I've raised 3 sons....youngest turns 21 next month. What you describe as "typical" teenaged male behavior may be true of an older teen....in college or whatever, but not of a high schooler. Perhaps my husband and I were just lucky, but I tend to credit it more to common sense. A 17 year old high school senior is not "typically" playing poker 5 nights a week. Nor is he drinking and hanging out at bars.
My boys tussled and kicked and punched, occasionally. When they were little. I can't even imagine the older one kicking anyone when he was 17, much less his younger brothers!
Finally, maybe it's just me, but for a mom to describe one of her sons as a "chick-magnet" is just odd. Popular, nice looking young man, smart, funny, polite, etc. are terms I have definitely used. But "chick-magnet"?
Not promoting the behavior, but when I was 17 and the drinking age was 18 in NY (as it is in Aruba), I spent a great deal of my free time drinking and hanging out at bars.
One of my sons (thankfully not all) does party/play poker/hang out with friends, late into the night, about five nights a week. Yes, he is in college, but he did that in his last year of high school too (like Joran). Also like Joran, he is very successful academically and shows a certain degree of responsibility (he still gets up in the morning and goes to work!).
My boys tussled and kicked and punched, occasionally. When they were little. I can't even imagine the older one kicking anyone when he was 17, much less his younger brothers!
And so did mine. Not when they were 17.
I'm only mentioning the kicking thing because Mrs. van der Sloot said something about it in an interview. She did not say how old Joran was when he kicked his younger brothers.
Finally, maybe it's just me, but for a mom to describe one of her sons as a "chick-magnet" is just odd. Popular, nice looking young man, smart, funny, polite, etc. are terms I have definitely used. But "chick-magnet"?
Well, sorry if that offends you. I don't like politically correct language. "Chick-magnet" may not be PC, but it accurately describes the phenomenon I've seen.
When I used to drive my son to school, before his senior year, I would see girls literally, physically throw themselves at him as soon as he got out of the car. Hugging and caressing him.
Now when you and I were girls, we didn't do that kind of thing. Or, at least "nice" girls didn't.
Times have changed, and even "nice" girls now openly throw themselves at boys. I don't like it one bit, but that's the culture we live in.