Looking In

The teenage years are inevitably filled with angst as a child leaves the comfort of youth and moves towards independence as an adult.  How much pain and struggle the individual has is affected by all the variables life throws at them.  While there are countless small variances I think the big ones are: how they view themselves, how they perceive others view them, how they relate to their parents, extended families, or guardians, and how those groups encourage, guide, or challenge the changes they are going through.

It seems to me the hardest thing for a good parent to do is watch their child fail, but it is also one of the most important things if they can let it happen and then help pick up the pieces their child's understanding of life is stronger.  For it is through failure that we learn the most lasting lessons, and develop the confidence to challenge ourselves to be better the next time.

If children see only the extremes, where they always succeed or fail then what qualities do they develop?  If in failure they are harshly condemned by those they trust, or in their success they are praised beyond reason do they grow to understand the values of such things in a healthy society?  I don’t think they do, and perhaps that is one of the factors that has led us to this day, where class and race warfare are once again emerging as primary political divisions within the social fabric.

I wonder, what will the current generation of parents choose as their model to help their children find their way through the transition from dependent to independent?  Will they be more successful than past generations or will all the new experts just befuddle them to the point they surrender -- leaving the children to find their own way?