Young people and their parents It
is natural for young people to be critical of their, parents at times and to
blame them for most of the misunderstandings between them. They have always
complained, more or less justly, that their parents are out of touch with modern
ways; that they are possessive and dominant; that they do not trust their
children to deal with crisis; that they talk too much about certain problems—and
that they have no sense of humor, at least in parent-child
relationships. I think it is true that parents often
underestimate their teenage children and also forget how they themselves felt
when young. Young people often irritate their parents with their
choices in clothes and hairstyles, in entertainers and music. This is not their
motive. They feel cut off from the adult world into which they have not yet been
accepted. So they create a culture and society of their own. Then, it turns out
that their music or entertainers or vocabulary or clothes or hairstyles irritate
their parents. This gives them additional enjoyment. They feel they are
superior, at least in small way, and that they are leaders in style and
taste. Sometimes you are resistant, and proud because you do not
want your parents to approve of what you do. If they did approve, it looks as if
you are betraying your own age group. But in that case, you are assuming that
you are underdog: you can’t win but at least you can keep your honor. This is a
passive way of looking at things. It is natural enough after long years of
childhood, when you were completely under your parents’ control. But it ignores
the fact that you are now beginning to be responsible for yourself.
If you plan to control your life, co-operation can be part of that plan.
You can charm others, especially your parents, into doing things the way you
want. You can impress others with your sense of responsibility and initiative,
so that they will give you the authority to do what you want to do. To improve parent-child relationships, teenagers are advised to be ______.