Growing up as a teenager in today's society is so different then it was 20 or so years ago. Teenagers seem to be growing up faster and faster now a days and it's scary.
Being the step parent of 3 children two of which are teenagers, I have realized sometimes their lives are not as simply and easy as I like to think it is. Sure we all had to put up with some sort of peer pressure growing up but I don't remember nothing like the pressure teens have on them now a days. For example in my family I work and so does my girlfriend and it doesn't leave us a lot of time to spend with the kids but if we don't work then we can't feed and clothe them. So our oldest daughter try's her hardest to help by cooking dinner's if we are not home, doing the dishes every day, home work, babysitting, works part time job and try's to find time with her friends. When she does go out with friends that's when she lets loose and ends up doing things that aren't very smart. All it takes is one suggestion and then she's off doing whatever the group is doing.
When I was young I was out at night but not gone for days. I also don't ever remember anybody ever trying to pressure me into a gang or anything either but yet my 12 year old son came home and told me if he didn't join a gang at school that they we're going to beat him up. Well they kept their word because he has been beaten up 6 times this year alone by the same group of boys. School can't do anything and either can the police because of their ages and what's my son suppose to do? He wakes up every day with worries about everything and so do my 2 other children. It's not like we live in a bad place, the crime is low, schools are nice but things have change.
Where did it all change in the first place? How did our children end up with so much pressure in their lives so young? These are the years they are suppose to be having fun with no responsibility but instead they have as much responsibility if not more in some case then some adults. Now a day we find teenagers having break downs and so many of them with substance abuse problems as well as even heart attacks with people in their 20's. They are just trying to cope with everything and eventually it gets them.
Personally in my opinion I do have a lot of respect for teenagers because when I was at that age I don't think I could nearly handle the responsibility that most teenagers have today. So just remember we might have it hard but your teenager could be having just as hard time if not more and all we can do is encourage them to talk and get them to share some of their problems so they don't have so much to deal with alone.
