I got grounded several times as a teenager --- I hope I didn't make my mom and dad's life hell during that time!

I did it to my parents, and my mom still wishes I lived at home. My sister was even worse, and is about to move into her first home, and my mom is really sad. I dont think there will be a time when she is glad we arent there. She would rather our husbands and grandchildren all move in with her. My daughter already gives me a really good run for my money at four.. and considering how me and my husband are, I know its bound to get waaaaay worse. I dont think I'll ever be happy to see her go.. I think I'll be like my mom.

lol as a teenager I know how annoying we can be. Just glad mine is still 11 months. As strict as my parents are ive never been grounded.. weird

Just make sure that you know how to disable their gadgets. You know, how to really keep them from getting on the internet and playing their games. While I've never been a child problem, my mom had the disadvantage of not really knowing how to disable the things I was grounded from, so I just did them when she was away. Which was a horrible thing of me to do, looking back... Taking power cords is a good way. Or if it's a game (on the computer or a game console) take the game discs and hide them.

This is one of the things I'm not looking forward to when I'm older and have my own child. Hopefully I can have a child like me, who only has about a year of rebellion. I have never really been grounded because it was never necessary. I'm 19, and my parents still don't want me to move out until I have all of the things I need.

I guess my mom is lucky somewhat for having a good daughter. Sure we fought but all mothers and daughters fight at least once in a while. But I would have to say I have been a pretty good kid.

Sort of? Because I'm nearly seventeen and my parents seldom even CONSIDER grouding me.

I teach in a middle school - I GET IT ALREADY!  :)  Of course I get the ones right at the beginning of teenage years.  I can't even imagine when they are fully engrosed in it.  You go from happy and smiling one minute to angry and practically ready to explode the next to happy and smiling as they tell you to have a great weekend.  I'm totally confused, but I think they are too so I guess it balances out.

@brownalpaca@xanga - I'm not a parent, but grounding does seem like a pretty natural consequence for a teenager. If you lived strictly by natural consequences, you would basically let the teens run their own lives and just hope that they don't escape their natural consequences out in the world. I.e. if they're going to a lot of parties and getting wasted all the time, truly letting the consequence be natural would entail just waiting and hoping that one day they will get alcohol poisoning and swear off unsafe alcohol consumption forever (unlikely) or do something stupid that will be a natural consequence (again unlikely). However, by that time, they might have already driven drunk or died of alcohol poisoning. No, sometimes, YOU need to be the consequence, by stepping in and creating an unnatural consequence that follows naturally and reasonably from their actions. "Because you have shown extreme irresponsibility through your actions lately, staying out late, getting drunk, which is having an effect on your school work and contributions here at home, not to mention your health and well being, you are hereby grounded from going out with friends until you can show some responsibility." (and then laying out the terms of what responsibility means). Or if a kid makes a habit out of breaking curfew, for instance, which you know makes them go to bed way too late and not concentrate at school and also makes you worry unnecessarily about them (but they don't care which shows a pattern of disrespect on their part) then it's not going to work (i.e. alter behavior) to simply let your displeasure and their tiredness the next day at school be natural consequences. Mom's bitching and sleeping through science class are TOTALLY worth putting up with for extra time out with friends! Teenagers aren't going to sit there and go "wow, mom was worried about me last night and I'm tired this morning because I was out late, maybe I should listen to mom when she tells me to be home by midnight!' Pffsh. Yeah, right. The consequence isn't concrete or painful enough. True consequences have to create regret and sorrow for having committed an action. "Man, I did this thing and now I"m suffering because of it. Maybe next time I shouldn't do that thing." It seems like a pretty natural consequence to me to say, "If you do not get home by such and such a time tonight after being out with your friends, you are not allowed to go out with your friends the next time they ask you to do something (i.e. you are grounded). For every night you stay out late on your terms, you will spend a night at home on our terms."