Parents Working on
Projects with Teenagers
As
parents, our main goal in raising children is to prepare
them for life. When they are small, we protect and care
for them, provide for them, and even provide for their
enjoyment and entertainment, but these are secondary,
not primary goals. The purpose of childhood is to learn
the skills, beliefs, and morals of society in order to
be valuable, productive members as adults.
 Teaching
a teenager a craft or skill therefore teaches them more
than a skill; it promotes self-esteem and confidence,
and shows them they have a place in adult society.
Projects for teenagers, such as
Sewing, woodworking, meal planning and preparation
in particular accomplish this, as they are
perceived as adult activities. Producing a tangible,
useful result promotes satisfaction as well. The Amish,
for example, require children to leave school after
eighth grade to learn a trade. They believe that
occupational training keeps the teens out of trouble due
to right attitude.
This same belief is reflected in many rural,
agricultural areas. There is belief in the value of the
socialization and orientation that happen while working
with adults, and also the passing on of values and
culture. For adults who work with teens, this is a
chance to return to the tradition of passing their
skills on to the next generation.
And teens earn the respect of their parentsSince many
adults no longer produce handcrafts themselves, often parents turn to their teens for help doing projects.
(Consider how the computer skills of teenagers are often
called upon by parents who may not understand the
mysteries, or
potential dangers when using their computers
online)
Teens appreciate learning real life skills, need the
challenge to continue developing, and can maybe turn
their new knowledge into a way to earn some money. With
earning comes a new sense of responsibility, building on
their strengths and recognizing their weaknesses. They
appreciate the positive feedback they get from others
and they get a chance to use that hand-eye coordination
they've developed playing video games.
They can then move on to bigger projects, such as making
furniture, or designing their own clothes. This would
play right into the teens' need for control, and desire
for independence and being cool.
They can even take their skills out into the community
via volunteer work, such as Habitat for Humanity, all
starting from a project shared with their Mother or
Father, or both proud parents. |
