To have got a bit cross and shouty...

galen and nightowl - I am up with the larks today preparing for a visit from my DGS, who is coming to stay for a few days without mum and dad, who will be collecting him next weekend. He is 9, and is apparently dying to show me how he has learned to make a cup of tea - a very valuable skill in this house. I need to have a day of baking and cooking and getting things put in the freezer, so that we can have lots of fun without worrying about domestic stuff. I also have to get the spare room in some order as a young friend of mine who is getting married next April and has sold his flat very quickly so that he and his fiancé can start house hunting, is coming to stay for a few weeks to avoid having to rent somewhere. I have also heard that the dachshund puppy I have been hoping for has been born and will be ready at the end of October/beginning of November. So there will be lots of noise and mess in the next few weeks - and I am really looking forward to it

That sounds perfect vegasmags have a lovely time with your DGS. Hope things have improved today thatbags

Thank you LizG

Galen hope your visitors were not too stressful and vegasmags enjoy your GS's stay

vegas a dachshund puppy - how fantastic! Lots of fun ahead when this little one comes to stay

Thanks, LizG, bit unfortunately no! She did put an alarm on outside her room. Good. But when it rang she got up, switched it off, and went back to bed. Not good. So she was still asleep at 0745, fifteen minutes before she had to scarper down the hill for the school bus.

Afterwaking her, I emphatically suggested that a better idea would be to carry on to the bathroom after switching the alarm off and do wakey uppy things like cleaning her teeth and splashing water on her face. Blank look from her.

It'll be the wet sponge tomorrow and if that doesn't work I reckon I'll just have to let her be late, waste her money on bus fares, and get into trouble at school.

This is the twelve year old who says "I'm not a child!" Aye, right!

vegas, have fun!

I think that might have turned me more than a bit 'cross and shouty' and she's not a teenager yet; poor you.

Good luck bags, we're right behind you.

Yes, good luck, bags. Just to put a spanner in the works, my mum allowed me to be late when I was around that age, as I wanted to seep till noon (there's been some research supporting this for teenagers recently, suggesting later school starts in the morning). I got into trouble at school, so knowing what was coming, it was easier to truant! That became a regular habit. I think I'm back on track with my education now.

When I was a Head of Dept in FE, I tried to introduce a new timetable where classes didn't start until 10.00 or 10.30, as attendance at earlier classes was dreadful and much time and effort was taken up in chasing the no shows/late attenders. Although I did produce research to demonstrate that teenagers were more productive later in the day, the Principal wouldn't hear of it. However, when it got to the point that virtually all the students had mobile phones, we used to send out wake up text messages (quite easy to set up a class group) and this met with the approval of both students and their fed up parents. We also used to send out exam reminders.

Good idea, vegas! The school already sends out messages by text for other things.

when, it's the truanting aspect that worries me! Not sure she's the 'type' but the service buses don't go right to school but stop in town, so there's then a walk of two or three km to school. Of course she can do the walk easily but...

The wet sponge treatment will be easy, but I need to gird my loins to let her sleep too late. I don't think I'm ready for all that that entails yet.

We did that with offenders, too, vegas. The arrival of mobile phones and texting did wonders for improving attendance and multi-agency groups that supervise prolific and high risk offenders now routinely give them a cheap (non-Internet) phone so they can keep in touch and remind them about appointments.

I think that aspect of texting is great, I've been very glad to receive reminder texts from the car dealers, doctors, hairdressers, hospital etc.

For untidy children look at the picture I've just put on the picture thread.

thatbags - I didn't realise your teenager wasn't quite a teenager yet. Oh the joys ahead. I do believe the only thing worse than being a girl between the ages of about 12 and about 17, is to be the mother of girls that age. Boundaries seem to need constant re-negotiation, at length and often involve tears, or doors going bang, stairs going thud. Your comment about the 'take no prisoners voice' is a good one. I found saving my 'voice' for the few really serious issues was helpful all round. I gave up the fight on leaving the house having had a good breakfast, in full school uniform and without makeup by the time they were about 13, year 9 I suppose. They faced the music at school, and I saved my energy for stuff I could actually do something about. But you know all this don't you - get back to hedge trimming and enjoying being outside I'd say x

Iam64, summed up in a nutshell

Oh, that took me right back, Iam64. At one point I had four teenagers in the house - boys of 15 and 19, and twin girls, 13. The boys didn't do the drama thing, they just went their own sweet way and hid it from me. The girls would slam, thud and gesture about everything. Not a door frame was secure after all the slamming and banging, usually accompanied by 'I HATE living here!'

I do hope I'm around in 10 years time when their children start becoming teenagers!

I've already had that very smug moment when

Did you do that look, Ella? The one that means 'I told you so' but you would never DREAM of saying it!

bags...definitely no hedge trimming for you, until you've had a good, long rest.

No when, I said it out loud.......

When I was 12 I returned home from a domestic science lesson, and explained to mum that the way she was peeling potatoes for tea was "wrong". Miss Parkin (yes, that honestly was our domestic science teacher's name) had us all lined up, and demonstrated the correct way to peel potatoes. This involved a bowl of water, newspaper and a potato peeler. I demonstrated this to mum, who encouraged me to show her again (and again, and again till the spuds were all peeled). I was surprised to see the following evening that she was still peeling potatoes in the wrong way.....