Child or Not?

Discussion in 'General' started by JenJefLog, Feb 20, 2008.

  1. JenJefLog

    JenJefLog Well-Known Member

    Today, when I went to pick up Logan and one of his friends from school, I had to take the girls with me as well and they wanted to sit in the middle row of the van so Logan and his friend had to sit in the back. Logan got all upset and said I was making him feel like a child. I told him he was a child and he kept insisting that he's not. I guess since he recently turned 13, he's feeling is he's no longer a child, he's a teenager. The girls and I were kind of laughing about it which got him even more upset, so when we got out of the car at home, he trounced off across the front yard and threw his lunchbox and backpack across the grass and laid down on the lawn. Couldn't help but think that he sure was ACTING very childishly. So, what do you think? Is 13 still a child?
     
  2. niftywriter

    niftywriter Well-Known Member

    Yep! Especially after the mini-tantrums! :laughing:
     
  3. jenn-

    jenn- Well-Known Member

    Sorry I don't belong in this forum, but your title drew me in. That temper tantrum is exactly why 13 is still a child. It sounds like he had a bad day and decided to take it out on mom. It probably didn't help being laughed at and not taken seriously.
     
  4. 4EverHis

    4EverHis Well-Known Member

    I probably wouldn't say child but acting like a teenager, YES!!! Put on your seat belt because the teenage years are an adventure both good and bad! I have heard and read so many times that teeangers need their parent's more now than when they are younger because their brains are not fully developed to make decisions without thinking about the full consequences of their actions. Just something to think about because I have a 13 girl and 15 boy.
     
  5. Mama_Kim

    Mama_Kim Well-Known Member

    My boys are 13 and honestly I don't consider them children as much as adolescents. Slight difference. But that does not mean they don't act childish at times. ;) I know my boys get insulted when I sometimes still refer to them as the "little guys" and I think you have to realize at 13 they are really no longer little kids but they are teenagers and feeling more grown up (doesn't mean they always act like it!) so I have tried very hard not to treat them as young children but as maturing teens. It hurts their feelings when I don't acknowledge that they are teenagers and not little boys any longer. I think that's why Logan was so upset.
     
  6. rubyturquoise

    rubyturquoise Well-Known Member

    I was just talking with my 16 yr old about this today. I was telling him he's at that exact point where he's (emotionally, physically he is plenty big enough) too big to be a child, in some ways, but still too small to be a man. This started because XH was saying, "You're acting like a 16 yr old!" as an insult. I said, "You ARE a 16 yr old. I expect you to act like one."

    Okay, I really did a bad job of explaining that. My 13 yr old just hates to be called a "child" or "kid." So I try very hard to use "teenager" when I say "a teenager," but I will still say "my child," because that will be true however old he gets.
     
  7. Heathermomof5

    Heathermomof5 Well-Known Member

    My 13 yr old is the same way, he does not like for me to call him my little guy. I am trying to adjust to this 13 yr old thing so I am trying to treat him like an "adolecent" and a little more grown up than his brothers. but as his mom - he will always be my little guy even when he is 60 :D much to his horror <_<
     
  8. 4kids4Cat

    4kids4Cat Well-Known Member

    Oh, yes, Jennifer. 13 is still definitely a child. LOL, Curtis will be 17 this summer, and the fact that I have to constantly remind him to take out the garbage and recyclables, clean his room, and not leave all his junk in the entry-way means he's still a child, in my book. And he knows it. :D

    Seriously....
    Of course, teenagers want to be distinguished from younger children, but teenagers are still children in that they continue to need our parental guidance and support as much as they ever have. Yes, we treat them differently than littler kids, but I also treat my five-year-olds differently than when they were babies or toddlers. From birth through 18 years (or more) -- they're all on the childhood spectrum.
     
  9. Donita

    Donita Well-Known Member

    QUOTE(Nifty @ Feb 20 2008, 08:34 PM) [snapback]632506[/snapback]
    Yep! Especially after the mini-tantrums! :laughing:


    I totally agree!! Great visual! :rofl:
     
  10. JenJefLog

    JenJefLog Well-Known Member

    Thanks for all the responses. I did tell Logan that he would always be my child, but that definitely did not appease him. I figured I was better off telling him he was right, he was a teenager and not a child, but I certainly will have no qualms in telling him when he's acting like a 2-year old either! Knock on wood, his moodiness has been fairly infrequent, so I'm hoping it stays that way. His sisters like to say he has "anger issues," but wait until their that age! Aye yi yi!
     
  11. Bichon999

    Bichon999 Well-Known Member

    QUOTE(jenn- @ Feb 21 2008, 10:37 AM) [snapback]633151[/snapback]
    Sorry I don't belong in this forum, but your title drew me in. That temper tantrum is exactly why 13 is still a child. It sounds like he had a bad day and decided to take it out on mom. It probably didn't help being laughed at and not taken seriously.


    Haha! maybe it's a child for boys, but girls are more mature than that.
    The mother shouldn't have called him a child even if she thinks he is one, and worse is his little sisters laughing at him, and his mom joining in. You made him feal bullyed and degraded, when you did that, and it's not good for his self confidence. You owe him an apology, and should maybe have asked him about his bad day, that he obviously had before you laughed at him.
     
Loading...
Similar Threads Forum Date
Nail Problems After Childbirth and During Breastfeeding. General Saturday at 6:50 AM
Hardware Treatment for Children's Vision: An Effective Correction Method Childhood and Beyond (4+) Feb 8, 2024
Children's clothing store General Sep 29, 2023
How to choose a humidifier for a child's room? General Aug 24, 2023
Developmental games for a 2-year-old child General Jun 13, 2023

Share This Page