Garga Posted September 9, 2017 Share Posted September 9, 2017 (edited) My son did two goofy things today. #1. Last week, he took a Chemistry test for his online class. He didn't get a great grade and he's allowed to look at what he did wrong, study for as long as he likes (up to 4 weeks), look for answers in the book, etc, and retake the tests. The teacher keeps the highest score. I'm thinking, "This is soooo easy! All you do is correct the problems and then get 100% every stinkin' time you take a test!" So, today he retook the test, but for almost all of the questions that he got wrong, he answered them the exact same way as he did the first time knowing they were wrong. And then he blamed me for all sorts of things because it was obviously MY fault that he answered them wrong, even though he knew they were wrong. #2. He attends a Spanish class at a local tutorial/school. His homework was to review a paper that had a list of adjectives on it and write 5 sentences based on the adjectives. He looked and looked at the 4 papers he was given in class (four of them for this entire school year) and could not find an adjective list, so he wrote the sentences with some adjectives he found from somewhere else (kudos on trying). As I was helping him set up his binder, we were putting away the four papers that he was given in class, and lo and behold, one of those 4 papers was the adjective list. At least he didn't blame me for that one. Inside, I'm not handling this well today. It's driving me a little batty. He will be 15 in a few days. Please remind me that their brains are rewiring and this will get better at some point in the future. Right? Because I used to think I'd cry a river of tears when he grew up and moved out, but today...I'm kinda looking forward to the day when I don't have to deal with the fuzzy-headedness anymore and get blamed for it. Edited September 9, 2017 by Garga_ 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted September 9, 2017 Share Posted September 9, 2017 :grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted September 9, 2017 Share Posted September 9, 2017 The answer is: YES. The boys undergo a tremendous mental and emotional growth between 15 and 18. (15 may possibly be the worst year.) The boy you have now at 15 is completely different from the young man you will send off in the world at age 18. Hang in there. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arctic Bunny Posted September 9, 2017 Share Posted September 9, 2017 Oh no! I thought DS12 just rounded the corner! It's going to get worse again?! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freesia Posted September 9, 2017 Share Posted September 9, 2017 Yes! My flaky 14 year old boy has been astounding me lately. He's taken a huge jump (he'll be 17 in a couple of months)--the kind that makes you shake your head and wonder who switched your kid with someone else's. But at 14--bwahaha--I wondered if he'd make it through high school some days. 15 got better as it went along, 16 started okay and has turned terrific. So, hang in there. I think I even wrote a hang in there Mom's of 14 year old boy post a year ago when things had gotten better. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted September 9, 2017 Share Posted September 9, 2017 Oh no! I thought DS12 just rounded the corner! It's going to get worse again?! probably yes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arctic Bunny Posted September 9, 2017 Share Posted September 9, 2017 probably yes I will take advantage while I can! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted September 9, 2017 Share Posted September 9, 2017 My DS12 did 1 hour = 60 seconds twice in a week for physics homework and then miss the p orbital instruction in his first chemistry quiz :lol: He has his preteen fog days. Oh no! I thought DS12 just rounded the corner! It's going to get worse again?!For my kids, I am thinking it would be 25 before their brains finish pruning and maturing or whatever you want to call it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hollyhock Posted September 10, 2017 Share Posted September 10, 2017 This makes me feel better. Last week, my 15yo son did the wrong two history lessons. Then he came to tell me that his timeline notebook was GONE and when I went and looked, it was exactly in the middle of his shelf where he had been looking, right where it was supposed to be. There was some other goofy stuff that I forget now. But I totally relate. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted September 10, 2017 Share Posted September 10, 2017 The NPR article about brain maturity at 18 and 25 "COX: To not be too clinical in the spin that we put on this, what parts of the brain are we talking about and what changes happen between the ages of 18 and, let's say, 25? AAMODT: So the changes that happen between 18 and 25 are a continuation of the process that starts around puberty, and 18 year olds are about halfway through that process. Their prefrontal cortex is not yet fully developed. That's the part of the brain that helps you to inhibit impulses and to plan and organize your behavior to reach a goal. ... COX: Is there a difference between males and females with regard to their brain development, particularly in this age category? AAMODT: Females' brains develop about on average two years earlier than male brains, so you're more likely to have a late developing male brain than female. COX: So when females say they're smarter than guys, it really is true? AAMODT: Especially around about the age of 15 or so. Yes." http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=141164708 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JudoMom Posted September 10, 2017 Share Posted September 10, 2017 Oh no! I thought DS12 just rounded the corner! It's going to get worse again?! You have no idea. It can be astounding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Serenade Posted September 10, 2017 Share Posted September 10, 2017 Eh. Is it OK for me to say that your post made me feel better, in the sense that my son is in good company? He would do the exact same thing, and he's 17. Just yesterday he couldn't find an important notecard that was on a brightly colored card, and I found it sticking out of his book. I mean, it was turquoise! How could he have missed it? And the other day I had him correct a spelling error in a paper, and he rewrote it again with the same misspelling. ?????? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garga Posted September 10, 2017 Author Share Posted September 10, 2017 Eh. Is it OK for me to say that your post made me feel better, in the sense that my son is in good company? He would do the exact same thing, and he's 17. Just yesterday he couldn't find an important notecard that was on a brightly colored card, and I found it sticking out of his book. I mean, it was turquoise! How could he have missed it? And the other day I had him correct a spelling error in a paper, and he rewrote it again with the same misspelling. ?????? I talked with my dh about what had happened. My dh teaches at a community college and he said, "Yup. My students do the exact same sorts of things. I can totally see some of them retaking a test and giving me the exact same wrong answers." So...I don't know if I'm comforted or not, being that my dh's students are generally in their late teens/early twenties. But as you said, I guess we're all in good company. Oh, and I forgot to add that my son needed to use the bathroom while I was in the middle of fixing my hair, and ended up putting my hot hair straightener right on my ipad and leaving it there. I came in 10 minutes later to find it on the ipad. The hair straightener incident was between the Chemistry test and the Spanish adjective list. Sigh. He had a rough day yesterday. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted September 10, 2017 Share Posted September 10, 2017 :grouphug: I told my husband that with our kids a year apart in age, teen years would be a repeat of the 2 under 2 years. My husband can be scattered brain at times too. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted September 10, 2017 Share Posted September 10, 2017 Hobbes is really dippy. Nothing helped until he decided to try to make changes himself and to accept help. That was a few months ago. Before that? No. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rutamattatt Posted September 11, 2017 Share Posted September 11, 2017 Oh, thank you for this post! Our 15 year old is sometimes so fuzzy I cannot figure out what to do with him. He loses things all the time, gets distracted walking to'from the bathroom, and is so scatterbrained I was beginning to wonder if he will ever be able to function safely in society! :lol: He is my first teen boy, so it's been quite the learning curve for me. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
school17777 Posted September 11, 2017 Share Posted September 11, 2017 Haha! I thought this post was actually going to be about fuzzy hair. I was thinking I didn't remember either of your boys having fuzzy hair! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2_girls_mommy Posted September 13, 2017 Share Posted September 13, 2017 Ok, so my 13 yr old girl is right there on schedule then, on the 2 yrs behind the 15 yr old boy for this stage. My older dd is 15, and has gotten over one hill, but still has her moments. But the 13 yr old, oh boy. And yes, it is very reminiscent of the 2 under 2 age. :) I have 2 in this stage and one 3 yr old. My dh wonders why I shut myself in my room when he comes home sometimes, lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mirabillis Posted September 16, 2017 Share Posted September 16, 2017 Right? Because I used to think I'd cry a river of tears when he grew up and moved out, but today...I'm kinda looking forward to the day when I don't have to deal with the fuzzy-headedness anymore and get blamed for it. i feel the 'exact' same way. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bethben Posted September 16, 2017 Share Posted September 16, 2017 The scary thing is that they let 15 year olds get permits and by 16, they are allowed to drive. Whose idea was that? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bethben Posted September 16, 2017 Share Posted September 16, 2017 Also, I call he fuzzy brained stage the "giant toddler stage". There are many similarities. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freesia Posted September 16, 2017 Share Posted September 16, 2017 The scary thing is that they let 15 year olds get permits and by 16, they are allowed to drive. Whose idea was that? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk One good thing about NY is you can't get a learners until 16 and a junior liscense until 16 1/2. My former fuzzy head blew me away this morning when he said that he'd set the alarm (on a Sat!) for 9 so he could get up and do his English paper before work. He was disappointed no one was home to put the password in on the computer. Disappointed--not angry, not telling me he'd never get it done now. And who is this boy who gets up early to do work?? Oh, and then, when I picked him up from work he said --were you the one who left pancakes for me this morning? Thank you. Be still my heart!!!!!!!! Mom's, if my first born ds can get it together like this, there is indeed hope! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starr Posted September 17, 2017 Share Posted September 17, 2017 Hmmm, maybe. "Look ds, you are getting two smarty pants awards for your major this year." "Really? Maybe that's why I got so many emails." :svengo: "Oh look, that paper was due at noon. Maybe I should get it done before dinner." :svengo: I shall not comment on his father. :D 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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