Teenage Rebellion Against Parents and Authority

Teenage rebellion is quite a common phenomenon in society. Sadly, most parents find it hard to believe that teenagers are capable of rejecting almost everything that they stand for in their lives. While such behavior may seem out of this world, the reality of the matter is it perfectly healthy and normal. Mainly, teenagers want to find out their true identity and their core values. Unfortunately, the only best way to accomplish their mission is to challenge their parent's ways of thinking and their values. Since teenagers cannot be satisfied by taking a middle ground, they base their values on some radical ideas as long their sense of self-satisfaction is fulfilled.

For teenagers, going against their parents’ ways of thinking is the essence of rebellion. Primarily, the main idea is to create a certain identity that is not influenced by their parents in any way. Thus, teenagers consider radical behaviors as an expression of their personal statement so that their presence can be felt. While such tendencies are horrifying to some extent, it is upon the parents to let their children have the opportunity to try out certain things. The causative factors of teenage rebellion are not in a way complex as some people would want to believe. For instance, rebellion is considered as a strategy used by teenagers to assert themselves as adults who are fully functional (McDowell & Hostetler, 1996). Moreover, rebellion is seen as a part parent of the development process which essentially occurs in 2 major ways: rebelling against society or rebelling against any form of authority (parents and established systems in society). As children grow up, they increasingly want to make decisions to serve their purpose. On their part, parents are not ready to give their children the room for self-discovery which creates some form of a conflict and the consequent manifestation of rebellious behavior.

It is also believed that teenage rebellion is a response to the psychological changes which take place in the brains of teenagers. Specifically, the progression of teenagers is associated with is the expansion of their brains leading to the development of independent thoughts (Gevirtzman, 2008). Most of the time, the teenage thoughts conflict with the belief and value systems of their parents. Besides, there is a tendency by teenagers to challenge and question norms and rules imposed by parents as well as in society as a whole. As teenagers make an effort to fit with their peers and friends, they may end up taking undesirable behaviors that put them at loggerheads with their parents or authority (Gevirtzman, 2008). Thus, it is important for parents to spend some quality time with their children and provide them with a communication platform for positive interaction.

From a psychological perspective, most teenagers rebel against their parents or authority as a form of defensive mechanism. Notably, children tend to demonstrate such a behavior whenever they are scared or even anxious. Additionally, it is a strategy by teenagers to test boundaries and determine whether their fears concerning certain consequences are imagined or real (Williams & Gardere, 2000). On the other hand, the teenager’s action is an attempt to experiment the effects of doing a certain thing. Sometimes, teenagers just want to deny the existence of authority and contradict everything they are instructed not to do.

In summation, teenage rebellion is a normal part of the child development process. Unfortunately, the behavior can get out of hand and adversely affect the relationship between parents and their children. Apart from the expression and assertion of their independence, children just rebel to challenge the existing norms. Furthermore, some children rebel as a demonstration of their defense mechanism especially when they are anxious.

References:

1. McDowell, J., & Hostetler, (1996). Josh McDowell's handbook on counseling youth: A comprehensive guide for equipping youth workers, pastors, teachers, and parents. Dallas: Word Pub.
2. Gevirtzman, J. (2008). An intimate understanding of America's teenagers: Shaking hands with aliens. Westport, Conn: Praeger.
3. Williams, M., & Gardere, J. R. (2000). Practical parenting. Carlsbad, Calif: Mountain Movers Press.