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Part
Six:
mE PLAIN TRUTHABOUTCHILD REARING
The
TeenYears
The teen years are not the time to start child rearing, but to put the
finishing touches on parent-child relationships.
' 'W ITHOUT
a decent set
of parent s, a kid
doesn't have mueh
of a chance in t his society,"
says California juvenile court
judge
J
oseph N. Sorrentino,
author of the book
The Con–
crete Cradle.
At no time during a chi ld's
d evelopment is that
statement more true
than during the won–
derful, crucial, t urbu–
len t teenage years .
Teenagers need active,
proper guidance from
good, strong parents if
they are to mature into
successful adults.
Think: T his world in
which we all live is a pul–
sating pressure cooker- a
constantly changing and
challenging, even threat–
ening, environment. And
teens are faced with this
world just at the most vola–
tile period of their lives–
when they are trying to
come to grips with their
energy and emotions,
when their personalities
and habits are being solid–
ified, probably for life.
Why
Frustrations?
ls it any wonder that the path
from adolescence to adulthood
May
1985
has been called a n obstacle
course?
Here's what one youth, overbur–
dened with the problems of this
world, said: "What's the use of try–
ing to learn anything orbe anybody?
T he world's going to blow up in a
couple of years anyway. Why not
j ust have a good time and enjoy life
however you can while you can?"
This seems to be the attitude of
many young people today. And can
you really blame them?
Can the average 15-, 16- or 17-
year-old help resenting that his
world and h is future could be
ended in a nuclear holocaust in just
a few minutes' time?
Can the average teenager help
resenting a world filled with fights
not of his making–
problems not of hi s
creation- frust ration s
Children need
someone to
look up
to-models
from whom
tbey can learn
to develop
strength of
character.
17