The world that I grew up in has drastically changed. The availability of information, the access we have to everyone around the world, the speed at which the world is moving all have increased the pressure and anxiety in kids. Reading headlines that kids will have 10 – 14 jobs in their lifetime, and that many of these jobs do not exist today would cause stress in my life, let alone a teen that keeps being asked “What do you want to do when you grow up?” We just told them they can’t know, and then we ask them the same question. Divorce rates are climbing, as are the numbers of students coming from one parent, foster homes, or mixed families. As adults, we communicate relatively well with each other, but forget at times that children are often left out of those conversations and need to develop their communication skills. When adults get frustrated with the lack of communication with children they react impulsively rather than responding deliberately to the needs of the young person.
Adults also need to be empathetic to the younger generation. We often forget what it was like and as previously stated we grew up in a totally different world. We often drag our own baggage around with us, not fully resolving our own issues before we start in on solving our children’s issues. Until we have come to some peace and resolution with our own pain, we can not (or at least should not) attempt to heal anyone else. If we are still a wounded healer we will often punish bad choices rather than giving students the ability, time and power to make positive choices and solve their own problems. Archbishop Desmond Tutu echoed:
“We must look on children in need not as problems but as individuals with potential to share if they are given the opportunity. Even when they are really troublesome, there is some good in them, for; after all, they were created by God. I would hope we could find ways to draw out of our children the good that is in each of them.”