Little Girl Pre-Apologizes To Her Mom For Being A Rude Teenager One Day

All parents know to be prepared for a child’s teen years and yet no parent is every truly prepared for a child’s teen years. But Canadian influencer Sheridan Ingalls got some insight straight from her daughter, Kaia, who very thoughtfully laid out exactly what to expect as only an eldest daughter could on Instagram.

The video opens with the two sitting in the car grabbing a bite to eat. Kaia very calmly explains to her mom: “So when I’m older and I’m 16 or, like, 12, and I start being rude, I’m going to be rude for 2 years.”

A strong opening. Again, truly unimpeachable first child street cred here. Very demure. Very mindful. We love that there’s not only a timeline, but a range of when she might expect hostilities to commence. But there’s more and it gets cuter.

“So please remember that I’m actually being rude so I can be like all the other teenagers and I’ll just still love you, but I will feel mean on the outside, but not on the inside.”

“You [will] still love me no matter what?” Ingalls asks, to which Kaia nods. “Got it. I’ll remember this. I’ll pull this out when you’re 16, girl!”

Ingalls was certainly taking this all in good spirits, captioning the video “It’s the genuine look of concern for me … It’s okay girl, your mom knows exactly what she was like in those years and I promise not to take it personally.”

Commenters were similarly charmed by Kaia’s forward thinking and reassurances.

“Scheduling in teenage angst is very thoughtful,” wrote one commenter.

“Only 2 years? How nice,” mused another. “You’re a lucky parent.”

“Puberty better role up at 12 OR 16,” joked a third. “This girl is on a strict 2 year plan.”

The “Been-There-Done-That” parents in the comments fondly (and not so fondly) recollected their own children’s experiences with puberty.

“On the eve of my son’s 13th birthday he went to bed in tears because he didn’t want to be a teenager because he still wanted to ‘like hanging out with you guys!’” recalled @sarahgwenart.

“Fair warning to all the other girl moms,” announced @lissaanne4. “The ride starts at 12 and does go for two years and then it gets better. Those hormones are something else!”

Commenter @roxanne10802 was even more encouraging.

“Please tell sweet Kaia that my very own precious daughter (who is now 26 and married and in my car with me right now going to see my own mother) was never rude or mean as a 12 year old or 16 year old or anything in between,” she said. “We had some bumps, but they were more like speed bumps and very infrequent. We have never had an argument that involved either of us yelling, and any tears or hurt feelings were cleared away quickly. I think y’all will do great.”

Honestly, if Kaia is this good about communicating her feelings, we’re thinking she’ll handle puberty as well as anyone could hope. And if not, well, Ingalls will always have this video to look back on!