What to do if your kids try to steal all of your joy?

[Olioxenfree]

That was glib. I am sorry this is happening to you. I'm pretty sure I'd keep my enjoyment to myself, and dismiss their very uninformed opinions.

No, don’t worry , I laughed lol. I thinks that’s just what I’m going to do from now on. I watch a lot of British tv shows and they constantly make fun of me for it. I’m just going to stop watching the shows around them.

It’s your choice, but personally I wouldn’t stop watching the shows around them. It just seems like avoiding the problem instead of addressing it. What they are doing is common for teens, but they still need to learn to respect other’s interests.

That behavior is too common in schools, you’ve said how it makes you feel, not imagine being a kid on the receiving end of it who has less control over their emotional wellbeing than an adult. I have two teens and they have on occasion made comments like that and we had a discussion that I know they think it’s funny and don’t mean it to be harmful, but making fun of someone’s interests just because they don’t enjoy it can really hurt someone’s self confidence and make them think what they enjoy is shameful. I tell them that if I let them do it to me, their parent, then I’m saying it’s acceptable to do to others and if I ever find out they are bullying a kid in their class over their interests, we’re going to be having a whole other conversation. So, the remarks have stayed very minimal.

[SallyMae]

I love father brown, and any Agatha Christie movie

Did you ever get to see Derek Jacobi in the British televisation of the Brother Cadfael mysteries?

Not that one, but I will never forget his performance in I, Claudius. A fave to this day!

[LiveWhatULove]

My kids do not do this.

For adolescents, it is a healthy developmental milestone that they separate themselves from their parents and develop their own identity and many do this by pointing out how different they are from their moms and dads, by their style, entertainment, choices, etc. BUT I would still enforce boundaries of “we treat every person in this household with respect”

I would start by chatting with each one during a calm and peaceful time, asking them questions, repeating what they are telling so they feel heard, then tell them in a kind way, “please do not do this.”

[Aletheia]

I love father brown, and any Agatha Christie movie

Did you ever get to see Derek Jacobi in the British televisation of the Brother Cadfael mysteries?

Not that one, but I will never forget his performance in I, Claudius. A fave to this day!

https://www.itv.com/watch/cadfael/CADFAEL
or
https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/ ... _select_s1 (if you have Britbox on amazon prime)

[LuckyEightWow]

I’d turn the music and show up, I’d laugh more obnoxiously at the meme. I’d even dance and sing loudly to my music. They can steal someone else’s joy.