Is it bratty to ask your host-mom to make you a specific meal after she’s already cooked a different one for the rest of the family? 

Who among us didn’t have a bratty moment or two during our teenage years? The brattiest moment of my teenage life had to be the morning I tried to refuse to go to SAT prep classes, even though my mom had already driven me there. I was coming from a sleepover where I had literally stayed up all night. By the time Saturday’s 9 AM class rolled around, I was in no position to be in any academic environment. When we got to the center, I told my mom I wasn’t going in, but she wouldn’t take no for an answer. I tried and tried to stay in the car, but eventually I got out and attended the class, even though I was running on zero hours of sleep. 

Teenagers aren’t always the best at being grateful for what they have. I should’ve been thanking my mom for even caring about my future enough to pay for SAT prep classes, but I was clearly not mature enough to take that into account. I was tired, and I wanted to throw a fit, and that’s exactly what I did! You can’t claim this isn’t typical teenage behavior, but you can resist giving in to it and letting teens get their way when they make unreasonable demands. The host mom in this story knew not to give in.