Did you go off the 'rails' as a child/teenager?

I did a bit - aged 16, a friend and I tried to smuggle drugs abroad on a school trip (sounds worse that it was, it was two joints and we didn't actually get them further than the school carpark as someone told one of the teachers ?)

Then just before my A Levels I moved out of home to live in a flat in Camden with Blake Fielder-Civil (Mr Amy Winehouse). I lost touch with him 5 or 6 years ago but he doesn't seem to have changed that much, so you can imagine it was a pretty off-the-rails time......

I didn't really - I wasn't exactly a square but didn't do anything particularly wild either.

We moved back to the UK after a couple of years in the States just before my 15th birthday. My parents bought me a new pony so that took up most of my time really - I spent every spare moment at the yard. Living in a village meant that although we did go to under 18's indie club nights and gigs etc. we always had to arrange lifts home from our parents as we couldn't afford taxis - not much opportunity for crazy there.

It got better when I was in the 6th form when we started going to clubs/pubs in town - I do remember lots of days at school with monster hangovers and being drunk in a chemistry lesson after we'd spent a few hours in the pub on my 18th birthday.

I don't think I ever really worried my parents - we had the usual teenager arguments but I've always had a good relationship with them which I'm very grateful for.

After my dad died at age 15 I went wild - drink, sex, drugs - pretty much the lot. I had less than 25% attendance in my final year at school, but I still managed to get 12 GCSEs at straight A grades. My mum was too preoccupied with her new boyfriend to care, and my teachers were afraid to confront me as my father had died so I got away with everything.

It all came crashing in at 18 when I had a complete nervous breakdown, and I calmed down considerably after that.

Easter - were you at school in North Herts?

Grrr, stupid new hiched won't let me quote today.

Sorry Grouch, no, I live (and went to school) in Suffolk...

Ah well - your story sounded very similar to a friend of mine - a couple of years in America, back at 14-ish, horses, small village, indie nights, drunk in A-level chem classes ?

Oooh, spooky! ?

A little bit I suppose. But I'm kind of glad I did as gives me plenty of stories to tell.

My parents were super-strict and I felt very misunderstood and stiffled. I was quite well behaved at school because my Mum was a teacher there so I couldn't get away with much. But I mixed myself up with the village rebel who got me mixed up in various things. Then there was the standard drinking (cider mostly - I'm from Somerset!)/smoking/mild drugs/hanging out with unsuitable boys/lying to parents/blah, blah, blah. Nothing fairly out of the ordinary I suppose.

My home life as a teen wasn't particularly happy and I moved out of home at 17/18 for a variety of reasons. I think it was a turning point for me.

Nope I was smart arsed and did a lot of back talking but I never got drunk or stayed out all night until I was at uni I didn’t have a boyfriend until I was 17. My parents always go on about what a horror I was how I was always out with boys (who were generally friends, they assume I was having sex at 17 since I had an older boyfriend (21) as my first one, didn’t tell them that all the boyfriends I had were lovely and respected the fact that I didn’t believe in sex before marriage) the fact that my life revolved around school, part time job in library, orchestras and volunteering at the local hospice seems to have passed them by. Honestly my parents had it easy with me!

I am always the black sheep which is strange because its my sister who slept around, stayed out all night, they had to collect for the police station but she’s the golden child and can do no wrong! Maybe one day I’ll tell my mum H and I were virgins when we got married, just to see the look on her face.

Yes and no i suppose. From 15 i'd have a drink at the weekend (not really falling about drunk though) and from 16 i was going out clubbing, staying over with my 20 year old boyfriend, drinking, smoking a bit of weed and getting up to reckless shenanigans (a spot of passenger joy-riding, walking around really dodgy areas in the middle of the night when out with girlfriends, hitching lifts home with strangers).

Also my parents didn't know about the reckless shenanigans, they did know i was out clubbing or staying with my boyfriend (they knew him and my friends well). I ALWAYS phoned to tell them if i was staying out all night or if i'd be back by 4am or whatever. They knew i'd tried canabis too. As long as they knew when i'd be home and who i was with, they seemed happy to let me get on with it. Oh - and it wasn't allowed to affect my studies, and it didn't, i got into the uni of my choice with flying colours.

At uni - some Class As, sleeping on a LOT of strangers floors at parties, kissing different boys every night and going home with some of them seems a bit more 'off the rails' on paper. To be honest, though, as much as i wouldn't like my child to get up to the dangerous stuff - i want them to enjoy themselves and that i certainly did!

I would say no, I daresay my parents would say yes ?

I've never smoked or taken drugs, rarely drank (teetotal now) and didn't stay out all night. Always behaved at school - really v v boring.

Then at 16 my 23 year old bf got a job 150 miles away, so I decided to move in with him. Cue WWIII! They didn't like him much, but it wasn't the age difference really - it was just that he didn't like hanging out playing SIL! My older sister had had a very similar age difference relationship - 17 and 25 I think - but he'd been all for staying in a cooking them meals... ugh! Anyway...

They weren't best pleased, threw me out on the first day of my GCSEs (great timing, I'd told them I was planning to move out in summer) and didn't want anything to do with me. Didn't see them for 10 years.

In the meantime, I went to college FT and worked PT. Paid my rent, got my A Levels, degree, job... split up with the boyfriend around 6 years on.

In my opinion - a perfectly well thought out an adult decision, handled well. In their opinion - nightmare child off the rails *shrugs*

Well I did the normal drinks, boys, drugs things. But TBH my problems were mainly with my parents (my Mum especially) who were permanently angry / bitter / raging about something. Usually it involved school playground style piss taking of me, telling me she was more intelligent / more attractive / that I was fat. I was screamed at daily and threatened in case I got pregnant. I was pleaded with not to go into prostitution, and kicked out of home (temporarily) more times than I can remember, for pretty much everything, including glue sniffing, but it was all in my mother's over active imagination.

Sadly I lurched from one crush / dodgy relationship to another looking for some affection - which made the above cycle even more intense. She was convinced I'd get pregnant which made her furious. She'd phone the parents of my friends and express her concerns, who'd gossip amongst themselves and would then tell my friends, who'd all gossip. Because it came from my Mum, they all thought I was a slapper. When the gossip got back to my Mum, she saw it as proof her initial suspicions were right and everything got worse. It was a truly dreadful time.

Secretly, I flirted with self harming and had lots of suicidal thoughts. I was very pleased to leave home at 19. My Mum appears to have calmed down now - I wonder whether she was menopausal TBH.

Unfortunately yes, i did

from about 11 i turned into a *** that lasted till i was 13.My poor parents.I ended up in hospital due to drink,a police cell due to drink,stayed out,ran away to manchester(god knows why)with my then boyfriend,was a cow to both my parents..Do i need to go on? ? It all changed when i met my boyfriend,now husband at 14.

Only trouble is i haven't got long till my Daughters are that age,hope they are better behaved than i was.

2 words...straight laced!

Never smoked, never done any kind of drunk, never drank alcohol in park etc, never had a one nighter..so pretty good I think.

I was too busy doing homework, reading, doing paper rounds to pay for my weekends on the airfield lol!

No, I bullied really badley at school and was a really timid mouse who didn;t really say much. All i every really wnated to do was join the army so I just kept my head down and focused on that. When I eventaully joined at the age of 17 my mum said that she didn;t recognise me on my first 48 hours leave pass. I'd turned into a lively outgoing person. Then I got posted to Catterick and I discovered boys, booze and sex. I really turned wild then but I had left home by then so I didn'ty worry my parents (I don;t so anyway).

I remember my first night in Germany (my first real posting). I was still only 17 and was taken out to the NAAFI bar. I got so drunk that I fell into the quarters through a window and ended up sleeping in someones elses bed - can;t quite remember how! The next morning hung over to hell I had a meeting with the Regimental Sergent Major and she gave me a lecture about underage drinking and how I wan;t allowed to drink. I'm sure I must have spelt like a brewary, I know I looked a state but someone I got away with that one! All in all I did a lot of growing up in the army and 15 years later still miss the social life. I've reverted back to my boring non-drinking ways!

Nope, not really. The worst things I think I did were pierce my own ears, bleach my hair blonde and stay out the night with then boyfriend. Didn't even start smoking until I was 16 !

God, yeah. I was quite the tearaway - got expelled at 12, then again at 16 and suspended at 18 - twice. Was a PMT deranged monster from 13 -17 and got into pretty much everything. Oh, but i didn't do IT til i was 17.

It probably took me until about the age of 30 to settle down to be honest!!! By then i was already in a proper grown up job, was married and everything. I think deciding to start a family chilled me out a bit! I would say it all conspired to make be a better teacher in the long run anyway!!

I had a heart to heart with a lad in my drama class today who is basically pis/sing his life up the wall; but given that his family don't give a monkey's, he will probably do a good job of it and all, in a way that i didn't. I am not so conceited to think anything i had to say to him would've made a difference - but i said my piece and i think it made a change to have someone monologuing at him who had sort of been there at the crossroads of chucking it all away and making the best go of things.

No, not all teenagers go off the rails, but some do and bounce back from the dark side - and some stay de railled. Ho Hum.

I don't think so. I rarely talked back- but I didn't really have a need to. They were cool about boyfriends and going out. Only proviso was to know who I was with and that I got a pre booked licensed cab or a lift from dad(albeit parked halfway down the road!) home. I suppose I was a bit manipulative in that I "towed" the line, to be trusted and ultimately get more freedoms. I went clubbing/to bars regularly from 15 and my parents were cool with that because they liked my friends, I didn't get paralytic, didn't dress/act like a slapper and they knew I wouldn't go off with strange, older blokes. It was about dressing up, getting a bit tipsy at most, having a laugh, dancing til my feet could drop off, and at most the odd random snog.

I did go through a period of traunting-no hanging around the streets.....noooo, that was deemed waaaay to common for me and my partners in crime back in the day. I would go to my best mates house most Thursday afternoons, who had minted parents. The house had a pool, and we would sunbathe, chat about boys, have make-overs, share a "meal for one" from the Chinese, watch Falcon Crest and plan our outfits for the weekend-rock n roll!

basically what sparkley said , i did go through worse jsut after josh was born but i blame the PND for that , i got back on track though now i think just about

I wasn't as bad as my cousin who would scream at her mother and run away. However I did drink (got found by the police once asleep after drinking too much in some public toilets when I was 16), and I did stay out late without telling them. But I got worse when I hit 18, I was far too promiscuous, drunk far too much and would stay out all night without saying anything. How I didn't get attacked or pick some dodgy STD up I'll never know and I count my lucky stars that I didn't.

I was fairly good though, I never really enjoyed smoking so after a few tries never tried again and I've never done drugs. I am really dreading that my big girl will go out and be like me. However I think it was because I wanted to be loved and I was just going the wrong way about it. We're a very huggy family and I'll speak to A about a lot of things and I've told her that if she has any problems I'll be there to listen and support her, I never really talked to my mum that much which is a shame. Although to their credit when I got pg by surprised at 21 whilst at uni they said they'd support me in whatever I choose, and when I chose to keep the pregnancy they let both me and Mr G come and live with them which we did for about 14 months until the house we bought was done.

Blimey, you don't read that very often on here ?

I had a few wild-ish weekends with my cousin - getting drunk on cider or stolen spirits and crap stuff like that - but on the whole I was rather tame, I fear.

I should add, my mum was convinced that 15/16 was too young to be interested in boys (how naive?!) but my oldies were pretty cool on going out/underage drinking.

Their attitude when I started going to clubs around 16/17 years old was "if you get drunk and end up at Bucksburn (police station) don't expect us to pick you up at 3 am" ?

Not really, but in my day going off the rails could be the littlest thing!

I did tell mum I was in someones house, whilst actually walking the streets smoking ciggies.

I'd tell her I was staying at a friends house and then go to an all night party.

I hung around with a crowd who went shoplifting, but never stole anything myself and then one day they got caught and I stopped hanging around with them!

No, I think I was quite a good girl actually!?

I did, although it was a bit of a silent rebellion. Home wasn't a nice place to be and I had huge self esteem issues. In sixth form, I had a rather lengthy nervous breakdown and went from being a great student to almost flunking my first year of A-Levels. My friendships crumbled, I had disasterous relationships with boys/men/whatever they were and I pretty much imploded, although it was all in the solitude of my own head.

There was no alcohol or drugs involved but then my mother and sister were doing enough of those for all of us.

Not really. i did the usual drugs / drink / older boys / underage clubbing / lying to my parents. but nothing i would class as unusual.

? I did those too, but in my family it was considered majorly off-rail.

I would have been disowned. ?

so would i but they didn't/don't know about any of it. first rule of successful teenagerdom: never get caught ?

You have to be allowed out first. ?

Not off the rails, and i certainly wasnt a saint either, i enjoyed going out with my friends clubbing, pubs (when we got to 16/17) i had a long term boyfriend from when i was almost 17 till i was 20, i went abroad with my mates and had a good time, we were invloved in outside school activitys so i didnt really get the chance to be a naughy teenager ?

I know a few people who got involved with drugs and would sleep with anything going and boast about it, looking back im glad i wasnt in that "kleek" and didnt have a reputation, i just enjoyed going out and having a goodtime with my friends(dancing on bars in spain, you get the picture)

Then at the grand old age of 21 1/2 i met my H, fastforward 8 years, we have 2 children and the rest is history..............

? I got quite a start there. Blooming cheek!

I always thought I was quite a boisterous teenager, but reading this thread it would appear not....

I was very politically active from about 13, sang in the church choir till I was 16, and didn't lose my virginity (though I wasn't adverse to a fair bit of fondling) till I was 18 and at University (freshers week, I couldn't bloody well wait). I grew up in a small village with minimal public transport to the nearest town and anyone you might actually want to hang out with. my brother died when I was 15 and whilst relations were consequently a bit strained at home, I was always conscious that my parents had about as much on their plates as they could deal with. I seem to remember some raciness at about 18, before Uni, but it's a bit of a blur. I am 43 next birthday ?

Oh and drugs - first lot of cannabis at 18. We thought we were outrageous ?, but it really wasn't that commonplace then. Teenagers were then mostly sniffing glue. I didn't have speed/shrooms/acid till I was in my early 20s, and was actually 30 when I tried cocaine. Even alcohol, which I enjoyed in my teens and twenties, became less attractive when I married a very drinky man in my 20s.

I've had a very tame life really - or rather, very well-paced. You should never shoot your bolt too soon ?

No, I was very well behaved. no drink, no drugs, no sex before 19 and that was with a serious b/f. I thnk I was a bit horrible to live with due to my temper but tbh I was pretty ill from the age of 16 so that stopped me falling off any rails.

Still have a bit of a problem doing anything naughty tbh.

For those who did take a tumble - is there anything your parents could have done to stop it? in the way they treated you? or am I doomed to have a nightmare on my hands (have 2 girls, growing up in small village, yada yada)