S1 - A Tween?

Think S1 is certainly a Tween.... just this evening at the dinner table, I said something to S1 and I guessed I was going on-and-on a little, and H said "what are you mumbling about?" and S1 was very gung-ho and said to his father "yeah. I don't know what she's on about " *sigh* like that talk about the mother one meh? And the other day, I spoke to him on the phone..I found out later that he told his dad "I never listen one.." Why do I even bother???

And lately, he has been comparing what his friends has and that he doesn't have....even something that is soooo irrelevant.. For example:
S1 - Dad doesn't spend his money at all. He only spends it on cigarettes and lighters. We don't even have cups under the water dispenser.
Me - Huh? What are you talking about??
S1 - T's water dispenser has a cupboard underneath, where they store the cups. We don't have it.

You see the irrelevance of this? Then there's T has an iPod. T's swimming pool is much better than ours. T has this. T has that... I have to constantly remind him that there would be a whole lot more of stuff that T would have that we would not. Also, I said "how come you only compare things that you don't have...how come you don't do it other way? T doesn't have a TV in his room. So, maybe you should take the TV out of your room too!".

It's already difficult to parent a child...but it's doubly difficult when his peers have more money and stuff to flaunt... Other examples: Kids taking USD 30 to school. Whereas most days, S1 brings lunch to school. On days that he doesn't, I give him about USD 1 to 2 only. Kids bringing the latest mobile phones to school, iPods etc etc... There are even kids who would pay USD 10 to get one merit from another kid... The british system rewards children with merits when they do their work well or behave well. The merits (in the form of stickers) are stuck in the merit book. So, these rich (and obviously spoilt kids) would pay USD 10 for each sticker. So...there goes my daily challenge to keep my kids grounded to a "normal" life amidst all of these.