Independence for Teenagers!!
"As the twenty-first century progresses, more and more teens are 'failing to launch,' to reach the classic milestones of independence that we used to take for granted.
"In 1998, close to half of American 16-year-olds had a driver’s license; by 2018, it was only a quarter.
"In 2006, the average [university] student communicated with a parent around 10 times per week; by 2013, this had climbed to 22 times, with students often initiating the contact.
"In 1985, 45 percent of 20 to 22-year-olds were living with their parents; by 2003, it was 57 percent.
"And in 1982, just under half of young adults aged 23 to 24 were receiving financial assistance from their parents; by 2011, this figure had climbed to two thirds.
"In the words of one expert, '18-year-olds now act like 15-year-olds used to, and 13-year-olds like 10-year-olds. Teens are physically safer than ever, yet they are more mentally vulnerable.'
"One theory offered up by pundits for why teens and young adults are less mature than they used to be is that parents are simply enabling their offspring to remain immature by failing to allocate them real-world responsibilities sooner. ... by depriving them of responsibility, we’re doing our adolescents a disservice.
"Some studies have even suggested a relationship between [household] chores as a child and effectiveness as an adult. For example, one study followed ~450 underprivileged boys from age 14 through to middle age and found that the best predictor of success as an adult was their capacity to work in childhood. ...
"Teens are perfectly capable of making the occasional dinner, and doing their own laundry if they want to have clean clothes; at the very least, they’ll know how to cook for themselves and operate the washing machine as and when they leave the nest."
2 comments:
I sometimes tear out what few remaining hairs I have left at the behaviour of my teens. However reading this suggests they’re more mature than most these days.
I sometimes tear out what few remaining hairs I have left at the behaviour of my teens. However reading this suggests they’re more mature than most these days.
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