“When My Teen Rolls Her Eyes (and I Secretly Smile)”

Budget your pocket money

Life with a teenager is like watching a daily Netflix series you didn’t sign up for - full of drama, suspense, and unexpected cliffhangers.

One minute my daughter is a strong independent girl who “knows everything.”The next minute, she’s yelling: “MOM, where’s my other sock?!”

And me? I’m just sipping my chai, silently rehearsing whether I should laugh or give a lecture.

But let me tell you something funny. Back when I was her age, my parents (her grandparents) had almost no money — and still managed to raise us without iPhone, Amazon, or food delivery apps.

l We had ONE pair of shoes for the whole year. If they tore, out came the needle and thread. That was our version of “Nike Air Fix.”

l Birthday parties? A homemade cake, two balloons, and cousins packed tighter than a Mumbai local train.

l Entertainment? Sitting on the terrace and rating the neighbor’s scooter sounds.

And yet — we survived. Actually, we laughed a lot too.

Now fast forward to today: Teens have 10 budgeting apps but no idea why the allowance disappears by the 10th. Resumes made on Canva, but panic when asked to write three lines about themselves. And tough conversations? Forget it. (In my day, one eyebrow raise from my mom was enough to end the debate!)

The truth? Life looks different now, but some things never change.Every generation needs real skills: managing money, setting boundaries, fixing small messes, and trusting that little voice in your gut when it says nope.

And here’s my favorite part — I’m learning too. Sometimes she teaches me about trending apps, and sometimes I tell her how her grandparents stretched ₹500 like it was pure magic.

So parents, here’s the takeaway: our kids don’t need us to be perfect. They just need us to be calm, funny when it helps, and always in their corner.

Because one day, those eye-rolls will turn into: “Thanks, Mom. You were right.”(And I plan to frame that moment when it happens.)

- Note from a mom learning to be bold on purpose too.