People always use sound effects, facial expressions and sympathy when talking to people with teenagers.  It starts when the kid(s) in question are approaching their 12th birthday(s).  Everyone warned me about how terrible 12 would be, and honestly, it was one of the easier ones.  It gave me a false sense of being ok with things to come….8 – 12 were horrible, horrible years.  I lost the mother of the year award on a daily basis.  So much so in fact, that one of my friends told me I should call on a day when I hadn’t lost it and my response was that he’d never hear from me again.

Squid turned 12 in November of 6th grade.  Aside from homework related issues, constant detention for chewing gum in class, talking incessantly during class, and consistently tardy, her attitude and disposition were great.  Her room was still a nightmare, but overall I could handle it.

 7th grade brought the 13th birthday, but from the day school started in the fall, the non-stop debate over hair, makeup, length of skirts & earrings were a constant in our household.  Detention, non-production of homework, and a scary room continued.

 8th grade and approaching 14th birthday have now brought a need to debate, challenge and correct everything(!) regardless of whether or not she’s right or even knows what she’s talking about!!, along with the endless hours of straightening hair that can’t get any straighter, makeup, “borrowing” things that never return to their point of origin, thus never to be seen again.  Squid’s also mastered the art of eye rolling and the nasal sound of irritation that accompanies the eye rolling.  “Nice” comes with an upcoming request for either a ride, a purchase with Mom’s money or a deviance on chores, bedtimes or some other miscellaneous item, or a visiting witness in one form or another. 

In light of my personal experience, which I know is shared with many, many others, I’ve come to the conclusion that the attitude is not age related but inflicted by grade.  Summers are a continum of the grade just completed, which is why sleep away summer camp was invented!  I think for the right amount of money, it could be arranged for camp administrators to send our little tyrants revisiting their terrible snotty two’s straight to military school!!