Why my 16 year old is overtaking me.

My teenage son has officially overtaken me. It started with a simple physics fact, but now he's correcting me on everything—including things I was certain I knew! He's proving me wrong at every turn. But the real turning point? When he had to explain Hawk Tuah to me... and now I wish he hadn't. 

Has a kid ever taught you something you wish you didn’t know? Let me know in the comments!

Why my 16 year old is overtaking me.



TRANSCRIPT: (CLICK PLAY ON THE VIDEO ABOVE)

THIS IS THE TRANSCRIPT - CLICK PLAY ON THE VIDEO ABOVE!

I know I've been talking a lot about my teenage son on the channel lately, but he's just turned 16, so I figure it's okay for me to talk about him on the YouTube channel now.

Something's happened in my relationship with him that I know—things have changed. And last night, I think, was probably the turning point. He was revising physics, he was writing out these physics index cards, and he read out to me that the... the voltage in this country is 230 volts. And I... you know, like a dad, said, "Oh no, actually, that's wrong. You know, it's 240 volts." And he stood his ground. He said, "No, no, it's 230V."

I was... I was like, "Well, I know it fluctuates, but that might be an average. But it's... it's 240 volts." And we were, like, ping-ponging this to each other. And I said, "The reason you think it's 230 volts is 'cause you've got a sticker on your computer right in front of you that says 230 volts, but that's wrong because the voltage system in this country, AC, is 240 volts."

And it got to the point where we had to look it up. And sure enough, the voltage in the United Kingdom is 230 volts. It changed. It changed in the 1990s. I had no idea that it had changed.

He said, "That's okay, Dad. You know, we all... we all... get it wrong." But I was like, "My... oh my god. I... I've just been corrected yet again by my brilliant son, who's 16. Is this it? Is this how things are now, where I'm just super out of date and out of knowledge? If I'm wrong about that, what else am I wrong about?"

He taught me recently that it's totally okay to touch a car battery.

Again, I... I didn't know this. I'm... I'm going, "Don't touch it! Don't touch it with your hands!" He's like, "Dad, you can touch both terminals with your hands, and nothing will happen."

I was convinced that if you touch it, you'll get electrocuted and your head will explode. Turns out, thanks to my son, that's not true at all. Apparently, the voltage is... is too low.

It's fantastic that I'm learning things from my teenage son, but it's also... I'm starting to realize that it's, um... this is where the tables turn, and we're getting a complete reversal in... in... in... I was going to say in fortune, but it's in... in perhaps in status.

And... and it just feels... it feels wrong, even now, to say, "The voltage in this country is 230 volts," and, "You can touch a car battery, even with wet hands."

And then I think about all the amazing stuff that I'm teaching him, like real... real sort of nuggets of wisdom, like, uh, "Go in the front carriage on the Northern Line so you can get out at Tottenham Court Road and get out the station, like, 12 seconds earlier."

Or there was one... one the other day. I... I managed to teach him that the song *Digging Your Scene* by The Blow Monkeys is actually a song about AIDS. You know, it's just, like, completely useless stuff.

When is he ever going to learn that?

Plus, it's... it's also ruined a really nice song for both of us. Only found it out last month. It's... it's really obvious.

I've let him down so many times in the past. You know, I try to expose him to the very best in popular culture. So I would show him things like my favourite sketches—Kenny Everett, you know, like the, um... the Rod Stewart one where his butt explodes while singing *Do You Think I'm Sexy*, and he ends up floating up into the air.

And we're having a really good time. And... and then this has always happened. He always says, "Oh, could you show me a picture of Kenny Everett now?"

And I'm like, "Ah... sorry, Joe."

"Oh... is he dead?"

It's like, "Yeah... sorry."

And it's like... but that always happens!

I said, "Well, no, no, you know..." And then he really got into George Michael. And eventually, it was like, "Oh, see what... what's George Michael doing now?"

"Well, Joe... here's the thing..."

Again.

And then he really got into Queen.

"Daddy, Daddy, what's Freddie Mercury doing now?"

You could... you could see it in his eyes. We knew. He knew what the answer was going to be.

"Oh... Casper... are you okay there?"

And it went on and on, you know, with other things, like the guy from *Daddy Cool*... Prince... it just didn't stop.

And it... I just feel like I've... I've let him down.

But now he's overtaken me. He's completely overtaken me.

And it... it... it happened very specifically on the Hawk Tuah meme.

I don't know if you're aware of this. You don't need to be aware of it. But I saw on YouTube a lot of people talking about Hawk Tuah.

Joe's really up on his internet memes, so I thought, "Well, I'd ask... I'd ask an expert."

"Joe, what's this Hawk Tuah thing?"

He goes, "Dad, firstly, it's not pronounced 'Hawk Tuah'—it's pronounced *HAWK TUAH!*"

And he said, "Just do your own research."

So he's... he's teaching me properly now.

He's teaching me to do my own research.

So, of course, I look up *Hawk Tuah*. And it's not safe for work... I wouldn't... I wouldn't recommend it.

*Hawk Tuah! Spit-on-it!*

I looked it up and then realized... he's now teaching me about S-E-... I can't say the third letter because I don't want to be demonetized.

It's... it's just a complete turnaround.

How can my little baby, that up until only, like, last week, it feels, I was still carrying on my shoulders when I was way too old... I was still holding his hands while we were crossing the road for the very last moment possible.

I tried to... to hold on to that moment. I did all of that.

And now he's teaching me about Hawk Tuah.

So that's me being replaced.

I hope your Google history isn't now ruined by some of the issues raised in this video.

Uh, what about you? Is there something that you've learned from a kid that you wish you hadn't?

Say hello down in the comments. Let me know.

I'd love to... to hear your stories.

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