Long before the emo, the goth kids, the grindcore/hardcore/heavy metal, the rap, the meth, but leading into the stealing your parent’s car, the toilet-papering of houses, the drinking and driving, and listening to the rock’n’roll, kids found ways to rebel. I mean, come on: even in the 1800s, parents were parents, and kids were always able to make problems for them.
As someone who was only grounded once for crossing state lines in the vehicle of a friend under the age of 18 for a meal, you can tell that I’m not all that rebellious. If you’re interested in what kids did to piss off their parents in the past, check out Teenage: The Prehistory of Youth Culture (1875-1945) by Jon Savage. Or, if you’re a parent, compare your struggles to the struggles of your parent’s parents, and see if you’ve gotten off easy or just in deeper.