Smells Like....

What the hell is a teenager?

Is it strictly a thing from the age of 13 to 19?

Don't they kind of start at about 10 these days?

Are you really still a teenager at 19?

Can you be a teenager AND an adult - is that allowed?

In this higgledy-piggeldy world of Home Ed where we pride ourselves on having kids of all ages mixing it up and getting along, where do we stand on 12 year old 'teens-ishes' hanging out with 18 year olds offering lifts?

As it was correctly pointed out by a 15 year old - 'Technically an 18 year old has more right to be in the Teen Group than a 12 year old.'

Yeeeeeeaaaahhhhhbut... Uhh....

But it was also this 15 year old who invited the 12 year old into the Teen Group, cos they are also friends.

And they are.

And it's fabulous.

And the 12 year old is going for a mass-sleepover tonight with this 15 year old, and other 13 to 16 year olds.

Should the mother of this 12 year old be happy she'll be in good company - or panicking that allsorts could happen?

Don't think the 17 and 18 year olds are going to be there.

Does that mean 'oh dear, no 'adult' supervision' or 'thank fuck for that gods knows what they've got in their funky rucksacks.'

Hmmmmmnnnnnnnnn..........

Well.......

OK. I'm pretty happy about my 12 year old at the sleepover tonight. Her 15 year old friend is fantastic. And all the other teens I know going are all lovely. And Minx seems pretty relaxed about it all. And they're in some log-cabin thing in the hostess girl's parents' garden so hey....

And I am glad the older ones aren't going if I'm honest.

But..... I remember what I was like at about 15 or 16.

I remember a weekend away with my same-age friends - and older 'teen' friends - ostensibly on a 'retreat' in a little house thing on the grounds of some monastery. Monks and priests about but not in our house. Now who were the ones with the bottles of Martini and Piat D'Or in their duffels?

Of course it was. Us 15/16 year olds.

Maybe it was even just me.

Sighhhhhhhh.........

I don't like this boot being on the other foot business. Not cos I've gone all hypocritical and old. But because I was such a pain in the arse when I was young. But I still think that maybe I was such a pain in the arse when I was young cos my parents were so untrusting and uncool so I had to assert my rebelliousness just because! What if they had been really cool and I had nothing to rebel against? Would I still have been a drunken fuckwit in a monastery?

So I'm trying to be Cool Parent and trust in my offspring to not be a total fuckwit.

Am I having a laugh?