h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Hi,

Please tell me I am not alone.

I am the single parent father of a teenage girl. Kevinella?

Help.

I must admit to cheating a little, though. I packed her off to her mother's for a couple of weeks yesterday. YIPPEE!!!!!

... but she'll be back in 2 weeks and my house will revert to looking like a bomb hit a pig sty.

My parents got divorced and I was the teenager from hell. So I think I can sort of appreciate how you are feeling.

If you see what I mean.

On behalf of teenage girls everywhere: OUCH!


At least kids /start out/ as "bundles of joy". Parents are pains from the beginning

..Annnyyyway, on to the real advice...My parents claim that I'm messy (who am I to argue?) and the only thing that they've ever really done that actually seems to have helped this problem was to let me make my mess- provided it's in my own room. The way I figure it, this lets me feel like I do have the odd right within my own home, that I have my own space which (to some degree) they respect, /and/ it lets me feel like I'm not cleaning ALL of the time. For their part, my parents get a clean[er] house, and when I lapse (or their just bored and looking for a fight..depending on your perspective ) they get to throw all of my stuff into a bin in the garage, thereby satisfying their destructive urges. Under this system, my familly is showing every sign that we can tough it out without any major injuries or ivolvement of lawyers untill I head off for University in August.

Good luck!

Meagan

I live with my dad and between us seem to manage to keep the house looking partly respectable, apart from the computers scattered around the place. The Extremely messy Mebers of my family live in Another House about two Miles up the road Which My Dad Pays the Mortgage on and most of the other household bills as well whilst paying for the rent on this place. For once I think the Mother of the Teenage Daughter May well be Causing all the Mess.
trouble is My Dad gets very annoyed at the fact that i'm just sitting around until september when I start College.

Oh Well, Life goes on.
and on, and on and o......

You have my deepest sympathy, the only hope I can give you is for the future. The best feeling in the world is when your daughter gives birth to a daughter you go YEEEEEESSSSSSSS!!!!!!

Otherwise, just calm down & chill out, there will be times when your house will be just too tidy and quiet. At least you probably don't have the ignomy of having to tell your daughter to turn down her Barry Manilow records so that you can hear your AC/DC tapes!!!!(and if my daughter has finally found this site, you know who you are Donna!!!!!!!!

I would like to applaud you. At least you try to keep the house clean!! I would love to come back to a clean house and would certainly keep it that way. Unfortunatly my father is not the best housekeeper so....its always my room which is kept neat

Grrrrr....I don't understand why my mum is so annoyed when my room is in its usual state of dissary - it's MY room and I don't mind what it's like, so why should she care when she's not even IN it?! Let me have SOME control over my life, please!

What's the old saying?

"Grandchildren are a parent's revenge?"

Oh, I do hope so.

Thanks for the reply

Her room I don't mind being a mess excpet for the times when I have to go in it because:-

* There are no more towels left in the airing cupboard
* I'm missing some CD's - my fault, I admit, for not having the
musical tastes of the average Dad.
* I want a glass to put my whiskey in.
* One of the cat's is missing.
* There's a funny smell upstairs.
* Whoever's ringing her phone [another horror story] hasn't latched
onto the fact that it's not being answered because SHE'S NOT IN!!!!
* I've run out of cutlery.

...and so it goes on. i just want the shared bit of the house to be tidy and not full of crisp [chips in colonial terms] packets, chocolate wrappers, half eaten chinese or pizza, dead underwear.

It's not too much to ask is it?

Pete

Unfortunately, I think it _is_.
The airing cupboard's in my room... you can see it, on a clear day, when the piles of clothes, magazines and a large metal practice drum kit are hidden beneath a low-level mist.

Good luck with your teenagers! :-p

The saddest thing is when your daughter gives birth to a son and then blames HIM for all her mess!