these little monsters and most mums I know with teenage daughters are at their wits end . I think that the pace of society and technology must also take some blame , mums have been copping it for too long and these little princesses see us being blamed by everyone from media to family and why should they listen to us ? according to everyone , the mother is the cause of all problems and therefore not to be respected - which is the basic problem . Respect for motherhood has gone out the window and these girls know it !
Post a Comment
<< Home