Things I Don't Understand About Middle Schoolers

Middle Schoolers. Sometimes it feels like they're a completely different species. Of course I remember doing odd things when I was young, but sometimes I don't know what my daughter Natalie is going on about and when I'm like, "Huh?" she looks at me like I'M the odd one.

Here are some things your Middle Schooler might be talking about.


Giving Scrunchies To A Crush. Apparently girls will give a scrunchie to the boy they like and the boy WILL ACTUALLY WEAR IT on his wrist! I asked Natalie if she'd do this and she was all, "Heck no. These are my scrunchies. If he wants one, he can buy one himself."

Peppa Pig. What? Aren't they too old for Peppa Pig? Uh, well, they like to watch Peppa Pig edits on YouTube. Peppa Pig and friends do some rude things on there. Not completely inappropriate, but fart sounds are dubbed in, things like that. One of Natalie's friends actually had a Peppa Pig party, and she was turning 12.

Source

Tik Tok. It's an app. And yeah, a lot of people are like, "Your kids don't need it, there are pedophiles there!" Well, there are pedophiles everywhere, sadly. My daughter has an account, but I monitor it. Basically, you make videos or edits.



VSCO Girls. Yup, I've written about this before. And some parents are all, "I was a VSCO girl in the 90s!" I was not. I never understood scrunchies, but now they are all the rage. I DID wear chokers, which some VSCO girls sport, but my daughter thinks they are hideous at the moment. She does have a Hydroflask and a collection of scrunchies but says she's NOT a VSCO girl, thank you very much. (A friend of hers went "And I oop" which is something VSCO girls say and Natalie was like, "Please remove yourself from my presence." (In a joking manner.))

Tik Tok Celebrities. There are people who get thousands, sometimes millions of views on videos. Natalie follows some of these. Sometimes they wear clothes from certain stores and then people watching want those same clothes so they can make a video like that person and look like them. A recent conversation with Natalie went like this: 

Natalie: “I want to get this Harvard sweatshirt from Forever 21.”

Me: “Aw, are you hoping to go there? You certainly can, you just have to actually try in math and not just guess or write “Is this necessary?” for answers. You are smart, you just have to apply yourself and not break out into song in the middle of class. But I know you could—“

Natalie: “I want it because a popular girl on Tik Tok wore it and I want to do a duet with her.”

Me: ........

Wearing hoodies when it's 90 degrees out. In Texas, it stays hot late in the year, and I'd be confused when I'd go to the school and see all these kids in hoodies when it was like 95 outside. Natalie says, "Oh, it's because hoodies are in right now. Especially the oversized ones." This one is 3 XL. I guess middle schoolers are open to the idea of fainting if it means being in style. 

Picking out clunky shoes. Natalie is all about these giant Fila sneakers. I think they look uncomfortable to walk in, but she loves them. She says many girls in Middle School have them. If she wants to stomp around like a dino, who am I to judge? 

So have you heard about some of these?