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Normal teen stuff or not??

Tammajean451's picture

I don't have any of my own children so I don't have anything to compare to. 
 

..SS13 is obsessed with Video games. At BM's SS13 stays up till 3am or 4am(non school days) playing on the Xbox and then sleeps till 2 or 3pm. SS13 gets up and does it all over again. At our house we don't allow gaming devices but SS has a phone that he plays video games on 24/7. SS refuses to go out and get exercise and if DH makes him(rarely) SS but up a huge stink. I've seen him spend over 12 hours straight playing video games only taking a break to use the bathroom. SS13 refuses to shower at our house or change his clothes. SS will go DAYS wearing the same clothes. Brushing teeth? Maybe once every three days and that's with DH making him. Is normal teen behavior???

ndc's picture

That's not normal in my world.  A lot of gaming isn't all that unusual for teens who are into that, but that level of poor hygiene isn't typical. Maybe some kids don't care and need to be forced, but few parents allow a kid to not change clothes, bathe, brush teeth, etc. 

Sotheysay's picture

I mean. I am sure plenty of teens would do it if allowed you have a DH problem because most parents wouldn't allow that

Left out mama's picture

this may be a self esteem thing. He may not be taking care of himself because he doesn't care about himself enough to. 

but the bottom line is, It's normal for him because the fact that he is allowed to do this tells him there is nothing wrong with it. biomom and DH need to intervene and set clear and consistent limits on screen time

ESMOD's picture

Oh.. he takes breaks to go to the bathroom... you ARE lucky...lol.

All of it can be normal teen behavior when they are allowed to self direct.  Video games are designed to be "addictive"... and it's a parent's job to moderate that.. good that it happens at your home. 

tog redux's picture

This is normal for a kid whose parents don't parent him. What's the point of not allowing gaming devices if he's allowed to play on his phone all day long?

Like your other question, nothing will change without your DH finding the courage to actually be a parent to his son.

WwCorgi7's picture

I definitely don't think this it is "normal" but it seems like a "normal" for a lot step kids. I have no idea why but they seem to severely struggle with hygiene for some reason. A few step parents I talked to dealt with the same issues.

My SIL has 2 step kids and they refuse to bathe, brush their teeth, or wear clean clothes and they play video games all day and night. My own step daughter was filthy. She would sit all weekend in her pajamas not showering once. During her time of the month she would just bleed all over everything and not bother to change her clothes/bedding. She would literally just sit in it. She smelled terrible.

I tried to make her shower and she completely flipped on me. So I left my husband to deal with it. SD would turn on the shower then play on her phone the whole time. She would then come out in a towel completely dry with all her make up still on her face and her greasy hair and put on clothes from her dirty hamper. My husband confronted her and she made some huge ordeal about how her mom says it's okay to not shower everyday and we are trying to tell her what to do.