If The World Were Run By Teenagers…
By Stacey DeWitt
There’s a lot of information out there about “teenagers behaving badly” — kids engaging in high-risk activities such as drugs, drinking, sex. I guess I should know; our company covers children’s and teen issues and the challenges they face on a daily basis. In fact, we talk to kids and teens every day – all our programs feature their true stories and real feelings. But I have to tell you, there are a lot of great kids and teenagers out there, too. Children who care about their families, their goals, their grades, their behavior, their reputation, their community, their work ethic. Kids who are actively creating a balanced, successful and conscientious life for themselves. Check out some of the media recognizing these everyday heroes:
http://www.jjournal.com/nie_heroes.htm
http://www.shef.ac.uk/mediacentre/2007/804.html
I have the pleasure of working with eight high school and college interns at our company this summer, and I have to tell you, I’m impressed by their capabilities, their brainpower, their willingness to pitch in and get the job done. I’ll also be speaking to 5,000 middle and high school students in July in California – 5,000 kids who have been selected by their schools and community organizations to participate in a week-long leadership conference. It definitely gives me hope for the future of our country – our planet, for that matter.
It reminds me to take a moment in the midst of everything “bad” we hear about today’s generation to focus on the children and teens in our lives who are accomplishing the difficult work of balancing being kids with being responsible young adults.
If you have a child or teen in your life that you’d like to recognize, post it in our community. Our members like to read and share the good stuff, too!
This entry was posted on Thursday, June 21st, 2007 at 1:54 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
June 27th, 2007 at 9:36 am
Unfortunately, the media today seems to focus mostly on the negative things in our society. It is a rare thing to turn on the news and hear a story about something wonderful a teen has done. And when it does occur, it usually happens when there is nothing tragic to report that day and they have to reach into their archives to come up with a filler topic. It’s gotten to the point where I don’t even turn on the news anymore. I also find this true when talking with parents around town about what our kids are doing. Many times, someone brings up a story about something horrible a kid has done and how awful it must be for their parents. There certainly are as many or more teens out there that are doing the right thing and making a difference for our world. I hope that parents everywhere will start to focus more on the positive and less on spreading the negative news. I think that a bit of good karma will go a long way and hopefully encourage others to do good things.
June 27th, 2007 at 2:48 pm
I always really appreciate when people recognize the good that teens my age do, especially since that gets challenged more then ever. It can be really hard to make the right choices, and it is always gratifying when someone takes the time to recognize that.
June 29th, 2007 at 12:51 pm
I have three kids who continually receive praise from teachers and the neighbors in our subdivision about how good and respectful they are. They are: 9th, 6th & 1st grade students. My 14 yr old has impressed me w her selection of girlfriends so far along w her lack of 100 boyfriends like most of her piers! I was so worried 3 yrs ago when she was going from Elementary to Middle School. So worried that I was determined to have her finish her schooling at a Christian school. My husband wanted to allow her the chance to continue in public school because where we live, the public school has much more to offer w sports & music. He said “We can always pull her out at any time if we feel the need and switch her to that Christian School”. Reluctantly, I agreed and we both thought it would show our daughter that we trusted her decisions to continue to be good ones. She is a typical teen and we don’t see eye to eye on everything, but, I am very thankful that her choices continue to be good ones on the important things! She is a good girl who I feel sets a good example to her friends when it comes to values. I am proud of her. We are always very clear w our kids in letting them know what our expectations are of them. We explained to her that we certainly would take her out of public school if we had concerns. Our 11 yr old is a boy and this is his 2nd summer to own his own lawn care biz. Last summer he made about $700.00 while the majority of his friends played video games, etc. He bought a cheap rider, pusher, blower & trimmer to get started w some left over Christmas money & money from his dirt bike he sold. This summer, w his approx $500. left in the bank, he decided to purchase a brand new rider on clearance. His Dad & I financed it for him w the understanding that he would be expected to pay it off in full before the end of this summer. 2 weeks ago, he brought $1,200.00 CASH to make his 1st pymt, leaving less than a $150.00 balance. I know he feels very proud of himself & rightfully so! He has vision of purchasing a nice car when he turns 16 & I’m sure he will be able to. Now, besides both older kids having all A’s & B’s on their report cards… she is envolved w music, singing, managing the track team & occasional babysitting while my son wrestles yr round, plays baseball 9 out of 12 months & is on swim team. All of our children attend church regularily w us and they each have a list of responsibilities at home that need to be completed regardless of their other activities. Even our 6 yr old has a chore list that is probably bigger than most 13 yr olds in todays day and age. I feel all kids have great seeds of goodness in them, they just need proper guidance. My final thoughts: I feel a loving, uplifting, Christ centered homelife is the best influence in the future outcome of our children while incorporating a good deal of responsibility that is age appropriate. I feel confident that even if & when my kids stumble as teens, that they will end up to be good responsible, respectful citizens in their adult lives. And like I tell me kids, they will be adults a lot longer than kids and we are raising them to be prepared for their futures. We as parents need to be more aware of teaching and EXPECTING our kids to be responsible so that when the time comes that “our teens are running the world”, we can feel peace about that thought.
July 17th, 2007 at 3:13 pm
During three years, from 2002 to 2005, I was raising four teens at home and producing two 4-video series called FUEL (http://fuel.chef.org/DesktopDefault.aspx) and CHILL (http://chill.chef.org/)for and about teens. The videos address media literacy, self-esteem & body image, healthy eating, activity, stress management and positive teen activism (or, as I called it, “righteous indignation…” which was nixxed by the marketing dept!), so my life was all teens, all the time.
And now I write about raising teens and young adults(and other stuff) on my blog…
I agree that there are some amazing, wonderful, proactive, committed teens out there. What a joy!
By the way, you and I know some of the same people through our work in media literacy!
Carol
July 25th, 2007 at 10:36 am
So many times in our society today we seem to only focus on the negativity and the problems teenagers get into. However, there is so much good out there as well. I have been blessed with so many friends who are strong in their morals and beliefs and don’t give into the everyday struggles of peer pressure. Having friends who are strong in their beliefs makes it easier for me to be stong as well. I have also been blessed to have been raised in a family where our faith and standards are very important to us, and that makes it easier for me to be strong in what I believe. However, I find it so sad to hear how the media only focuses on the bad. If we focus on the bad, teenagers will feel it is the “norm” and will continue to live their lives in nonpositive ways. If the media focuses more on the good deeds and teenagers who are strong in what they believe, other teenagers will be inspired and want to make better decisions.
This blog is very inspiring to hear and means alot to all of us teens out there who are trying hard to rid of society’s stereotype for us and work to make good decisions. Thank you!!
August 5th, 2007 at 5:21 pm
There are wonderful kids and teen out there. Thank you for reminding us.
Two of my daughters teens, age 18 and 19 have come a long way this year. They were involved in drinking and partying. We never gave up as a family. Constantly taught them what our values were with the hope they would listen and change their focus. Disciplined where we could, when we found out. Too much happened to write, however, I am here to say..Both are on the right path..we will stay with them as they move forward, and I hope and believe they will make it.
Your site is wonderful, and we will use it for insight with our family…
While we were experiencing the hardest times, we kept telling each other we would not give up, or quit on the kids…….There were times, we didn’t know if we had the strength to make it. If possible, don’t give up on your children…
Regards, Dorothy from grammology
http://grammology.com
February 25th, 2008 at 1:49 am
Krisi, that’s a great story about your son, and it’s the kind of story I love to tell the parents in our program.
Kids can really rise if we expect them to, and be completely responsible and adult about money and business.
All praise to you for giving your son such a great start in life. (And the others, too from the sound of things!)
Not only is having a business good for their skill set, it builds a sense of self-reliance which makes them much more confident in saying “no” when an employer tries to exploit them later in life.
I think of business for kids as a form of “future-proofing”. If they know they can make their own opportunities, they always have energy and hope.
Blessings to you and yours,
Jenny Ford
http://www.cash-smart-kids.com
Blogging at http://www.raisingentrepreneurs.org
February 29th, 2008 at 12:40 am
[...] the other day I came across a comment on the Connect With Kids blog, which really warmed my heart. Krisi Repp, who has obviously done a great job of parenting her [...]
September 30th, 2008 at 10:18 pm
One of the major problems I see is a lack of respect for children. That’s right, I said respect. Our society looks at children, and especially teens, as nuisances to be tolerated until they become perfectly responsible adults like us.
I work with kids every day, and the first thing I let them know is that I work for them. It is our responsibility to them that we guide them, and allow them to explore their own unique talents and gifts, instead of pretending that they don’t exist until the age of 18, when we’re perfectly happy to send them off to war, but don’t want to listen to what they have to say.
So, I agree. Let kids know that what they do matters. Every day, in your house, in your community. Be interested in what they have to say, in having conversations with them. Be interested in working with them. They will then be more likely to listen to you.
February 20th, 2009 at 5:28 pm
This is so true. Shows in the fascination we have with misery lit such as A Child Called It.