Need advice for dealing with teenager

Bogie

New member
Okayfine - the girlfriend type has several daughters. The oldest is almost 17, and has always been a good student. Lately she's expressed apathy toward "boring" subjects, etc., and has also started dating a fellow who is a relative loser (all I know is that he has been in a few minor scrapes in the past). He seems to be of pretty fair influence upon her - They were both working at a fast food joint, he was late for work, so she walked out on a shift supervisor position when he got canned... She's got another job, in a department store, but her mother and I are worried that the guy will put her up to ripping something off, or aiding him in an attempt... Where before she was about the closest thing I've ever seen to the "perfect" daughter, now she's started lying to her mother (more on the order of telling her what she wants to hear, rather than the truth), throwing some fairly juvenile tantrums, etc.

I'm worried that if I have any firearms accessible, they may grow legs, so I'm definitely not doing that...

Short of shooting the guy, or always being in the process of cleaning Mr. Twelve when he comes by, any suggestions? I've never had kids, etc., and this is a completely new process for me...
 

dZ

New member
APPLICATION FOR PERMISSION TO DATE MY DAUGHTER


 NOTE: This application will be incomplete and rejected unless
 accompanied by a complete financial statement job history, lineage, and
 current medical report from your doctor.

1. NAME  _______________________________ DATE OF BIRTH ________________
2. HEIGHT ____________________ WEIGHT __________ I.Q _______
G.P.A.______
3. SOCIAL SECURITY # _____________ DRIVERS LICENSE #  __________________

4. BOY SCOUT RANK____________________________________________________
5. HOME ADDRESS _________________ CITY/STATE ___________ ZIP _________
6. Do you have one MALE and one FEMALE
parent?___________________________
    If No., EXPLAIN ___________________________________________________

7. Number of years your parents have been married
____________________________
8. Do you own a van? ______ A truck with oversized tires? ______
A waterbed? _______      
Do you have an earring, nose ring, or belly button ring? A tattoo_________________
(If  "yes" to any of #8, discontinue application and leave premises )
9. In 50 words or less, what does "LATE" mean to
you?____________________
_______________________________________________________________________
10. In 50 words or lest, what does "DON'T TOUCH MY DAUGHTER" mean to
you?

_________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________
11. In 50 words or less, what does 'ABSTINENCE" mean to you?
_____________________________________________________________________
12. Church you attend _____________
How often do you attend __________________
13. When would be the best time to interview your father, mother and
priest/rabbi/minister? __________
14. Answer by filling in the blank: please answer freely. ALL answers
are confidential (That means I won't  tell anyone-ever-I promise.)
   a) If I were shot the last place on my body I would want wounded is
       ______________________
   b) If I were beaten, the last bone I would want broken is my
       ___________________________
   c) A woman's place is in the
       ________________________________________
   d) The one thing I hope this application does not ask me about is
       ____________________________________________
   e) When I first meet a girl, the first thing I notice about her Is
       __________________________________
      (NOTE: If your answer begins with "T" or "A", discontinue. Leave
       premises keeping your head low and running in a serpentine
       fashion is advised.)
15. What do you want to be IF you grow up?
     __________________________________

       I SWEAR THAT ALL INFORMATION SUPPLIED ABOVE IS TRUE AND CORRECT
TO THE BEST OF MY KNOWLEDGE UNDER PENALTY OF DEATH, DISMEMBERMENT,
NATIVE AMERICAN ANT TORTURE, ELECTROCUTION, CHINESE WATER TORTURE,
RED HOT POKERS, AND HILLARY CLINTON KISS TORTURE.
________________________________________
Signature (That means your name, moron)

Thank you for your interest Please allow four to six years for
processing. You will be notified in writing you are approved. Please do
not try to call or write (since you probably can't and it would cause
you injury.) if your application is rejected, you will  be notified by
two gentlemen wearing white ties and carrying violin cases (You might
want to watch your back).

Eight Simple Rules for Dating My Daughter

When I was in high school I used to be terrified of my girlfriend's father, who I believe suspected me of wanting to place my hands on his daughter's chest. He would open the door and immediately affect magood-naturedly murderous expression, holding out a handshake that, when gripped, felt like it could squeeze carbon into diamonds.

Now, years later, it is my turn to be the dad. Remembering how unfairly persecuted I felt when I would pick up my dates, I do my best to make my daughter's suitors feel even worse. My motto: Wilt them in the living room and they'll stay wilted all night. "So," I'll call out jovially. "I see you have your nose pierced. Is that because you're stupid, or did you merely want to APPEAR stupid?"

As a dad, I have some basic rules, which I have carved into two stone tablets that I have on display in my living room.

Rule One: If you pull into my driveway and honk you'd better be delivering a package, because you're sure as heck not picking anything up.

Rule Two: You do not touch my daughter in front of me. You may glance at her, so long as you do not peer at anything below her neck. If you cannot keep your eyes or hands off of my daughter's body, I will remove them.

Rule Three: I am aware that it is considered fashionable for boys of your age to wear their trousers so loosely that they appear to be falling off their hips. Please don't take this as an insult, but you and all of your friends are complete idiots. Still, I want to be fair and open minded about this issue, so I propose this compromise: You may come to the door with your underwear showing and your pants ten sizes too big, and I will not object. However, in order to assure that your clothes do not, in fact, come off during the course of your date with my daughter, I will take my electric staple gun and fasten your trousers securely in place around your waist.

Rule Four: I'm sure you've been told that in today's world, sex without utilizing a "barrier method" of some kind can kill you. Let me elaborate: when it comes to sex, I am the barrier, and I WILL kill you.

Rule Five: In order for us to get to know each other, we should talk about sports, politics, and other issues of the day. Please do not do this. The only information I require from you is an indication of when you expect to have my daughter safely back at my house, and the only word I need from you on this subject is "early."

Rule Six: I have no doubt you are a popular fellow, with many opportunities to date other girls. This is fine with me as long as it is okay with my daughter. Otherwise, once you have gone out with my little girl, you will continue to date no one but her until she is finished with you. If you make her cry, I will make YOU cry.

Rule Seven: As you stand in my front hallway, waiting for my daughter to appear, and more than an hour goes by, do not sigh and fidget. If you want to be on time for the movie, you should not be dating. My daughter is putting on her makeup, a process which can take longer than painting the Golden Gate Bridge. Instead of just standing there, why don't you do something useful, like changing the oil in my car?

Rule Eight: The following places are not appropriate for a date with my daughter: Places where there are beds, sofas, or anything softer than a wooden stool. Places where there are no parents, policemen, or nuns within eyesight. Places where there is darkness. Places where there is dancing, holding hands, or happiness. Places where the ambient temperature is warm enough to induce my daughter to wear shorts, tank tops, midriffT-shirts, or anything other than overalls, a sweater, and a goose down parka zipped up to her Adam's apple. Movies with a strong romantic or sexual theme are to be avoided; movies which feature Chainsaw are okay. Hockey games are okay.

My daughter claims it embarrasses her to come downstairs and find me attempting to get her date to recite these eight simple rules from memory. I'd be embarrassed too -- there are only eight of them, for crying outloud! And, for the record, I did NOT suggest to one of these cretins that I'd have these rules tattooed on his arm if he couldn't remember them. (I checked into it and the cost is prohibitive.) I merely told him that I thought writing the rules on his arm with a ball point might be inadequate -- ink washes off--and that my wood burning set was probably a better alternative.

One time, when my wife caught me having one of my daughter's would-be suitors practice pulling into the driveway, get out of the car, and go up to knock on the front door (he had violated rule number one, so I figured he needed to run through the drill a few dozen times. She asked me why I was being so hard on the boy.

"Don't you remember being that age?" she challenged.

Of course I remember. Why do you think I came up with the eight simple rules?

:D
 

geegee

New member
I have two beautiful daughters-one about to become a teenager, the other 7 years old. This post will be saved in a file (to be printed in later years);) geegee
 

Bogie

New member
Just had an idea... I hand him those, and then when the little bleep offers to draw down on me and pop a cap in my ass, I'll get the threat on tape... Instant assault charge...
 

Betty

New member
Considering I was a 17 year old rampaging teenage girl only a few years ago, I know that pretty much nothing you say or do will do much good until she grows up and out of her teen angst stage.

You can still give advice and dole out the punishment when she breaks the rules, but at 17, you figure you know better than your parents and you're just going to do what you're going to do.

I was an A honor-roll student. I followed the rules for everything else, but when it came to boys,well, I spouted a lie here and there. Boyfriend was Mr. Universe.

I dated an idiotic craphead and had to learn the hard way that bad boys break good little girls' hearts and don't care. At least I had the common sense not to take those strange little pills when he did.

Give her emotional support and always be there for her when she needs it, and hopefully those rays of light will smack her square on the forehead when she is ready, and she will make the right decisions and not get herself into trouble.

If you don't trust the boyfriend, don't let him in the house, or lock up your goodies if you think he's coming over when you're not around.
 

MeekAndMild

New member
the girlfriend type has several daughters

Pardon my pessemism, but you're scr*wed. Being an "outsider" in the family you are at risk for getting caught in a crossfire. Nothing you can do is right and at the least provocation both sides will turn on you and rip your heart out. Being female they have no "off switch" once they're mad. If you're even charged with domestic disturbance you risk losing all your gun rights forever unles you've got a gazillion dollars to fight it all the way to SCOTUS. No woman is worth that. (Sorry runt, maybe you're the exception to the rule.)

Having raised some step kids my personal inclination is to get an apartment across town. ;)
 
Last edited:

ahenry

New member
That is a tough one because even if you get rid of the punk you are still going to have to deal with how your actions have impacted your relationship with the daughter. I don’t think there are any hard and fast rules or magic wand that can make everything better. Some general guidelines would be to try your hardest to actually show your (and your girlfriends) love for her. Not an easy thing to do with a 17 year old I know, but that has far reaching impact on how your future with her will turn out. Second I think you should try to determine if she just doesn’t see this guy for what he really is, or if she is trying to be rebellious. Two completely different situations with equally different responses. If she just can’t see past the rose-colored glasses then I would try to come up with some creative ways of giving the guy enough rope to hang himself, or think of ways to show her what he is really like (risky territory but perhaps necessary). If she is trying to just be rebellious then you might want to look elsewhere than TFL for advice.

“Train up a child in the way in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it” Sometimes there isn’t much you can do but hope you instilled the right values and that they will remember them when “the chips are down”. I know I gave my parents a few of those moments.
 
Ditto on what MeekAndMild said, stay out of it. You are not the father and that kid will let you know it in an instant if you do anything she doesn't like. Get the kid mad and and she will make girlfriend mad and then she might be ex-girlfriend. Like they say here in Tennessee, "Your dog ain't in this fight". You have no legal right to do anything so don't put yourself in a potentially bad situation.
 

motorep

New member
I have two teenaged daughters, 13 & 17. They are very much into going to the mall, etc., because that's where their friends are and I'm not, but- we go to movies, we go shooting, we go fishing, we check out the wildlife, find tracks and figure out what made them and what they were doing, my youngest has discovered archery, my oldest has discovered a new Springfield 1911 in 9mm which will help her learn to shoot real handguns.
I have invoked rule #6 with one of her friends- she started seeing him again after he stood her up for the prom last year-major tears, wailing, etc- met him in the driveway, told him that if he ever made my daughter cry again I would make him cry, and that if he ever gave her, sold her. or let her do drugs in his presence, I would show him the true meaning of FUBAR. To his credit all he said was "yessir, yessir". Smarter than I thought...The next morning my daughter came to me and said "Dad, I don't know what you said to Jeff, but you scared the living crap out of him. Good job, Dad." I also threatened to break the arm of another, but that's a different story.
 

Fatcat

New member
As a 16 year old male, you guys scare me.. ;)

Anyway, Meek is right. Since you aren't the father of these kids, you really can't do anything directly. Cleaning the twelve when he comes around may not be a bad idea, though. And, of course, if one of your guns "disappears", show no mercy.
 

Ed Brunner

New member
The truth of the matter is that about all you can do is to make suggestions. Political correctness and domestic violence have changed our lives to the point that you can go down the crapper for raising your voice in this situation.
 

The Rock

New member
See, this is why I can't have children.

I was bad news. I am an Eagle Scout and all that, but (and that is an awfully big one, kinda like J-Lo... ;) ) my middle initials actually stand for Just Trouble, cause that is what I was.

Attempts to frighten me never worked.
Hell, I never listened to my parents, much less the parents of the flavor of the week.

Now that I'm older (and wiser, I hope :) ) I am cordial and polite. Of course, the G30 on my hip projects a, well, different image.

TR
 

falconer

New member
Man, this is great material. I have a 16 year old sister that is just now starting to date and I've gone from the overprotective big brother to the overprotective big brother from hell. I can't wait to use this stuff when I go home for Thanksgiving.

I think I'll modify that application and hand it to him while I'm cleaning a few firearms. Then we'll head out to the garage and discuss the 8 rules while I give him a brick breaking demo. :)
 

Ceol Mhor

New member
Yeah, I have a 16-year-old sister as well. I pity (well, not really, come to think of it) any guy who mistreats her. Of course, her .22 shell-casing earrings and the rifle on her bedroom wall will probably scare off any such guys. :D
 

Waterdog

Moderator
Go down to the court house and see if this guy has any convictions.

Find out if and where he works, do a little research through parties other than the teenager.

This will give you an idea as to who this dude is.

And at the first oppurtunity have a little conversation with him and let him know a little bit about himself, but, don't spill the whole can of beans.

He will be very cautious around you, and will give the teenager more respect than normal.

Waterdog
 

Jeff OTMG

New member
One important thing is that you explain to her that she is responsible for her actions. That you will support her, but not protect her from the consequences of of any bad choices she makes. In other words if she is caught stealing you will show up for her court apperance, but you will not bail her ass out of jail. Kids develop an amazing amount of responsibility if they know in advance that they will be held accountable for their choices. It worked on me and it worked on my son.
 

Mikul

New member
The best way to raise kids is to have a relationship with them (in this case her) that you both place great value on. That breeds two-way respect that even 17-year-old daughters don't want to jeapordize.

Okay, you don't have time for that. Waterdog's idea of checking on his record is a good idea, but if he's a juvenile, I'm not sure that it's public record.

You're in a difficult position. Try to get her to talk to you and maybe you can learn something about what's really going on. Think of it as a fact-finding mission instead of message delivery. If all goes well, I'd mention that you'd like to speak to the boyfriend with whom you will lay down the law to, but if you get the daughter's permission, it shows you respect her which may be a valuable asset.

This is tough. Good luck.
 

Glamdring

New member
You say "minor scrapes", do you mean he has been busted for shoplifting or what? Be honest with yourself is the guy a real "loser", a threat, or just someone you don't like?

Unless he is a threat I would let the daughter make her own choices and live with them. That is the only way any of us learn.

The stuff about telling her mom what she wants to hear instead of the truth sounds like she gets punished or some such (ie negative feedback) when she tells her mom things her mom doesn't want to hear.

You have to EXPECT kids to make mistakes, heck adults do and they supposedly have more experiance. IMHO the role parents and other adults should fill for kids is to help them learn from their mistakes. I am not saying there shouldn't be rules and such. But the important thing isn't to teach kids to follow rules blindly.

I don't claim to be an expert with kids, but have worked a lot with kids from age 5 on up. As a school bus driver, tutor, manager, etc. What works for me is treating them as much like an adult as possible. I set the rules needed, the fewer rules the better, and then respect the fact that they are people and not dogs or mushrooms. Don't try to keep them on a leash or in a cage when they outgrow it...they will (with reason) resent it. Or keep them in the dark and feed them S***. How would/do you feel when a boss or someone else does that to you?
 
Top