Mouthy Teenagers

Sad story in the news recently about a distraught Florida mother who shot and killed her teenage son and daughter because she was sick and tired of them "mouthing off" to her. Aren't all teens mouthy?

Curious NY TImes op-ed piece on Friday when an empathetic mother of two teenage sons (also mouthy) explained her own experience. Her older son had Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder ADHD and--here's the new one---Oppositional Defiance Disorder, which I guess would be shortened to ODD.  My first thought: was she spoofing us? Was she really a writer on the Daly Show or Colbert? No, she continued, the only way she coped  with her ODD son was a year of intense therapy.  I wondered if once this tell-all article hit the newsstand her problems with son #1 would worsen. I could hear the bullies at his school now:

bully #1: hey, man, knew you were a loser--i mean violin and Hebrew school and no sports? 

bully #2: Yeah, we knew you were odd, but not ODD, too.  hahahah

It could be a new plot line for Glee, so I'm emailing them my idea. A lot of potential here. I'm thinking Lauren, the fat girl could be the ODD candidate.  After all she's pretty hostile to the affections of  Puckerman, the cool, Jewish, juvenile delinquent football player and glee club member who sports a Mohawk haircut and thinks he is in love with Lauren. (The ingenuity that went into creating "Puck" is breathtaking!)

I know--I'm just getting old--not like the good old days when ODD was simply labeled teen rebellion or adolescent angst. Far from being odd, being ODD had a definite cool factor. Look at James Dean, Marlon Brando, Holden Caulfield, Elvis, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and all the other rock and rollers.

Next time you encounter a teenager disrespecting his elders, mouthin' off to Mom or just acting like a jerk, tap him on the shoulder and reassure him you're familiar with his oppositional defiance disorder and can recommend some Big Pharma solutions or an afternoon of watching Rebel without a Cause.