What embarrasses teenagers" Just about everything, writes Katie Hughes, and their parents come top of the list
I am not allowed to sing, dance, laugh or wear short skirts,? says author Kathy Lette. ?Having a teenage daughter is like living with the Taliban.? Other parents of teens concur ? commonly telling tales of being ordered to hide around the corner at school pick-up time or forbidden to address their offspring in public.
This teenage propensity to cringe at parents is nothing new. In a 2012 poll by 20th Century Fox, 88% of teens admitted to being regularly embarrassed by their parents, while the generations ahead of them say they often felt the same, but were less likely to express their feelings.
Little White Lies
?As one differentiates from childhood, one also wants to differentiate from parents,? explains Carl Pickhardt, author of Surviving Your Child?s Adolescence. But many parents will go to great lengths to stall this ? and some will even lie to do so. In another survey, 60% of parents confessed to making up past lives as hippies, punks or mods to ingratiate themselves with their teenagers ? potentially causing more embarrassment. Old jokes, over-enthusiastic dancing and displays of affection have long-caused parents to provoke protest from their teens. And more extreme tales of embarrassment include the misguided mother who posted sexual advice on her son?s Facebook wall, and the zealous father who sat in on his daughter?s university entrance intervie...