The main target for adolescents must be to discover who they are

During our teens’ high school years, they must have different opportunities for being able to explore their interests and dreams, to discover what is a passion and gives them a sense to their lives.

Even though our days may be overscheduled and stressful, we must do an effort to permit that the future of our teens would not be the same as ours. We need to remember that our teenagers need plenty of time of reduced activity or inactivity. We have to be very careful not to overload them by always imposing a goal-directed schedule. After all, the main job of adolescents is to discover who they are. This is their time to explore friendships and love, their talents and dreams… We need to make sure that our teens have the unstructured time they need to just “hang out” and do “nothing” while they discover who they really are, and who they want to become.

As parents, we need to respect the time our teenagers need for their own self-discovery. What looks like doing “nothing” may be extremely important time for them to reflect, relax, and figure out where they would be willing to go. This is an important part of growing up, and it prepares teens for the inevitable stresses of their young adulthood. In a few short years they will be making decisions about college, careers, and love relationships that will contribute to shape the rest of their lives. The more they learn about themselves now, the wiser they will be when it comes the moment to take those decisions.

What is your opinion?

Bibliography:

"Teenagers Learn What They Live, Parenting to Inspire Integrity & Independence", written by Dorothy Law Nolte and Rachel Harris.

Para leerlo en español, por favor, accede al siguiente enlace:

http://undiaconilusion.blogspot.com.es/2016/05/la-principal-tarea-de-los-adolescentes.html