Do you remember being a teenager? Remember how your parents or elders thought the music you Listened to was horrible? How about when you thought no one understood you or listened to you? I remember understanding the world around me much more differently than I do in my adult age. Think about it, what was in your mind at the age of 16 thru 18? Perception of life was different in many ways. What about communicating properly to express feelings? Well these are the things we as parents need to remember when dealing with our teenage kids. We need to remember they have not gone through the trials and tribulations we have gone through yet and see, feel, and react to things without those experiences.

Now imagine trying to understand the world in its current state? Problems which we as parents never had to think about or deal with. With so many mixed messages and conflicts on issues we thought society had a handle on during our generation. As we move through life with more questions than answers how we can expect the kids of today to not be confused as to what the next steps of life are. We as adults are not even sure what is next. Remember finishing high school and figuring out if college is the next step is pretty scary. As a kid they have Lived off of us and depended on us for all major decisions. They only worried about the day they lived and not about what to do for the future. I speak as a therapist and as a mom of three teenagers currently moving to the next step. What looks like laziness and procrastinating is actually fear; Its feelings of confusion of the next step. They lived in a cocoon during high school and now are old enough to see the world can be cold and difficult.

The point is we need to step back and see the world through their eyes. It is not the time to fight them on getting it started or giving them some hard medicine. It’s time to relate and be there for the, time to make sure the answers they seek can be found. Remember they do not communicate the same or act the same we did when we were their age. Does it matter that they might mistake your kindness for weakness? Or what really matters is that they get it together and succeed during this transition. That the dreams you told where possibly actually are. Help them get there and they will appreciate it and stop running away from the next step. Guide them as it is a parent’s job to teach and motivate. Motivate them instead of breaking them down. Remind them to take the risk needed by trying college or anything they dream while you are around. They could never really fall too hard because they have us to catch them. They are the future and have a lot of work to do to fix, mold, and drive the future. If you give them wings, they will fly.