We need to be understanding, that there are lots of changes going on, there will be huge ups and downs. But we have those same moods. It can all be a bit distracting. Much of what they lack is confidence. But they wrestle with their confusion in very different ways.
Nobody gets away with it cheap.
Mrs. Machado added she considers herself lucky because she not only loves her kids, she really likes them. They are nice kids. But I know that even nice kids can be terrible sometimes. That's the part of adolescence that drives some parents bonkers. Girls tend to remain more verbal at this time than boys, and can become master debaters, ready to turn the slightest request into a summit between world powers.