Stapleton teenager and Northfield High School student Kennedy Springer is really struggling with getting along with her parents. From her perspective, they don’t know anything and in her words, “just don’t understand.” She sometimes feels embarrassed by her “dorky” dad, but is having a significantly harder time with her mom. “Dad seems to stay out of my way for the most part,” said Kennedy. “But, my mom can be such a bitch. She does mean things to me for no reason at all. I just don’t get it. Kylie’s mom is not all up in her business like my mom is in mine. Jill’s mom lets her do whatever. But, my mom is always asking me questions like she needs to know everything. What am I doing. Where I am going. Do I need anything. I just want to tell that bitch to leave me alone.” It’s clear to Kennedy that her mother is so out of touch, she was probably never a teenager. “Mom must have went from 12 to 40 or something, and skipped those years,” said Kennedy. “Why can’t she just trust me? Uggghh!”
Kennedy’s mother Jessica says she just wants what’s best for her daughter. “I just want her happy and safe,” said Jessica. “And I know mistakes I made when I was her age, so I want her to avoid those kinds of things. Social media is something we didn’t deal with when I was a kid, but we certainly had other challenges. I’m just trying to keep our lines of communication open.” Kennedy says her mom is shutting her down by “being so goddam nosey.” “It’s like she doesn’t want me to have a social life,” claims Kennedy. “She’s always threatening to take my phone, or not let me stay at a friend’s house if she doesn’t know exactly what is going on. I mean, who does that?” Jessica says she will continue to do what is necessary to keep her daughter safe, even if that means ‘being a total bitch.’ “I know we will eventually make it through this,” said Jessica. “I know my mom was a complete bitch when I was in high school. And I thank her for that now.”