«Puberty also makes some things easier»
Jarno (13): «Since I hit puberty, I let myself be provoked more quickly. But my parents are also more annoying. There are more arguments with dad about school and with mum about the offices.»
Christof (52): «Jarno and I agreed that we would go through the school material once a week in view of his grades. He's clever about it.»
Nora (19): «And doesn't even take the things with her.»
Christof: «While a push was enough for Nora to learn at some point , Jarno needed a kick up the bum - literally, of course.»
Nora: «But our relationships haven't deteriorated as a result of puberty. I have a very good relationship with my dad and Manuela and with my mum and her boyfriend.»
Christof: «That's true. But in puberty, you've mutated into marmots - who like to squat in their burrows.»
It's embarrassing when you make out in public!
Aline, 13
Nora: «We usually eat together and often sit at the table and chat afterwards. The good thing about being here: For company, you just go to the other marmot in the cave.»
Manuela (43): «Nora and Sophie chill in bed with Netflix while Aline moves in with Jarno. Speaking of puberty: that's when parents get embarrassing - right?»
Aline (13): «Yes, especially when you're making out in public. Or I have to watch from the sofa.»
Sophie (15): «What Aline calls making out is a kiss.»
Aline: «Mummy and Christof often get on your nerves too, for example about gender issues or the new non-binary ones.»
Sophie: «I'm very open-minded and have a problem with racist, sexist and homophobic statements. The other day, our sports teacher said we shouldn't hold the tennis racket like women hold the frying pan. If Mummy and Christof still laugh about it, there will be discussions. And Aline, there have always been non-binary people. It doesn't matter which gender you identify with or whether you feel you belong to a category at all.»
You are not unopen, even though I often say that.
Sophie, 15
Manuela: «I would say we are also open. But it's characterised by the time we grew up in. So we perhaps have longer to understand certain developments because they are new to us.»
Sophie: «Yes, you're not unopen, even if I often say so. But Christof is extra provocative.»
Christof: «I just want to know: When you raise your moral finger so uncompromisingly, is that an openness that needs to be defended because a topic is so popular at the moment? There's not just good or evil. Our debates are exciting!»
Manuela: «Also the alliances that form. That's what makes puberty interesting.»
Sophie: «Puberty makes some things easier: my perfectionism has improved. I don't always have to touch up what others have done.»
Aline: «I have fewer outbursts of anger. After all, I'm growing up - in a relationship, I can't freak out every time I'm told no.»
Jarno: «Some people only play games during puberty. I was like that for a while, then I was banned from gaming for two months. I realised that it's actually cooler outside.»
