Parenting Today’s Tweens, Teens & Emerging Adults

Renowned pediatrician and learning expert Mel Levine is  “stunned by the plight of young adults – far too many – who seem unprepared for the crossover from education to work.” In his new book, Ready or Not, Here Life Comes, Levine describes what he calls “an epidemic of third-decade unreadiness.”

While other experts disagree with Levine, all agree that, as parents, we can do more while our children are young to prepare them for emerging adulthood. James Côté, a professor of sociology at the University of Western Ontario and author of Arrested Development, highlights four key things to focus on:

1. Be an authoritative parent. That means having clear rules and guidelines, but allowing psychological freedom.

2. Share your values with your children. Make sure they are clear on what you believe and what your guiding principles are.

3. Stress the importance of education. About 40 percent of U.S. parents don’t monitor the educational progress of their children, a key indicator of future success, Côté notes.

4. Help your children engage in the world. Support their interests in sports,
academics, theater – wherever their interests lie. Don’t leave them to a passive experience of life.