The blog of photographer Kim Ayres

Conversation with an eleven year old

“MUM, DAD!”

“What is it Rogan?”

“I CAN’T HEAR YOU!”

“We didn’t say anything!”

“WHAT?”

“I said, we didn’t say anything!”

“WHAT? I CAN’T HEAR YOU!”

“But we didn’t say anything!”

“I CAN’T HEAR WHAT YOU’RE SAYING!”

“THEN STOP BLOODY SHOUTING AT US FROM AWAY OVER THERE AND COME HERE THEN!”

“WHAT?”

22 comments

Apex Zombie said...

HAHAHA!

Oh that's hilarious. So true, too. I've had many a conversation with my mum like that.

It's funny though because it's starting to change. Now occasionally she'll hear something that was never said ;)

Kav said...

Linzi asked Erin last night who made the world. Daddy, she replied. Some day she's going to find out I'm fallible and she'll hate me for it.

Mary Witzl said...

Yes, this IS funny, but I have noticed that my kids and husband, who share a love of high-volume heavy metal music, now show signs of hearing loss. And that is not funny at all!

I have conversations like this all the time with my kids -- and husband. What drives me wild is when my husband is asleep (he gets up to go to work at 4:30 a.m.) and the kids call out to me from another room. I can't yell back without waking him up and I'm damned if I'm going to jump up and go to them. But if I don't answer, they just yell louder...

Brave Astronaut said...

You are but a few short years away from Rogan saying he can't hear you to not caring what you say.

Luckily my son, who is just two and a half, still seems to like me and listens to what I say.

Kim Ayres said...

FLG - this kind of conversation is becoming more commonplace as puberty threatens

Kav - I can still remember the exact moment when I truly realised my father was fallible. A blog topic for another day I think

Mary - yes, that happens with alarming frequency. Similarly when you're on the phone.

Brave Astronaut - he's already developed selective hearing...

Kanani said...

Oh.... that sounds like my house! Oh, teenagers can't hear anything, really. I found the only time they really can is when I'm sick with laryngitis and have to whisper, or my voice is all gravelly, or if I say, "you'll have to fix supper for yourself tonite, I'm sick."

Pat said...

Not unlike my own dear MTL!

savannah said...

too funny! but here, it's mr savmarshpapa...he seems to think that his voice will carry around corners and up the stairs...

eg(scotland) said...

Classic!

EG

Eryl Shields said...

I bet if you'd said no sweets for a week he'd have heard you.

Anonymous said...

hahahah I recently had that type of conversation with my 13 year old son.
He was watching the television and it was way way too loud. I said turn that down it is too loud. He says, what. I say turn that down it is way too loud. again he says what? I can't hear you. LOL..

I get angry and yell at him Turn that down it is too loud.
He looks at me stunned..OH he says. and turns it down.

I said to him if it is so loud that you can't hear me telling you it is too loud..then that proves it is too loud LOL ...

kids arggggggggggggg.

The Birdwatcher said...

It could be our house! The problem is compounded because my daughter speaks a language which is dervived from Little Britain, her Skool, and Catherine Tate. She speaks it at a speed that would make a Frenchman jealous. So my wife and I have a conversation that goes:

"What did she say?" Shrug of shoulders from other party. "I don't know I did understand a word of it" followed by sound of daughter leaving room, banging doors and screaming something unintelligible. Only six more years to go according to friends that have survived their teenagers.

Pendullum said...

Glad to see it does not change at 12... Had the same 'conversation' with my nine year old daughter last night...

BStrong said...

What? HA? What d'you say?

I think you're correct. The puberty thing does cause hearing loss because the blood in the ear which helps the drum vibrate is suddenly needed elsewhere.

THIS is why I'm not a doctor.

Just make sure the dog wags the tail and not the other way around.

Anonymous said...

Reminds me of my days (well, years, actually) as a nanny.

I can still remember that long "But, why?" question and answer session. I was so frustrated that I did something I swore I would never do -- I ended it by saying "Because I said so."

If I ever have children, I already know I'll turn into my mother.

Charlie said...

I have a similar problem, but it's not with a child. My wife hasn't heard a word I've said for thirty years.

It makes arguments easy. They're always one-sided and she always wins, leaving me in blessed peace.

Anonymous said...

Hahaha, that's great! I remember saying something like that to my parents too! Too funny!

Anonymous said...

haha.. oh dear, 11.. now that was a great age to be.

Jeff said...

Kim

Way too funny and I think my 6 year old is already ignoring me...

Kim Ayres said...

Kanani - "who wants pizza for dinner?" can also be whispered, yet picked up from the other side of the house, it seems.

Pat - :)

Savannah - what we really need is one of those Star-Trek style personal intercoms sewn into our clothing

EG - :)

Eryl - he seems to go even deafer when we try that tactic

Quinn - that's it in a nutshell

Birdwatcher - I suppose you could always try texting each other...

Pendullum - I think there's a uiversal quality at work here...

BStrong - I will consult the medical books immediately!

Julie - It's true. Under stress we end up shouting the things that are most familiar, which are usually exactly what our parents shouted at us.

Charlie - somehow I doubt that completely

Jessica - welcome to my ramblings and thank you for taking the time to comment!

Sarah - I hated being 11. in fact I hated being a kid. I was a lot happier when I reached 31.

Jeff - and yet when we were 6 we had no ida why our parents would get so upset about it :)

Kanani said...

WOW... what a cool banner across the top!

Kim Ayres said...

Thanks Kanani

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