When was the last time you worked till three in the morning on a task assigned by your boss? Or experienced stress due to a test that was imminent for every employee in your division? If you want that promotion, you really need to ace it. What about your BFF and workplace colleague? Recently, have they been angry with you? You’re not sure what you did, but they’ve stopped talking to you and there’s been nobody for you to chat with in the break room. You are confident that everyone is chatting negatively about you.
So perhaps certain elements of the aforementioned situation do ring true. No matter what, it’s simple to dismiss the teenage experience of our kids since, as adults, we live in the real world and are subject to real pressure and repercussions for our choices. The temptation is to say to our teenagers, “Kid, you have no clue how nice you have it!” However, it’s crucial to avoid downplaying or dismissing the reality of what it’s like to be a teenager in today’s society if you genuinely want to understand your adolescent.
1.Become compassionate and show empathy. Sure, your kid may have a very good existence in comparison to what you may have experienced as a teen, but comparing your youth to theirs (out loud) will only irritate and alienate them. It ignores them and minimizes their experience.
2.Recognize the effects of technology on our teenagers. Social media is a big portion of screen time these days, which is a given. Whether you like it or not, social media appears to be here to stay. However, having access to it constantly is bad for everyone, especially our teenagers.
3.Think about how the brain grows. The brain of an adolescent is still “under construction,” if you will. Our prefrontal cortex, the area of the brain that controls logical thought, judgment, and decision-making, does not fully develop until the age of 25. This explains why you discover empty milk cartons in the refrigerator, why your kid can’t seem to remember what a towel rack is for, and why he thought it was a good idea to let his friend drag him on a skateboard behind the car.
4.Do not personalize it. This one is difficult. When our adolescent pulls away from us, refuses to connect, or prefers to spend out with friends over family, it hurts. The eye-rolling, the mood swings, and the fact that nothing you do feels right to your adolescent are all expected.
Source – simipsychologicalgroup
