Active AimA Journey and Destination

Is building self esteem for teens different from that of a child? The answer is yes because you are grown up

already and you now have the responsibility of choosing between right and wrong. You can make decisions

without consulting your parents every time and as long as you have positive self esteem, you will be able to

make the right decisions.

One of the challenges of being a teen is that your friends will put a lot of pressure on you. If you decide to go

against them, it could hurt your friendship with them which is why they sometimes do things that they don’t

normally to make sure they belong with the “in crowd.”

If you give in to pressure, you have low self esteem. What is worse is that you could hurt yourself or someone

else especially if you decide to start drinking below the required age, engage in sex practices when you are

not ready, get addicted to drugs, join a gang or even quit school.

When you ask an adult or and a teen what is the definition of self esteem, both will say something different.

For parents, this is the way we look at ourselves but to the teen, it is how they want people to look at who

they are.

As you can see, the two answers don’t match and the reason for this is the age gap. Adults have already been

through a lot in life and their experience has shown them the path. On the other hand, teens are still in that

period of discovery and they will most likely commit a lot of mistakes before becoming more mature in their

lives.

Given that both see it differently, it does not yet excuse the parents to try and steer their sons or daughters in

the correct path. The best way to do that is to be open to their teens and be around when they are needed

especially when they are confused.

For instance, if the teen wants to try a new sport, the parents should wish their kids well and hope that this

will work out. If it doesn’t, they should be ready to comfort them and give them credit for trying.

If the teen gets into trouble, the parents will have to correct the improper behavior. While most parents scold

their kids the instant something happens, they should remember that it is more effective to them like adults

because they are no longer babies. By explaining to them what they did and making them understand the

repercussions of their actions, they will not make the same mistake again.

But is it just the parents who build the self esteem of the teens? The answer is no because teachers should do

their share when these individuals come to school. Of course there are rules that the student must abide by

but by inspiring the teens to excel in their studies, the teacher can be sure that they will succeed in college

and later on in life.

After all the support from the parents, the teachers and the friends, the teen will soon realize that they will be

the ones that will have to develop their self esteem. The people around merely helped the individual realize

who he or she is and if they want to succeed, they have to figure out what they have to do on their own.