Gabby's

[LaVonne]

Originally Posted by Margies3

Actually, MyHalo, I can give you a great example of how it is when they are a teen - you'll feel so much better (NOT!)

Last week, my 17 year old son stole $20 out of his brother's bedroom. He didn't need the money. He was just mad at his brother and knew that if you want to get under his skin, all you have to do is mess with his money. Keith (the 13 year old) is VERY tight with his money!!

So then Justin went to youth group and was bragging to one of Keith's friends that he took it. That friend went to Keith (of course) and told him what Justin had said. So Keith came home and told me.

I asked Justin if he had taken it. His answer? "FINE! I'll give him the $20 and then all I'll left is $13." Well, duh! that's all he would have had if he had not stolen the money to begin with. So, he gave the money back.

But then I told him that there had to be a punishment for stealing. You can't steal and get away with it. As an adult, you go to jail for stealing!!! You should have seen him!! He went ballistic!! He was so mad that he was going to be punished (and he didn't even know yet what the punishment was going to be!). He's screaming at me and carrying on. In fact, he got so worked up, he hyper-ventilated!! And the final straw was this.......... He declared up and down that it was MY fault that he had taken that money. That if I "had been a better mother when he was little", he wouldn't have done it. Excuse me???

Needless to say, as a result of this, he has lost alot of privileges. And he had to write letters of apology to me (for his nasty words) and to Keith (for taking his money). And he had extra chores to do. And he knows he is skating on thin ice. He wants to go to Gatlinburg over EAster break with a friend. But it's only going to take one small infraction for that to not happen and he knows it.

So you think 9 is bad? hehehehehe Just wait!!

Ok, so I am a normal mom?! I tell you, these teenage boys are something else...our oldest would've done the same thing!