Teen Realities 1

My friend Chap Clark says thee are five new realities every kid wants you to know. This week, we’re going to unpack those five realities. Chap says that the first reality is this: that kids have been abandoned by the adult community. The last few decades have seen a decline in the time and willingness of adults to simply be there for kids. This includes teachers, neighbors, coaches, and yes, even parents and youth workers. Consequently, kids are asking “who is there to listen to me?” “Who respects me?” And “who really cares about me?” Chap calls this systemic abandonment. It’s the sad reality where the various systems and structures that shape our kids’ lives have become more committed to the perpetuation of an agenda or expectation than to the internal landscape of a child’s developmental trajectory. With more and more of our kids facing the prospect of fewer and fewer adults being there for them, each of us needs to take stock of how well we’re doing at being present in their lives.