But empathy and understanding goes a long way. At this age, there is a horrible pull in a teen's mind between parents and friends. A teen can make changes in plans midstream. It might seem as though judgment is out the window. For teens, decision-making becomes incredibly difficult.
Teens experience internal turmoil because they are pulled in two different directions.
It's difficult to understand, but when we do understand what is pulling at them, we'll be less judgmental and more sympathetic without loosening the standards. We, as a society, are in the habit of scapegoating junior highers. We say there's something wrong with them, but there's nothing wrong with them. We need to lift that judgment. But that doesn't mean we still don't want to strangle them sometimes.