A frustrated mum was left wondering whether she was in the wrong after telling her daughter she’d take her new AirPods off her as her behaviour had changed since she’d had them
Technology is a huge part of teenage life, but one mum was getting so frustrated with her daughter who constantly had her AirPods in that she had to threaten to take them away.
The 15-year-old “got her first pair of AirPods a couple of months ago for her birthday”, but she now walks around the house with them in her ears constantly, and you can’t tell because she has long hair. The frustrated mum explained that she and her husband would be speaking to their teen, only to be ignored as she was listening to music. The mum fumed: “If we try talking to her without realising they’re in and have to repeat her name or tap her on the shoulder, she gets irritated, rips one out of her ear and snaps ‘What?!'”
The stressed-out mum took to Reddit’s ‘Am I The A**hole’ forum to ask whether she was being unreasonable to her daughter, writing: “We’ve tried talking about it. I said before she can’t use them as an excuse to not answer us or be open to talk.
“I’m not even looking for in-depth conversations here. But if I need to ask her to get her laundry out of the dryer so I can use it, I feel it’s not unreasonable for me to be able to come up to her and ask without her acting like I’m bothering her.”
The mum explained they’ve tried to compromise, saying she could wear “one pod when she’s walking around”, but then it always reverts to both of them in.
“After an incident when her dad went to ask her what she wanted for dinner and she snapped at him for ‘interrupting her song’ (once again, he didn’t see the AirPods were in), we had enough,” she fumed.
“We told her that she can only use the AirPods in her room or outside the house when she goes for runs, is out with friends, etc. I told her it’s ridiculous that we can’t ever talk to her. She got huffy and said that wasn’t fair. I said if she doesn’t adhere to the rules, I’ll take them away altogether until she learns to be respectful. Now she’s p***ed and says we’re being totally unfair. Are we the a**holes?”
Other parents said the headphones didn’t seem to be the issue – it was more their daughter’s “attitude”. One wrote: “If she were working on homework and you were repeatedly disturbing her I would understand a snap but if she is just hanging out leisurely and still has the audacity to get mad even though SHE is one not listening she needs an attitude check.
“This isn’t an AirPods-specific issue thing though, when she used her corded ones around the house was she still being rude when asked to pause and listen to something? I think you should enforce one pod until she learns how to be kind. Take one pod away until she earns your respect by not snapping again.”
Another person said: “Honestly, I think you should have a problem with the AirPods. This kid is learning to exist in her own tiny digital world and never be present with the world around her. That’s not good.” Someone added: “AirPods shouldn’t have given her a whole personality change. Maybe take her out for brunch or ice cream or a walk and ask what’s going on.
“At 15, the world often feels like it’s on fire and maybe for her it is right now. As a teenager, you’re often not sure how to handle stress and anxiety within what your peer group considers acceptable or you’re afraid or unsure how to talk to your parents. Just let her know you’re there, really there for her and want to listen if she wants to talk.”
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