Teenagers are not Aliens

'Teenagers are not aliens: they're just uncomfortable reflections of the way we feel ourselves. We thought we were in charge: suddenly we realise we aren't. Teenagers are obsessed with self-image, agonising over every stray eyelash. Their parents are equally self-conscious. Having agreed an uneasy truce with their bodily imperfections, they are now lost in forlorn contemplation of the ravages of time. The sad thing is that both sides are so preoccupied by the yawning gulf between dreams and reality that neither can recognise the other's distress.'

See: 'Why teens are a mirror to their parents.' by Marianne Kavanagh
The Telegraph 11.6.05