Now that my kids are grown adults, its hard to believe they were ever 'nasty' teen-agers. I, too, was a single parent and went through a few hellish years with both of them. The daughter from about 13 - 16, the son from about 15-18. It didn't help that I was going through menopause at the same time! I thought I was going to lose my mind.

The boundaries work very well when they are younger but I found that as teen-agers they no longer cared about my boundaries. They would do 'whatever' behind my back. I remember my son saying, "I don't need you!" I also remember thinking that my daughter needed her independence but she didn't need to destroy me in the process.

Solution? Don't ever kick her out of the house. Explain that no matter how nasty she is, you will always be there. Talk about how friends are important but that they won't be there in the same way as family. Find out why school is such a major obstacle.

When I was a kid, I 'got behind' and never really caught up. This was very depressing for me and I couldn't figure out how to succeed. My daughter, didn't like school because of the social situation. Everyone has their own reasons. See what you and the school counsellor can do to improve the situation for her.

While all of this was going on, everyone was telling me what wonderful children I had. Bright, polite and mature! I will say that my kids had other significant adults in their life. When things got really bad, they had someone else to talk to.

Their only saving grace was that they could never have been as nasty to me as I was to my mom. I still hear my mother's voice, "When you grow up, I hope you have a daughter as bad as you are!" Ohhhh - The age old curse!