Understanding A Teenager

You do not have to be a poet to suffer . Youth is already suffering enough for everyone. ” This is how the poet John Ciardi characterized this time in our lives. While it is true that a teenager may feel deeply misunderstood, this part of life does not have to be tragic. Studies in several cultures actually seem to confirm that conflicts in adolescents are a product of a set of cultural factors.

Psychologist and teacher G. Stanley Hall appreciates the following: “Youth is a rebirth because more complete and developed human traits come with it.” This is again a rather radical statement because it equates a child’s life with an unknown world that opens up before him or her, as if everything in it was new and waiting to be discovered.

We tend to understand adolescence as a period of time in which a young person undergoes many changes. Some of these changes are quite radical, and occur in a short time. It is a time when the person is also exposed to enormous pressure from peers and family members.

If so, the question is quite simple, at least in our culture: What can we do to help teens get through this stage? What resources do we have within reach? How can they integrate the changes in a way that prevents them from becoming traumatic?

Understanding a teenager is not an easy task, and it requires a lot of effort from the parents. It usually seems to the parents that their children, who were always understandable and close to them, are now getting angry and distant. However, there are a number of key factors that can help parents understand the true needs of a teenager. These can help them feel empathy for the sudden changes that are taking place in the teenager’s psyche.

Empathy is necessary at all stages of life, especially when trying to understand a teenager. The ability to put ourselves in someone else’s shoes and understand the emotions and the mental processes is fundamental. We have all been teenagers once upon a time. Since we are all going through this stage, it is important to connect with our inner self. We should think back and analyze how our thoughts, our feelings, our longings and our burdens were. The past can help us, but we must see everything in the light of the conditions of the present, not our past.

For example, we did not need mobile phones when we were young, but for today’s teenagers they are a must. What society and peers considered normal in our time can no longer be applied. If we want to understand a teenager in today’s world, we must therefore make an effort to pull ourselves out of old memories.

A teenager demands greater independence and self-reliance. How they are seen by others or how they fit into the social world is vital to them. Ignoring this fact or underestimating its weight is a huge mistake that an adult should not make.

You have to understand that a problem that may seem like a speck of dust to you may seem to them like a big pile of rocks. Act accordingly, use empathy and acknowledge their suffering, their need for independence. Encourage solving the problems in line with their own abilities. Give the problem the weight they give it, because otherwise they will drift away from you.

Many people compare adolescence to rebellion. However, this is not necessarily true. Teenagers simply end up in a phase where they need independence and new horizons. They require a certain distance from their parents to find their own path. If this is not provided, they will fight back.

We need to keep in mind that teenagers are starting to think in a more rational and abstract way. Their bodies change, and with it their brains and ways of looking at the world. They need to reaffirm themselves, get out of their comfort zone and cross the boundaries of parental control. They must build their own code of ethics.

We as adults must understand that this is a bad stage in trying to force ourselves on young people. It is normal for them to talk about their own views and how wrong you are, just as it is for you to disrespectfully disagree. If we do not accept this as something natural and logical, if we are not willing to maintain a dialogue with them, we will never be able to understand them.

If you want to understand a teenager, you have a difficult road ahead of you. We recommend that you converse a lot and let them have their own personal space. Realize that they are no longer your “baby” or “eye stone”. Be realistic with your goals. Provide them with very useful information and watch out for possible problems. This includes lack of sleep and excessively drastic changes. This can include a major deterioration in school or a radical change in their circle of friends.

Understanding a teenager is only complex if you start dealing with the situation too late. With the right amount of information and an empathetic attitude, it does not have to be that difficult. This time period does not have to be one that is filled with frustration. Remember that you have raised and educated your child yourself. Putting yourself in its shoes should therefore be easier than it seems.