MUM ANGRY AFTER I GOT IN LATE

Dear Coleen

The other night, I stayed out really late after work. I didn’t finish till 1am, which is unusually late, and then me and this guy I like spent another two hours just talking and I lost track of time.

I rushed home as soon as I realised how late it was, as I knew my mum would be mad. We have security cameras at the house, so she saw what time I got in and she was really angry.

She asked where I was and because I was so nervous I sounded like I was lying and my story came out all wrong, so she took my phone and looked through it.

She found a text I’d sent to my friend that night and because it was obvious I really liked him, she went even more mad!

She told me she can never trust me again and that if I keep this up I’ll be a college dropout.

She added that if I behaved like that again, she’d make me quit my job. Can you advise?

Coleen says

You don’t say how old you are but, if you’re still living at home and going to college, then I’m assuming you’re still a teenager or not much older. Here’s the thing with parents – we don’t have rules or get mad just for the sake of it or to be mean, it’s because we love our kids and don’t ever want them to end up in situations that are risky or dangerous.

Your mum might have gone a bit over the top, but put yourself in her shoes. If you don’t normally get home that late and hadn’t texted her to tell her you’d be delayed, she’ll have been worried sick.

Trust is important when you become more independent, so you have to work on building that up again. It’s definitely not a lost cause. Why not just say to your mum, “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you I’d be late. I won’t do that again, I realise you must have been worried”.

Then all you can do is show her that you can be sensible.