Teenagers will do crazy things, like piercing their own ears or tongues or anything else that has skin.  Over the past 20 years in the classroom, I’ve heard lots of stories that made me shake my head in disbelief. If your teenager has ever done something crazy, I assure you…you are not alone in this world. Here’s some proof.

1)  40 hours of Fortnite OVER THE WEEKEND 

This 16 year old put in the equivalent of a full work week in just two and a half days.  Of course I made the classic mistake of asking, “Why in the world would you do that?” He responded like most teens who have done crazy things…“I don’t know.”  What I do know is that he’s a pretty advanced computer coder.  He even ended up winning an award at our school for his coding skills.  We can only hope that all that gaming will pay off one day.

2) Bonfire Blunder

The after prom gathering at the lake house sounded like a great time.  Eating hamburgers, riding jet skis, and jumping on the water trampoline.  Sounded great until I heard about the late night craziness.  Apparently, some of the high school seniors thought it would be fun to see what happens when they squeeze a bottle of lighter fluid into the fire.  “Yeah, that probably wasn’t a good idea,” admitted one of the kids.  “No…that was the exact opposite of a good idea,” I said.

3) Distracted Driver

Sadly, texting and driving is all too common these days.  One day in class, a boy announced that Logan was okay, but he got into a car accident and would be late.  When Logan showed up, he explained that he was looking at his phone and rear-ended the lady in front of him.  The crazy thing is the plan he came up with to avoid getting a ticket.

When the police officer showed up, Logan said, “I’m sorry officer.  I forgot to put my contact lenses in this morning.”  Turns out that driving while visually impaired is also illegal.  Logan wasn’t too happy about his ticket.

4) Missing Eyebrows

I once had a girl come to school without her eyebrows.  I asked her if her friends played a cruel prank on her because that’s what I’ve noticed over the years (yes, it happens more often than you think).  “No. I just felt like shaving off my eyebrows,” she said.  “How come?” I asked.  “No reason.”  I smiled and walked away.

5) Juuling in Class

If you haven’t heard by now, juuling is very popular among teens.  Not sure what that means?  Read this.  It’s so popular that kids are crazy enough to do it right in the classroom.

Yes, a Juul looks like a USB charger, and yes schools do allow USB chargers.  What some teenagers have forgotten is that putting a USB charger up to your lips and sucking on it, like a straw in an extra-thick milkshake, does look suspicious.

6) Hair on Fire

This one comes from a retired teacher and a class of high school juniors he had in the 90’s.  While Mr. Blackall was teaching, a kid in the back row pulled out his lighter and started playing with it.  The kid then put the flame next to the neck of the boy in front of him. Naturally, the boy didn’t like the hairs on his neck being singed, so he immediately turned around.  When he saw the kid in back of him with a lighter in his hand, the boy punched him in the face.

Mr. Blackall brought the kid with the bloody nose into the hall and tried to figure out what happened.  “I don’t know why he punched me.  I was just playing around.  He’s like my best friend.”

These are just the crazy things that I’ve heard about over the years as a high school teacher.  I’m sure that the really crazy things don’t get talked about in school.  To find some of those, I searched on-line.  I hope none of these next ones is your teenager.

7) Mansion Mayhem

Teenagers all across the world do crazy things.  A Canadian teenager, who lives in a 5000 square foot mansion, told his parents that he was going to have a few friends over.  “A few” turned out to be 2,000 kids, and it took over 60 police officers to break the party up.  One officer commented that it was remarkable no one was injured.  The office was not considering the parents’ wallet, which took a $70,000 hit to pay for all of the damage done by the teens.   

8) Miracle Boy

In 2014, a 16-year-old boy from California had an argument with his parents and ran away, except he tried to RUNAWAY to HAWAII by hiding in the wheel well of an airplane.  When he was found staggering on the runway in Maui, he couldn’t recall the flight, but he somehow managed to survive the five hour trip.

To do this, he lived through temperatures as low as -80 Fahrenheit (-62C) and a lack of oxygen at 38,000 feet.  Doctors said that he must’ve lost consciousness almost immediately, and his body must’ve gone into a hibernation-like state.  Other medical and aviation experts expressed a different sentiment: “He shouldn’t be alive. It’s miraculous that he survived.” 

9)  Stuck in a Storm Drain

This 16-year-old British girl experienced a teenager’s nightmare.  She lost her new iPhone!  When she realized that it had slipped into the storm drain, she decided to retrieve it.  Clearly, she only got halfway there. After multiple failed attempts to get out, her friend called the firefighters (after taking a picture of course), and she was rescued.

10)  Reckless and Stupid

Most of these crazy scenarios have an element of stupidity to them.  This one, however, tops them all.  Robert Kelly, 18 years old, needed to receive medical treatment after weaving in and out of traffic and causing two car accidents.  While recovering in the hospital, Kelly uploaded a dash-cam video, set to a techno beat, entitled “Me Driving Like An Idiot.” 

The police saw the YouTube video and used it as evidence against Kelly, who was charged with two counts of leaving the scene of a crash, reckless driving and driving without a license.  Apparently, Kelly had never been issued a driver’s licence.

11)  KFC Tattoo  

This is a tattoo of the KFC Double Down. You can see that the traditional bun has been replaced with two pieces of fried chicken.  The tattoo clearly shows the cheese and bacon. It’s actually impressive artwork and detail, don’t you think?  The only problem is that this teenager now has a permanent Chicken Sandwich on his calf!  

12) Selfie with a Squirrel

17-year-old Brian Genest wanted to take a selfie with the cute little squirrel, which was fine until the clicking sound and the flash of the phone startled the squirrel.  The startled squirrel instinctively went into fight-mode, lunged for Brian’s neck, and held on tight.  Genest said the squirrel, “was just in that spot where my arm couldn’t reach him. I threw myself on the ground, and that scared him off.”

Genest’s mom, Paula, said that neither her son nor the squirrel were injured in the encounter.  Mom is credited with taking the second photo because Brian dropped his phone as he ran across the bridge.

There’s no escaping it.  Your teenager will do some crazy things. How are you going to react?  I mean, you know it’s going to happen, right?  If you yell and scream and punish out of frustration, that’s understandable. Just don’t stop there because that will put tremendous strain on the relationship. 

Remember, your ultimate goal is to have a strong bond with your teenager. Once things cool off, you need to sit down and talk about your teen’s choices.  Discuss their thoughts, feelings, and motivations.  Brainstorm alternatives for the next temptation that comes along.  Also, reiterate the rules of the house.  They actually don’t mind them.

Most importantly, tell them and show them that you still love them, and it’s okay to come to you for advice.  Then, pamper yourself with a relaxing massage because those muscles of yours are going to need to release a lot of tension!