Parenting Adolescents – The Most Difficult and Extremely Important Task

Abstract

Parenting adolescents is identified as probably the most difficult parenting task. Teens are preoccupied with identity crisis, eager to be independent; hasty to be adulst - essentially lost, disturbed, and frightened with consequent loss of self esteem that usually results in deep depression and a “Rebel without a cause” behavior pattern. Accelerated by rapid advances in media technology, adolescence now starts as early as 8 years of age, and has become more difficult today. Hence love, understanding and care by parents are more crucial now than before. Parents need to accept the fact that the peer group, central to adolescence culture, is a place for experimentation; and a supportive setting for achieving the two primary adolescence developmental tasks of identity and autonomy. Many issues ranging from drugs, reckless driving, drinking and depression to sex, pregnancy and abortion are involved. This paper is limited to just three areas: Goal setting, Conflict Management, and Raising Self Esteem.