Teenagers

A teenager is defined as one who wants to be treated like an adult but are not expected to behave like one.
When I think about it - I think it is the hardest time of life - you are constantly under pressure to do well in studies, nobody tolerates your mood swings cause your hormones are going wacky in your system, everything you do is a reflection of how you are brought up and you have to become a well rounded individual so that you can get into college. A very tall order if you ask me.

But what stumps me is how do kids whose parents do everything for them get away with surviving when they go off to college. Maybe I am asking this a little too early since my teen is not yet in college or maybe I have not heard of those who did not survive or learnt it the hard way - yet.

I have taught my kids to be independent - but every child is different. What trick that works with one, definitely does not work with the other. As a parent you have to be careful that the younger one does not become a clone of the older one and you recognize their passions.

Passion comes from within - and the kids need to be guided to find that passion. Every child in this world is really good at something - as a parent it is our job to help them find it. Some kids are smart and find it on their own where as others need help. Some find it early in their life, while for some it takes a while.

For some parents there is a predefined path that they think their kids should follow. There is nothing wrong in that since they know that it works - but if your child is not passionate about that path and voice their opinion, as a parent it is imperative that you listen to them. After all if they don't want to become a doctor or engineer does not mean they are a failure.