…if- 100 years ago- we had convinced the whole planet to promote the stereotype that teenagers are pleasant, approachable, nice to have around, amiable people- instead of making jokes, cartoons, movies and sitcoms based on the sullen, temperamental, moody people they actually are? I mean- if you tell someone something often enough and long enough they eventually believe it right? And then they will almost “strive” to live up to what everyone has always told them.
And in the “here and now” almost every TV program and movie that features teenagers in any shape or form depicts “kids” who seem to be constantly in the throes of indecision and it’s made to look cool!
So isn’t it possible that (at least partly) as a result of this- our own children become a handful when they hit 13 (sometimes younger) and turn into complete monsters before they’re 14 in order to live up to the image promoted by just about everyone and everything around us…
Being Angel
Wife, mom, mom-in-law, Guide Dog Puppy Raiser, ex-cake artist, ADHD champion, hooker for fun, and tattooed cat slave.
spookie & dawn: very valid points both of you- but i always wonder a little about how different people would be if society (and or life) treated them a little differently… KWIM?
Interesting question … what I don’t get about teenagers is this … so many people dismiss so much of what they do by saying “it’s their age.” Why is this an excuse for behavior that is somtimes just totally unacceptable? I don’t mean to sound hard-ass about this, but teenagers are generally very clever when it comes to serving their own needs. They make decisions and choices just like anyone else. If they make those choices and there are consequences (as there are to everyones at any age), is it fair that they get away with these consequences because “it’s their age?” I think the bar should be raised and they should be treated as accountable and responsible young people who need to learn that you can’t waltz through life with no regard for how your actions impact on the people and world around you. Again, without sounding unreasonable, as their “teachers” we must certainly allow for their lack of life experience and guide them by our own example, but for the main part, I think we would better serve them by raising the bar rather than dismissing stuff because of their age.
Good point. I totally agree.
It has been proven though that a young mans brain is not fully formed before he reaches 20 (this is not a joke) and therefore any kind of problem solving and the way they think about things compared to a young man over 20 is so vastly different. Then they can’t see the point we are trying to make and they can ONLY see the point they are trying to make and this causes friction and tempers to flare and so on. This was very helpful to me when I heard this (Dr Dobson btw) and it made sense. We see them as stubborn yet they see us as unrelenting and not understanding.
My point is that even if we had not “stereotyped” them ever – there would still be problems and rebellion and all that stuff, maybe in a different way – but that is how they are as teenagers.