Kids these days

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

My son asked if he could have a bunch of friends over tonight, for a taco party. Naturally, I assumed this had something to do with porn, but no; each of them is bringing a taco topping and they're going to hang out in the dining room, eating tacos.

I was like, wouldn't you rather be doing the kinds of things normal 12-year-olds did when I was a kid, like breaking into houses and stealing liquor?

But no.

Damn kids.

[Cainad (dec.)]

Weird.

I distinctly remember spending my time falling out of trees and hitting each other with sticks.

[Nephew Twiddleton]

I spent the age of 12 transforming from a really nerdy science kid into a greasy Nirvana fan.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

My son and his friends seem to be incredibly wholesome. 

Where did I go wrong?

[Nephew Twiddleton]

My son and his friends seem to be incredibly wholesome. 

Where did I go wrong?

Maybe they're doing it to rebel against you in the only way possible.

[Juana]

Give him a few years?

My son and his friends seem to be incredibly wholesome. 

Where did I go wrong?

Maybe they're doing it to rebel against you in the only way possible.

Or this.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

My son and his friends seem to be incredibly wholesome. 

Where did I go wrong?

Maybe they're doing it to rebel against you in the only way possible.

I'm starting to suspect as much. 

[Triple Zero]

I was like, wouldn't you rather be doing the kinds of things normal 12-year-olds did when I was a kid, like breaking into houses and stealing liquor?

But no.

I'm assuming this wasn't literally part of the discussion

When I was 12 I believe I was either
1) coding AWESOME THINGS in BASIC all the time
2) outside doing SCIENCE to NATURE--an activity which ranged from falling out of trees to digging out tiny green sprouts between street tiles and planting them in pots to see what they would grow into (oddly enough I got quite some weird and surprising uncommon plants)
3) inside doing SCIENCE to uhm whatever I could get my hands on, mostly involving BATTERIES and CHEMICALS and electrolysing salt water--but I never quite managed to catch those bubbles.

Breaking into houses and stealing liquor never really occurred to me. Though when we moved from a small village to a somewhat larger town (in which year I turned 12, actually), kids there were doing different stuff. So from what I get, it's a lot to do with the environment, aka what the other kids are doing.

[East Coast Hustle]

Yeah, 12 is a little young for that. I didn't start drinking in bars and generally being a hooligan until I was 13.

[Luna]

My son and his friends seem to be incredibly wholesome. 

Where did I go wrong?

It's quite possible that this was, in fact, the "show Mom I'm okay" night, and TONIGHT, they're going to go raise some hell...

There's hope.  He COULD be sneakier than you think.