It Takes a Lot Longer to “Grow Up” in Modern Times…

Historically, teenagers have been treated as adults from an extremely young age and around the globe, they are given much more responsibilities than their American counterparts. Yet somewhere along the way a transition took place, noting teenager’s trending bad qualities (lazy, ungrateful) and discounting the good (resilient, hopeful). And, we started to take them less seriously as we should. It probably started somewhere around the 1950s, when society began categorizing teenagers as children, rather than adults and preserving that youthful stage rather than shoving them into the workforce. While we may not know exactly when it started, at some point we, as a society, began mocking teenagers and basically everything that they stand for, treating those adolescent years as a joke and mess of hormones and feelings (See just about all ‘coming of age’ films these days). Yes, it’s true that our teenage years are a tangled, vicious web of hormones and emotions but that shouldn’t discredit them in anyway. Perhaps we make jokes to laugh away our own unpleasant years….

 

The odd phase of teen years gets lost between childhood and adulthood nowadays. Just walk down any high school hallway to get an idea of how much kids want to be adults right now (fashion should be the first clue). The teenage years are crucial developmental years as individuals and supporting them properly means listening to what they are experiencing and feeling. Parents, clue in on what your teen is up to, passionate about, and who their friend are. It will help in your relationship with them and help facilitate trust.

Cyberbullying, Peer Pressure & Suicide Prevention for Teenagers

We advocate against cyberbullying amongst teens and we mourn when another teen is lost to violence or suicide. And we should continue to do these things, yet we also need to prioritize making sure our youth are genuinely validated as human beings on a regular old, everyday basis. This comes down to our daily interaction and treatment of one another. Looking back on my own teenage years, yes I know that many things I felt strongly about were superficial and ultimately unimportant in my life – but at the time they were important to me. They mattered and my heart broke and I was affected by them in ways that shaped me into who I am. As an adult, I won’t accept someone else telling me “I shouldn’t get so worked up,” about anything I care about so why should “teenage me” have done the same? There is a huge difference between trying to give someone perspective on an issue and directly telling them what they should or shouldn’t care about and with our youth we constantly blur that line.

Today, teenagers are drastically different than they were when I was young, and my generation was equally different than the one before us. Connor Blakely is sixteen years old and already a founder, speaker, and branding consulting who, “At the age of 15, he began a social media agency that grew to serving 50+ small and medium sized businesses across the United States.” Noa Mintz is fifteen years old and founded the company “Nannies by Noa” in New York City and the Hamptons where she has provided full-time child care to families. Oh, and she actually founded the company when she was twelve and has been thriving ever since. These are only two of the hundreds of teens around the world who are more successful and ambitious than many adults. In contrast to these incredible people, the suicide rates among teens has been rising steadily in the past decade. In the past year, one of the most notable changes is an increase in suicides among young girls ages 10-14. What we need to figure out is the difference between these innovative youngsters and those that felt so helpless that they took their own life and we need to adjust how we deal with things and help suicide rates decrease.

Teens are Humans Too; Respect Goes a Long Way Toward Understanding

This is a crucial and time sensitive issue that affects everyone, especially our teenagers. As we investigate and explore what we can do as a society to aid them, we need to begin by simply taking them seriously as human beings. Not just because we don’t want them to turn to suicide but because we care about what matters and how these people feel about themselves and the world around them. Although many joke about the hormonal chaos of the teenage years, we cannot allow ourselves to forget that they are experience true and honest feelings and deserve to be taken seriously and treated well and with love.

Humans are humans at every stage of their lives. Does your family have a teenage member who is causing a disruption in balance? Is your son or daughter depressed or acting out? This is all normal behavior and rooted in communication. With the right communication and hearing, we can all find common ground. My door is always open if you are looking for support with your teen. I offer quick intro meetings by phone or in person to see if we’re a good fit. After that, we get you all set up on your forms and your first appointment. I look forward to helping your family become cohesive again.

 

Warmly,

Katie