WE ARE YOUNG
We as individuals who have no idea what is
happening in our life's, are constantly
worrying whether we are accepted by the
society/parents/friends or not. We want to be
accepted for who we are, and the problem
starts here, we want to be accepted but we
don't want to change our negatives. (As a
teen, am still working on that myself). We
want everyone to accept us, and when this
Dosent happen, we fall into major
depression. Not just this but there are many
problems faced by youngsters these days ....
■ Meeting up the expectations :
Yes our all time favorite thing to worry about.
Well all of Us (yes am talking about the
complicated souls of the world :teens) Are
expected to achieve something, be it from
the society or parents. And this is one thing I
get constantly worried about! WHY you ask?
Because there is so much pressure from
everywhere. Expectations like "My son will
be a doctor for sure, right son? " "You have
to score 96 percent in your boards!! " " My
kids will never let me down" Parents think
they are encouraging us by saying all this,
but No all you guys are doing, is stressing us
up. And when this happen we start worrying
about stuff like "Will I be able to do it? " "Can
I? " "What if I don't? " "What will my parents
think? "etc. We worry about all of this at one
whole time and finally we burst out into a
dramatic pool of tears.
Some other problems faced by us ...
■ Body image : Puberty creates so many
changes in such a short amount of time,
teens can feel overwhelmed by their own
bodies. In addition, our culture promotes an
almost impossible body type as ideal,
which creates unrealistic comparisons and
feelings of failure.
■ Belonging : Teens naturally want to fit in
and be liked by their peers. They want to
“pick” the right identity and be viewed by
their peers in a positive light. This worry can
motivate teens to do things they know are
wrong or that make them uncomfortable,
such as smoking or other risky behaviors, to
impress a peer. Additionally, teens know that
kids who don’t fit in are often targets for
bullies, another major concern for this age
group. Finding a sense of belonging is a
major source of stress in the teen years.
■ Love interests : Adolescence is first step
into the world of dating and that brings a
whole new level of stress. When your teen is
not in a relationship, they will worry about
whether they are attractive to
the opposite sex. Those that are in
relationships tend to worry about how long
the relationship will last and the pressure to
make to their partner happy .
■ Future : Teenagers often have to make
early decisions about school subjects, study,
careers and work. In fact, many teenagers
are stressed because they believe their high
school grades decide their whole future.
Many teens worry about getting into a good
college and how they’ll handle being away
from their families and homes for the first
time.
Well there are many more, but as for now, I
have listed the few major ones.
As an advice columnist and also being from
one of those young people would try my
level best to share my thoughts and advice
on some problems faced by
youngsters . Teenage is a rollercoaster of
emotions and challenges. As parents, it
would be helpful to provide them with some
useful tips to help your teens solve their
problems and make them responsible and
strong individuals. I would like to advice
parents on this topic ....as because parents
are their childs best friend and a teachers as
well.
Adolescence is a stressful time in life. But,
that means it’s also the perfect time for you
to teach your children positive coping
mechanisms and problem solving skills, both
of which are necessary for them to handle
life as an adult. Part of growing up is
learning how to take care of oneself. Teens
who are not taught methods for coping with
stress end up finding destructive ways to
manage their lives, such as eating disorders,
self-injury, teen violence and other risky
behaviours. It’s parent’s role to guide teens
to positive ways to manage their life.
Talking.
Almost everyone feels better when they can
talk out their worries. Create a safe and
supportive home environment and practice
active listening so that your teen feels
comfortable sharing their concerns with you.
Help them identify their feelings, and,
regardless of what you think about their
worry, be sure to validate your teen’s
feelings. If your teen won’t talk to you, help
identify safe people with whom they might
feel comfortable discussing their problems or
encourage your teen to journal.
Expressing confidence. Demonstrating
that you believe in your teen can help them
overcome their worries. Tell your teen that
you have confidence in their ability to
handle stressful situations, find possible
solutions, and work to improve their
problems. Praise your teen anytime you see
them working to manage their emotions or
try again after a failure.
It is crucial that teens feel validated in
their feelings and thoughts because what
they are going through is a real part of their
lives. Parents and guardians should not
judge or criticize their feelings or thoughts.
Being sensitive towards teens and the fact
that they are exposed to a range of emotions
(puberty being one of the most important
experiences) is an important step in
understanding their transition. Anger,
confusion, jealousy, non-compliant attitudes,
dislike towards their parents or elders,
secrecy/high need for privacy etc. are few
examples of emotions or feelings they have.
Defiant behaviors results from their inability
to appropriately deal with the intensity of
these emotions and aggravate common
teenage problems.
Respect
Young peoples opinion or decisions will
enhance their self-confidence and self
esteem. Most youths’ ability to develop
positive self-esteem is affected by family life
and parental criticism. Making respect a
mutual virtue will help in developing a
stronger bond between parents and the
child. This platform has helped me to share
my opinions and advice freely to the people
and to our respective parents on behalf of all
the young people especially teenagers , who
hesitate alot to build a friendly rapport with
their parents , hope this would create an
impact in our lives .
