Teenage…an
age wherein too many changes happen... As my friend Bindu says “They neither
fit in kids section nor in adult section; not only with reference to clothes
but also in case of physical, mental and emotional level too.”
Teenage
is an age where we are confused about the changes happening in us.
Also,
teenage is the make or break point of life, as teenagers are the most
misunderstood by near and dear ones. Though they are still kids stepping into
their adolescence they are expected to behave like grown-ups or vice versa
depending on the situations.
Many
of us have teenage children and have been through that stage ourselves…
Present day teenagers are different than
what we were at that stage. Today’s generations are much more clear about their
goals, about their needs, whereas we used to run like headless chicken maybe
and follow our elders. But today’s children have a voice of their own and they
want the voice to be heard and listened.
We can't expect kids to do what we did. We
need to let them go. We need to let them take their own decisions rather than
follow our decisions. They are not us. We were scared of our parents and were
scared to toe the line. But for today’s kids, the exposure to outside world has
opened lot many doors and they can't be tamed or caged or told to obey rules.
I
have seen teenager kids of my friends, some who are really struggling with
their kids as they want to follow their rules, whereas some are friends with
their Moms, who allowed them to fly and soar and reach the skies.
Rather than telling them, they are
difficult, I think we should bend ourselves a little and be in their shoes and
think, why are they being difficult?
I know many will say “what will she know
about handling a teenage tantrum?”
Well, handling a verbal teenager is much
easier than handling a non-verbal teenager. Trust me. Understanding my
daughter’s mood swings have given me terrible mood swings. Anyways I have seen parents who don’t
understand their children who voice their expectations and cry for help, then
mine is non-verbal. She can express herself only through actions which itself
is sometimes hard to interpret.
So rather than telling them, they are
wrong, I feel it would be ideal if they are understood and you gain their
confidence and trust. It doesn’t mean that one must always give in to their
demands. But being strict and open-minded surely will help.
