Surviving teen years

We all know that as per the laws of nature we live our lives through various stages such as infancy, childhood, adolescence, adulthood, and old age. Of these life stages,the most adventurous and interesting stage is adolescence which represents an inner emotional upheaval, a struggle between the eternal human wish to cling to the past and the equally powerful wish to get on with the future.

It’s indeed a very critical phase in life of every human being because in this phase,there is intense growth not only physically but also morally, cognitively,  emotionally and intellectually.Hence,in this stage of life it is quite essential that parents or elders or peers provide adolescents proper guidance, support and create an environment to facilitate their holistic development.

For majority of the adolescents there is nothing in the world more embarrassing  than their parents.Sounds funny !! but its true because there is something like “Generation Gap” which is experienced by every youngster all over the world. But more funnier thing is that adolescents keep trying hard to make it among the adults in the world, who somehow are probably not sure about themselves. However, inspite all these silly behaviour, it has been observed that contrary to the common perception about adolescents, they are often energetic, thoughtful, idealistic and have a deep interest in values of life and they are full of optimism, hope and positive outlook.

But the only disadvantage that they have is lack of experience and hence they are deceived easily by way of getting diverted to wrong and destructive ways.

The primary goal of every adolescent is to achieve complete independence, for which they often seek a lot of space and freedom. They start to think more rationally and abstractly as they form their moral code. In the process, they may often become assertive, rebellious, non-­conformist, sell-opinionated and aloof.

Therefore, they need to be guided and supported with great sensitivity and maturity. In order to attain a well-integrated maturity, a series of factors need to he addressed for adolescents, like they need to acquire self certainty, be ready to try out new roles, strive for achievement, acquire a self-identity, balance their rights with responsibilities and identify personal goals and ideals.

One should understand that while dealing with the problems of adolescents, one should try and step into the young person’s world and treat them with discerning respect rather than suspicion. It always helps when we share their joys and sorrows and genuinely address their questions whilst engaging them in a moral and spiritual discipline.

Today the need of the hour is that parents should deal with their adolescent children in a way that promotes their general well-being and development which is inclusive of the spiritual dimension.