There are two parts to this answer.
1: It depends.
If your name is Karen then no. What’s there to get upset about? Your darling child is merely trying to get your attention by addressing you with the name bestowed upon you at birth.
Stop being so sensitive.
Behaviour like this can cause trigger issues and god knows you don’t want to carry one of those around on your Linda Evans shoulder pads.
But.
2: If your name is something other than Kaz (let’s go with Kaz, far cooler than Karen) and your teenager insists on using this derogatory title, then here’s what I suggest.
Let’s imagine for a moment that you are standing alone at the kitchen sink. Washing the dishes. This shouldn’t be too hard. You do it a lot.
Your teenage child enters the room. Annoyed. Huffing. Flouncing. Up for an argument. You exchange words. The child becomes annoyed.
“You’re such a Karen.” Comes forth the taunt.
Stop.
Breathe. Flick the bubbles from your flock-lined marigold gloves. Turn slowly towards your offspring. Smile. Sweetly. And say, in a voice that is calm and borderline psychopathic.
‘Fuck. You. Barry.’
Wait. Observe. Wallow in the reaction. The confusion.
Who is Barry you might ask? I have no idea. And, more importantly, neither does your child. Which makes the exercise even more deliciously victorious.
Now then Mama. Back to the dishes.
Thank you for reading this post. I am the parent of two gorgeous teenage kids that I adore far more than I’m sure is normal or healthy. If you would like to read more of my excellent parenting tips then head over to my blog and read this post. I wrote when my teenage daughter asked me to explain STDs.
Have a wonderful day,
Liz x
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