And today’s youth?! – How it used to annoy me in high school when someone said that to me! But how is it possible that today, so many older people have the exact same phrases on the tip of their tongues?
As a young person, you build references and a framework in which you grow and learn to distinguish between good and bad elements. Hopefully, you can then make the right choices.
You don’t just spend years building that framework—you also allow yourself, for years, to believe it is the only correct one. Naturally, it then becomes difficult to understand that there might be another way.
It’s also a matter of education from your environment, and it doesn’t really matter whether it’s formal or informal education. It is precisely through what I would call solid education—both at school AND at home—that you can, alongside your personal framework, develop the flexibility to accept other perspectives, and who knows, maybe even adapt as an adult.
In my work, I always try to offer a mix: developing a positive framework, providing strong support, and fostering a healthy amount of self-doubt.
Through my own life experience and education, I’ve come to the conclusion that both responsibility and guidance are essential to giving young people a solid foundation. That’s why, for example, in our approach, we don’t do the work for the young person; we teach them to do it themselves. And yes, sometimes I’m known to be a bit stricter. But does that strictness, that rigidity, mean I don’t understand what I just said?
What I find even more unfortunate is that some young people are sent out into the world without the necessary support and are left to figure things out on their own.
Responsibility naturally goes hand in hand with accountability, limits, and consequences. And yes, I am strict and enforce consequences every time—because I do the same for myself. But as I said, it is just as essential to not abandon young people, but to help them build themselves up and guide them in their development so they can navigate life flexibly.
When is responsibility too much for a young person? What about the burnouts so many young people are already experiencing at such an early age? In my opinion, this is a direct consequence of an imbalance between responsibility and support.
But who am I to say how young people should be raised?! Every case is unique, and there is no perfect way to turn young people into “good” adults. But without the willingness to invest time, patience, and even material resources, it is certainly not easy for a young person to find their way and framework on their own!
