American Teenagers on the Loose!

Yep, it's my first non-food post.  I did say, "All Things Primal"... right?  :)  The ideas going through my head right now, in relation to the little people I live with, are very primal... read on...

Ready or not, I have very little time before I'm the mom of a teenager. 1 year, 3 months, & 1 day, to be exact.  But hey, who's counting.  So, lately, I've been thinking a lot about that word. Teenager.  It hardly has a positive connotation in our culture, does it?  We often think, rebellion... irresponsibility... poor choices... Dun Dun DUN....  Even those of us with 'responsible' Tweens may find ourselves wondering how much this new breed is to be trusted with.  Hmm.  Has that always been the case?  The idea of a Teen, has changed from being a work in progress on their way to adulthood, into a sub par human being, expected to screw up everything.  So when did this view and even the name, 'Teenager', begin?

This is a picture of our oldest daughter and her daddy, dancing at a 1950s Sock Hop at school last fall. She was nearly 11 yrs old here.  This was at a time when she was a wonderful mix of childhood fun, and growing independence.  Clearly, not yet embracing full-on Teenager, as she is hand in hand with her wig and glasses-clad father!  

   

Prior to WWII, Youth, as they were called, had very little independence.  They were at a time in their lives where males were preparing for entrance into the military, or finding a job to help support both their current and future families.  Females were learning how to run a home, and how to become a dutiful wife and take care of a family.  Youth were expected to take life seriously.  

When the 1950s arrived in America, expectations for this age group changed.  The economy was now thriving, and everyone, including Youth, had more independence in all areas of life.  This resulted in Teens having more economic freedom and increased socialization time with peers, as well. All of this newly-found freedom, led to conflict with parents.  Rock and Roll hit the scene... the media played on all of this, portraying Teenagers as delinquents.  All of this, sounds like the perfect set-up for a self-fulfilled prophecy to me!  Soon, the term 'generation gap' was coined and now what do we have? We have division between children (Teens or not) and their parents, and expectations on both ends of disobedience and rebellion, as part of being a 'normal' Teenager.

Well.  I have heard that in some countries or cultures, the word, "Teenager" doesn't even exist!  Imagine!  I came across this article from,  "A Thomas Jefferson Education", and it is REALLY worth the read! REALLY.    ://www.tjed.org/2011/04/youth-versus-teenager/  

Let's raise our children to be responsible Youth, not Teenagers! Then, just perhaps, our 14 or 15 yr old daughters will still be able to dance, hand-in-hand with their costumed daddy, without the idea of it being, "uncool".