The generational threads that used to weave their way into the fabric of growing up are missing, leaving the lifestage threadbare and easily torn. We don't have to look very far to see the results of this weakness making teens vulnerable to responding in unhealthy ways to life's normal pressures, let alone the extraordinary ones they often face. It is so easy to blame kids for their failings, but it is tough to grow up in a vacuum. The Sixties cemented in the public imagination the idea that treating teens as a tribe apart is right and proper. So now, when teens act in ways we are not entirely comfortable with, we are not sure whether we should intercede or not.
Adolescence is a journey that requires guides.
Only the years from birth through two are comparable in terms of the breadth of social, intellectual and physical development. Think of the adult time spent studying, planning, buying toys and interacting with the little ones. We smile and applaud each developmental leap of small children, yet we tend to leave adolescents alone. Believe it or not, today's adolescents yearn to be known through more adult contact. They do not need a mom or dad in the kitchen baking cookies as much as parents who make it clear that they are available, interested and involved.