Independence in Teens
Requires
Parental
Wisdom
By Clive McLaren
Years ago, parents had sole
rights to their children’s upbringing, behaviour, and future prospects; they were just children
until they reached twenty one
becoming adults. Then in the
1920’s the term ‘teenager’ came
into use and with it recognition
that this age group needed the
freedom to develop ideas and
purpose for themselves. But it
wasn’t until the period after WW2
that the teen-generation became
a phenomenon. Pop music,
rock ‘n’ roll, the widening availability of the automobile, high
schools, and university educa-
tion away from the family home
became magnets for millions of
teenagers. The consumer society, illicit alcohol, drugs and the
sexual revolution were beginning to create ‘freedoms’ never
dreamt of by most people before
the war.
Secular humanism increasingly
challenged the accepted norms
of Christian values. Of course,
rebellion from parental authority
has been around since Cain and
Abel, but within Judeo-Christian culture, it was and still is
accepted that children obey their
parents, even into adult-hood,
in the home at least. However,
our sophisticated Western social
norms have offered many alternatives to the Christian nuclearfamily. Now rights of individuals
can be more powerful in law than
the rights of parents. Our youngsters are deeply influenced by
their peers, consumerism, Hollywood, music, and celebrity
culture. Alternative philosophies
and spirituality can often seem
far more attractive than what our
‘boring old parents and preachers’ tell us!
Before we try to convince our
teens to resist such worldly
influences, we must begin by
asking ourselves as parents;