Youth Expectations
Ø Don’t laugh at us when we use the word "love". Love is not the
prerogative
of any particular age. Youngsters could very well confuse infatuation or "adolescent crushes" with the real thing. But since they are in a learning process,
they need advice
and counsel, not nagging and criticism. They have to learn how to become
decentralized from their selfishness and become outgoing and concerned about others. It is here that
the sharing of experiences of significant adults could avoid unnecessary heartaches and pain.
Ø Treat us as a junior partner in the firm. Youngsters are demanding co
responsibility as their right and prerogative. They want to have a say in decisions. Which shape their life and
career, they want to be consulted on main issues, and hate to have things ''rammed down their throats". Besides, it is only by taking decisions that they will mature and become fully human.
Ø Make yourself an adult
fit for a child to live with. At times, adults forget that their children are persons and hence worthy of respect. When they deal with outsiders
they are the epitome
of etiquette and good manners, but when they relate to their own children, they behave like hogs.
But why this double standard? Here too, the adage
is relevant: Charity begins
at
home. If we expect our youngsters to behave properly,
let us teach them by our own example.
Ø Prepare us to lead our lives, not yours. Every person is unique.
Hence the talents,
ideals, motives, interests and likings of our youngsters must be considered when they plan out their future. We must shrink from the temptation of making them be a carbon copy of ourselves, or worse still,
that they should realize in their lives what we were unable
to accomplish. At this juncture it
would be worthy to recall the memorable words of Joe Kennedy
when his son brought home a bad report
card,
on one occasion. "Son, probably you are not cut for academic studies. Choose any career
you wish, but only try and be the best m that career."
History
tells us that John Kennedy made an entry that night in
his secret diary which reads:
I will become the President
of the United States!
Ø Give us a right
to a major voice in our lives. The task of the older generation is to hand on the rich heritage
of the past, offer the fruits of their experience, and be ready to guide and counsel as often as they
are
requested.
But decisions must be made by the persons concerned. This applies in a special way to the choice of a career and a state of life.
Ø Let us make our own mistakes. The older generation wants to spare
the younger generation all the heartaches and sorrows they
have
experienced. But the younger generation will have nothing of the sort. As one wit remarked:
The wise person learns from the mistakes
of others,
the
average person learns from his own
mistakes, but a fool never learns. Hence, except in matters
of physical or evident
moral danger, youngsters should
be allowed to learn from their own
experience. Because that is the only thing they will ever remember.
Ø Permit us the failings of average children- just as we permit you
the failings of average parents. This reveals the mature
expression of the give-and-take attitude which
prevails among the vast majority of
our youngsters. They do
not expect their elders to be paragons
of virtue, nor do they expect to be so themselves. They are ready to accept human limitations
which are inevitable. They only expect understanding and sympathy.
