While sitting in front of my laptop contemplating what I would write for my post, I was approached by my six-year old daughter who wanted to know what I was working on.
“I’m working on a post for a site for teenage girls,” I told her.
“Oh, I can help with that,” she said. “I know all about teenage girls.”
I was surprised by her confidence since she doesn’t actually know any teenage girls, but she assured me that there is a teenage girl on Good Luck, Charlie, which she watches frequently.
According to Emma:
“Girl teenagers like to hang out. They like cute boys. They like two-year olds. They have a best friend who likes what she likes. They like beautiful stuff and cool stuff sometimes.”
I was prepared to laugh at the foolishness of my daughter’s observations until I realized that her estimation of teenage life was almost exactly like my own at her age. I remember thinking I would spend my high school years living exactly the way the girls of Sweet Valley High did: with cute boys in cool cars and little interaction with my parents.
Of course, my teenage years were nothing like that. My mother insisted on talking to me daily and the boys didn’t look near as hot as I had imagined they would. (To be fair, neither did I.) I wasn’t allowed to go on weekend trips with my friends or throw massive parties in my parent’s mysteriously empty mansion. No one ever sang to me on the football field.
Despite the fact that most women I know didn’t have Disney-channel teenage years, I think a lot of us see girls that age in the same light as my daughter. We forget that teenage girls are worrying about more than tanning and texting. We forget about the stress, belittle the angst, and lump everyone between the ages of 12 and 20 into the same category.
Just like adults did to us when we were that age.
I’m curious how teenage girls would describe themselves. I suspect it would involve more than boys and beautiful stuff.
Are you a teenage girl who feels like adults don’t really see you? Would you share with me what you think we’re missing? I’d love to hear your thoughts!
(If you’re not a teenage girl yourself but know one, would you share this with them?)
About Britt Reints
Britt, I love this post. I think it’s so important as moms for us to try hard to remember what we REALLY felt like as teenage girls and then multiply that by 100 for what girls must be going through these days.
I imagine it is soooo much tougher now.
When I was a teenage girl, I stressed more than most about grades and my future. I was an overachiever and was constantly trying to convince myself through my grades that I was smart enough.
I was NOT interested in having sex, but I loved to flirt and loved the thrill of getting a guy to want to date me. Then I moved on to the next. LOL. I didn’t want a steady boyfriend and all the pressure that went with it… I just wanted lots of fun flirting.
I wasn’t a typical teen b/c I didn’t feel much peer pressure… I was very self confident and I loved my life and I had no interest in losing brain cells to drugs.
I was NOT typical. And I think that it’s important to realize that most teens aren’t “typical”. They are unique and we need to listen to them as individuals and meet them where they are at.