When teens act like teens, watch out
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- December
- 5
In the last two weeks, my two sons have gone from being healthy teens to walking wounded. First my youngest son, 13, fractured two toes. Then last week, my eldest son, 17, tore the rotator cuff in his right shoulder.
How did they do it? By acting like teens.
My youngest son got into a tussle with his oldest brother, who was attempting to push open the door to his brother’s bedroom. In what was not a brilliant response, the little guy attempted to kick the door closed. Ouch!
Then it was the oldest son’s turn, or as the younger one said, karma. The elder one joined a gym last June to get ready for his senior year on his high school basektball team. He’s been pretty committed to working out, but evidently went to far. He had a little pain Wednesday night after the gym, but returned on Thursday, injuring his shoulder more. Then he played the first game of the season Friday. The result was more pain.
So far I’ve avoided using the phrase, I told you so, even though I had warned him about that hazards of using weights and the need for a day or two off between workouts. I thought he had gotten the message, but he’s stubborn.
Then he went to basketball practice last night night, saying he didn’t shoot from the right side. And that he hopes to play in Friday’s game if he’s not in pain.  I told him absolutely not, but he is stubborn. So my strategy is consult with his doctor today and then talk to his basketball coach.
I know teens have judgment issues. When I was 13, I spent weeks walking atop a narrow fence fantasizing that I was a tight rope walker in a circus. As I improved I walked the fence faster and even at night. I finally stopped after losing my balance one night, landing across the top of the unforgiving iron fence and spending a week in the hospital.
It’s nice when kids don’t need to be hospitalized to learn a lesson.
This entry was posted
on Wednesday, December 5th, 2007 at 12:34 am by Len Maniace.
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Your experience seems pretty typical, Len.
The best you can hope for is that the injuries aren’t serious. Teens definitely have judgment issues. They also have issues with inexperience, and not knowing how far they can push themselves without getting hurt.
Teens tend to think they’re invincible, and for boys especially, risk-taking is part of acting like a man. No guy that age wants to admit to physical limitations, and they’re often quite willing to bear a lot of pain to avoid that admission.