Is it generational or am I remembering it wrong?

Lol oh I remember them days when my 2 boys were like that. Always nagging them to pick up stuff. Telling them clothes don’t walk to machines on there own. Etc Then they went opposite. Couldn’t get them out bathroom etc. As for the eating thing I couldn’t believe how much I didn’t spend on food after they moved out. But both happily married with kids of their own. But even when come home to visit there in my cupboards looking for something to eat. Now one of my daughter inlaw nags her 10yr son for same thing. But can’t say he’s getting from my son as he’s not my sons child. It’s just a boy thing I’m afraid. Also both my sons are now both super house proud. Just wait till a girl catches his eye he will soon change lol

A constantly available pan of dhal, with or without rice (have to be careful about leaving rice hanging around, so maybe not), is really cheap being made with lentils, is nutritious and easy peasy to make. Otherwise whole meal bread with Marmite or peanut butter helps fill the holes in their legs. Pre EU my mum used to buy vast slabs of NZ or Aussie cheese that my brother ate by the ton with bread straight after finishing his dinner. Mum was devastated when this cheese shot up in price after import tax was added to it, but luckily my brother was coming out if this phase by then. He was always as skinny as a rake.

My son could have kept the Weetabix company going on his own!
as a teenager ,he filled up on at least 4 of them in a big bowl at least twice daily,he still.loves them now, at the age of 46,but was never out of the bathroom..constant preening

This reminds me very much of my elder daughter! She ate all the time, but it was mostly junk even though she was brought up to be mindful of nourishing her body. Snacks were SUPPOSED to be fruit/yoghurt only, as when I was young, but no-goes there-she found all the ‘treats’ no matter where I hid them and if occasionally unsuccessful she would create murders which was exhausting. She kept her clothes in a pile in the middle of her room, there were rancid sandwiches under her bed together with pints of gone off milk. She insisted on sleeping with both our (large) dogs in her bed which she rarely allowed to be changed. She wore ‘goth clothes’ bleached her hair with pink at the front (behind my back) and PIERCED HER OWN NOSE when she was 14! My other two were no trouble at all; her sister clean and tidy ( we built a loft extension to give her her own space as sharing with her messy sister was impossible). My son was and is 100% fastidious. My elder girl now? She is 32 and the mother of four beautiful children. She is the Queen of Clean and could teach Mrs Hinch a thing or two! Her home is immaculate, the children beautifully turned out. She herself is well groomed and well organised! She still eats too much junk for my liking- when the little ones are out of the way as she is careful about THEIR diet (and hubby’s). She still has her nose pierced. So they do grow out of it (sort of!) and it delights me to remind her of the horror she once was! Or they grow INTO it! My younger daughter is often extremely messy and of course has a spoiled, dictatorial and rampaging dog who seems to rule the roost! My son? Still Mr Fastidious with (designer) knobs on!

From the outside it looks like, teenage boy, parents who are a little indulgent, maybe doing to much and not making him independent, he also seems depressed, maybe a chat with your DD to get him some help. Good luck

My boys were teenagers in the 80s. I used to bake cakes in roasting tins - 3 every week. They never lasted a week but they knew there would be no more cake until the next bake. I used to encourage them to fill up on sandwiches that they could make for themselves.

Just typical teenager boy by the sound of!

I’d certainly had struggled if I had to tell my 15 year olds they couldn’t eat what they wanted when they wanted, ditto fizzy drinks ! I was extremely careful when they were at primary school and limited “junk food” and fizzy drinks but tbh once they were at secondary school and buying their lunch at school canteen and machines it all went out of the window ! They are all now adults eat a fairly balanced diet and don’t have weight issues.

As far as grandchildren are concerned if I was lucky enough to have grandchildren staying for two weeks I’d completely indulge them !! I had two boys, they were utterly yucky, disgusting and “dustbins” in their teens !

He must surely be going home soon and you can get back to your old comfortable life. Please try to stop stressing!
You asked were you 'mis-remembering' - well perhaps a bit, even though he does seem a bit OTT, teenage boys do eat like horses though.
This is only temporary so feed him, but don't buy anything special or tempting. Cereal and milk add lib, a loaf of bread a day but don't have anything special to put on it and just a sensible amount of fruit available. Its not your job to retrain him. As for hygiene and towels (I'd just hang them on the line while he's at school, he won't know if they're washed or not).
Relax, you sound really stressed, and its not for ever even od it feels like it. ?

My son is very much like this- but he has aspergers, and a neurological condituon, and a couple of other medic issues- you said he has "masses" of medical issues, so no, its probably not 'just a boy thing'- its likely this is all part of his medical issues- did you actually get a list of his 'behaviours' etc from his mum before he came to your house- and go over these with her? This would have been particularly helpful to make him less stressed-My grandson has very similar behaviours also and he is on autistic spectrum- i am not suggesting at all that your lovely GS has any of these conditions, but im just saying consider it , especially as you said he ''says he doesnt know why he does it"?? So it seems a bit harsh to 'punish' him by a 24 hr ban, if he genuinely cant help it? Perhaps you can help him instead by pointing out the usual way most of us do things, like showering/teeth cleaning, and WHY, and 'help' him to tidy up at the end of the day, rather than 'nag' him?show by example.it may help, but dont be surprised if hes forgotten again by the following day.Be patient, i know its hard, but think how hard things might be for him? Also try help his mum by occasionally taking him out somewhere, just for a couple of hours break(if he does like to go out- my son &grandson have an aversion to that)Then at least youre not cleaning up if you go somewhere else.In meantime assume things may be confusing for him, as well as stressful, dont 'blame' him, and teach rather than sanction him.

Hollow legs. My boys both had them from 15-19 ish.

I remember one of my sons in particular as a teenager coming home from school after having had a school dinner and piling a cereal bowl high with corn flakes and adding 3/4 of a pint of milk on top before heating it in the microwave on a daily basis. Boys grow very rapidly in their mid teens but l did not have fizzy drinks or fruit juices in the house as l wanted him to eat reasonably healthily. I remember his feet growing very quickly too at this age. He is now in his late twenties and around 5’6”, very slightly built and size 7 shoes. This is normal behaviour but I think it is better to keep junk food out of the equation. I think many children nowadays do have too many snacks and three square meals a day are perfectly adequate except when going through the teenage growth spurt.

agree with Nannan2. good points. well put.

If he does the same at home you will be on a losing streak to expect anything different when he is with you. I had 3 teenagers in the house; girl and twin boys and very rarely did they snack between meals. If out in the evening they would sometimes go to a friends or come
home with a friend then they would snack basically socialising. Today children seem to have an inordinate amounts of snacks, raiding cupboards and fridges every hour. You deserve a medal for coping.

Is he overweight? If not, don’t worry about his seemingly excessive food consumption. Teenage boys who are going to grow into tall young men eat you out of house and home in my experience. ( I don’t know about boys who are less tall- my son was already 6 foot at 13. I’m not being “hightist” - is it possible your own sons were not of a large build? It really impacts on appetite.) We used to call ours the Giant Mouse because food- especially cheese and bread would just evaporate. Your grandson may be having a growth spurt- in which case he will always be hungry. As many others have advised, bread, fruit and cheese are good to have around to fill the bottomless boots, and much healthier than crisps and sweets.
As for the personal hygiene, well there is a reason Lynx antiperspirant is so beloved of teenage boys. Testosterone reeks, and it often takes a young lady to point out to them their omissions in the showering/clean clothes department. He won’t be smelly like this in few years time, and all you can do is provide the hot water and towels, and occasional suggestion. Nagging will really only cause conflict. 15 year old boys are already confused changelings- boy/men whose emotions are all over the place. You love him- make time to tell him that, and give him plenty of hugs ( even if you do have to hold your breath!)

Once pulled the bedroom curtains back and there was teenaged son asleep on the sun lounger - he’d gone out without his keys and didn’t like to wake us. I never bought crisps or biscuits when the boys were teenagers. They did shower and clean their teeth but we had a German exchange student who was definitely unwashed and pongy. I confiscated his pile of dirty underpants and gave them a hot wash, which helped a bit.

In addition to some of the comments, I remember my grandma, when she was alive told me she felt very sorry for the lady next door, who had to feed two teenage boys on rations and the boys were constantly hungry. By contrast, she had two very little girls (my mum and my aunt) and it was much easier to manage. Not a new problem at all and at least today’s teenage boys can eat their fill.

Is he overweight?

My lovely Grandson is coming up to 14 and in the last few months has turned into an eating machine. As a small boy his favourite book was ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’ and I think he is trying to live up to it! ?

He is quite capable of eating a 14inch pizza by himself and will be looking for more food within the hour. He is unsurprisingly growing like a weed. Fortunately his hygiene is reasonable (ish) and he hasn’t got to the grunting stage yet; he is quite chatty and sociable. Boys eh? ???

Sounds familiar but it didn't happen in my older brother's day (he's 68) as none of it was allowed & our parents were in charge !!!

My son grew 3 inches the year he was 15 and did not stop eating. As for the rest it sounds typical teenager...

Nicely written Nannan ?

Nannan 2

My son as a teenager fitted the eating/non-showering/sleeping/ wearing the same clothes etc, etc. Now aged 23 he shares a house with 2 other young men and complains about them leaving clothes on the floor, not washing up etc. They do all grow up eventually. Loved the boy who slept in the shower, that explains why my son spent 20 mins in the shower every morning!

yes mum still waiting on a diagnosis for him, definitely on the spectrum somewhere.
I was trying to find a happy balance of making him feel loved and welcome but not having him get away with too much. Especially as his 11 day stay may have had to have been extended if any other family members then came down with it.
We did have some nice conversations and sat and had hugs the other night.
He did come out for walks with us as well.
Think as we get older we just get in a rut and having to accommodate others can be difficult.