27 ‘I hate you’s and 71 sulks - a year of bringing up a teenager
Bringing up a typical teen involves 59 slanging matches, 70 requests for money and 27 ‘I hate you’s – every year, new research has revealed. Each teen year, parents can also expect to be answered back 95 times, suffer through 71 sulks and be subjected to 21 threats to leave home.
The full extent of the hard work involved in raising a teen emerged following a detailed study carried out among 1,500 parents who either have or have recently had children aged between 13 and 19.
They are also likely to empty the fridge of all its contents once or twice a week and arrive home late fortnightly.
The report, commissioned by Bonjela Junior, also found more than half of parents believe teenage years to be the toughest stage of parenthood.
Life Coach for Children, Naomi Richards commented: “Between the ages of 13 and 18 young adults are going through enormous changes both physically and emotionally.
“As a consequence, parents need to be aware that their child is striving for independence, and is wanting to stand on their own two feet.
“With this growth and progression can come a tide of emotions, as teenagers try to express themselves, deal with growing pains and worry especially how others perceive them.
“It’s important to remember that your teen is trying to figure out who they are. In their search for identity, they will compare themselves to friends, family, peers, figures in the media etcetera in terms of their body and that will have a strong bearing on their self-esteem.”
The study also found every teen year mums and dads can expect to have to put up with 51 slammed doors, 38 missed curfews and 66 incidents of their teen locking themselves in the bathroom.
Additionally the typical teen will almost be reduced to tears over their looks 74 times, fall out with friends 36 times and ‘sleep in’ 81 times.
The study also asked parents to describe in detail the most common stumbling blocks their teen children face on a daily basis.
The results showed as well as the emotional challenges of being a teenager, the physical aspect is also a regular source of anxiety.
Around one in three parents said their female teens suffer from period pain, with another one in three suffering from ‘growing pains’ – and around one in five are regularly plagued by mouth ulcers and 20% from problems with braces.
The findings also reveal the way they look is also of major concern for teenagers – the survey results indicate they spend a lot of time taking ‘selfies’ to post on social networking sites, and a fair amount of time is spent in front of the mirror worrying about their appearance.
A quarter of young adults worry constantly about spots, while one in 10 hate having to wear braces or glasses.
Despite being hard to communicate with sometimes, six in 10 teenagers still tend to confide in mum and dad when something is really troubling them.
A spokeswoman for Bonjela Junior said: “These findings highlight the different emotional and physical pains many teenagers are faced with today.
“Whilst your teenager’s emotional turmoil can be challenging to address, you can help with the physical growing pains they may experience.”
Breakdown Box Times Per Year
Shout at you – 59 times
Sulk – 71 times
Say they hate you – 27 times
Empty the fridge – 84 times
Refuses to talk to you – 51 times
Takes selfies – 67 times
Threatens to leave home – 21 times
Answers back – 95 times
Asks for money 70 times
Slams doors – 51 times
Arrives home late – 38 times
Worries about looks – 74 times
Locks themselves in the bathroom – 66 times
Falls out with friends – 36 times
Sleeps in – 81 times
Top 20 Typical Teen Traits
1. Sulking
2. Texting all the time
3. Surfing the internet
4. Using the floor as a wardrobe
5. Shouting at you or about something
6. Playing their music loudly
7. Arguing with you
8. Answering back
9. Spending hours on social network websites
10. Asking for a lift
11. Lots of time spent sleeping
12. Grumbling about nothing in particular
13. Eating all of the food in the fridge
14. Telling you how unfair it all is
15. Slamming doors
16. Obsessing about what they look like
17. Singing loudly
18. Asking for money all the time
19. Spending hours in the bathroom
20. ‘Tutting’
