Teens generally get a bad rap.. I don't mean they can't be difficult and that there aren't times you'd love to whack them, What I mean is that it's not their fault.
Humans are the only animals who keep supporting their young beyond that natural point where they should be coaxed out of the nest. This leads to consequences we should expect. We are born free but young humans need to be taken care of. When you take care of people or animals and they are dependent upon you for survival, you've deprived them of their freedom. This condition is meant to be temporary until they have matured to a point where they should become self-sufficient. This is generally at the age of puberty.
The demand for freedom begins almost immediately and continues through childhood. With puberty the strong, natural craving for freedom manifests itself. It is powerful and says "I'm an individual and I can and want to take care of myself". We tell them "NO". The conditions of our society require us to continue to care for them. Just as all oppressed people demand freedom through protest and rebellion, they turn to resisting our control. In the end, if everyone survives this period of incarceration, with liberation, all is well. Personally, I would be more concerned about a teen who does not show some sort of rebellion against his/her jailers.
As parents we must be observant enough to estimate the amount of freedom we should allow our children based on their degree of maturity. This should begin as early as possible. The longer we wait the harder it is for them to exercise their freedom wisely. Dependency destroys self-esteem.
The antics of college kids is partly due to the sudden emancipation from parental control. They can finally be their own person except they don't know who that is. They have never had a chance to find out under excessive control. For the first time they are in charge of everything, except paying the bills, and they can do anything any way they want to. This immature, wild abandon is rudderless for lack of having had freedom granted in gradual increments.
When we have a world view of everything that influences human behavior and health, it is truly a miracle that we do as well as we do.There is a force in nature which takes care of everything without our knowledge and consent and in spite of our behavior,
Humans are the only animals who keep supporting their young beyond that natural point where they should be coaxed out of the nest. This leads to consequences we should expect. We are born free but young humans need to be taken care of. When you take care of people or animals and they are dependent upon you for survival, you've deprived them of their freedom. This condition is meant to be temporary until they have matured to a point where they should become self-sufficient. This is generally at the age of puberty.
The demand for freedom begins almost immediately and continues through childhood. With puberty the strong, natural craving for freedom manifests itself. It is powerful and says "I'm an individual and I can and want to take care of myself". We tell them "NO". The conditions of our society require us to continue to care for them. Just as all oppressed people demand freedom through protest and rebellion, they turn to resisting our control. In the end, if everyone survives this period of incarceration, with liberation, all is well. Personally, I would be more concerned about a teen who does not show some sort of rebellion against his/her jailers.
As parents we must be observant enough to estimate the amount of freedom we should allow our children based on their degree of maturity. This should begin as early as possible. The longer we wait the harder it is for them to exercise their freedom wisely. Dependency destroys self-esteem.
The antics of college kids is partly due to the sudden emancipation from parental control. They can finally be their own person except they don't know who that is. They have never had a chance to find out under excessive control. For the first time they are in charge of everything, except paying the bills, and they can do anything any way they want to. This immature, wild abandon is rudderless for lack of having had freedom granted in gradual increments.
When we have a world view of everything that influences human behavior and health, it is truly a miracle that we do as well as we do.There is a force in nature which takes care of everything without our knowledge and consent and in spite of our behavior,
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