parent and teen family life

How many teens work summer jobs? Data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor statistics show that in June through August of 2008, 32.7% of teens worked, down from 45% for the same period in 2000. (Petrecca, 5-6-09)

Only 52% of teens feel they should have to justify their actions to parents, and a mere third felt they were accountable to society, according to a 2008 survey of 750 teens by Junior Achievement. 27% thought violence was an acceptable way to settle problems with other people. (Larsen, 10-1-2009)

Many teens say their parents are clueless, while 40% responded that they tell their parents very little or nothing about what they do online. (Leinwand, 6-24-09)

47% of parents say they check their teens' text messages; yet only 31% of teens say their parents check their text messages. (USA Today, 6-25-09 p. 10)

Almost half (46%) of teens surveyed say they leave their homes on school nights to hang out with friends, yet only 14% of their parents say their teens do such a thing. They sometimes use drugs / alcohol on these excursions. (Kornblum, 8-14-08)

77% of tweens and teens say they have a good relationship with their parents. In fact, most kids say they are honest about: Drugs and/or alcohol: 72%; who their friends are: 69%; their girlfriend / boyfriend: 45% (Source: Pangela Media, May 2009)

On a positive note, 77% of tweens and teens say they have a good relationship with their parents. In fact, most kids say they are honest about:

-Drugs and/or alcohol: 72%
-Who their friends are: 69%
-Their girlfriend/boyfriend: 45%

(Source: Pangela Media, May 2009)

Twice as many teens name mothers as opposed to fathers as their primary source of support in live (43% versus 19%; Benson et al., 2009)

If it's any consolation, B.J. Casey, a teen brain researcher who directs the Suckler Institute at Weill Medical College of Cornell, notes that adolescent primates, rodents and birds also fight more with their parents and hang out with friends during this stage of their life. (Shute, 02/2009)

Some good news you probably didn't know: merely interacting with teens and youth can be a source of vigor for older people, improving cognitive abilities and vascular health while increasing life span. (Westly, 2008)

"A boy becomes an adult three years before his parents think he does, and about two years after he thinks he does." -Lewis B. Hershey

Adolescent-family train wrecks are not necessarily a predetermined outcome of the teenage years. In fact, teenage turmoil is completely absent in more than 100 cultures around the world. (Epstein, 2007) This suggests that most of the difficulties parents encounter are culturally based and rooted in confrontational or oppressive child rearing practices. The more parents can do to avoid the practices that lead to conflict, the smoother their child's transition to adulthood will go.

Girls tend to air more dirty laundry about their families online than boys do. However, it's usually not done out of maliciousness, just a way to vent stress or frustration. (Kramer, 2009)

Adolescent-family train wrecks are not necessarily a predetermined outcome of the teenage years. In fact, teenage turmoil is completely absent in more than 100 cultures around the world. (Epstein, 2007) This suggests that most of the difficulties parents encounter are culturally based and rooted in confrontational child rearing practices. The more parents can do to avoid the practices that lead to conflict; the smoother a child's transition to adulthood will go.