Age 15-18 Early Adulthood
The child is at a stage when he/she is about to cross the "age of school” and face the world at large. This is when the child has to make a decision as to what he/she will be doing in future professionally. This needs to be a firm decision, as any action taken at this stage will affect his/her future. Every child wants to feel a sense of security at this age. While it is important to provide a sense of security to children, it is also important that parents should have by now known what their child has as a goal in his/her mind and propel them towards their goal. Parents need to prepare the children to have the right mindset to accept life's challenges and grow further.
Presence of a guiding adult who treats the young adult with respect and inspires him/her to strive undettered with life’s and vocational challenges is most needful here.
A child in this age group is most vulnerable to surrounding activities. This period is very critical, because the child gets his/her second most important qualification in life (12th standard). Any disturbances to the child's academic or sports goals at this age, have chances of causing severe damage to the future of the child. Hence, it is very important for parents to ensure that their children learn then benefits of keeping their minds stable, through activities such as sports, yoga and meditation. Children should by now be fully aware that they will have to become independent in near future, and independence would have to be obtained not only financially, but also in making decisions. The decisions made by children will not only affect them, but also affect the outside world. Children should be able to focus their energies in the direction of what they want, and achieve it responsibly.
Hormones affect children at this age to a large extent. The hormones would have a strong effect on how competitive children are, their sexual urges etc. Parents should ensure that the children know that this is a stage when such hormonal activity is common. While the child needs to be independent on one side, he/she should also be aware about safety and responsibility on the other side. What a society expects from the children, and what are the healthy ways to achieve what they want, need to be taught clearly to children at this stage.
People :
The interaction of these children with other elders and adults becomes very important. Who he/she moves with, what they learn and how they run their daily life matters more now than ever. Children have chances of developing habits like smoking, drinking etc form their friends at this age. This is mainly because they are not able to face up to the challenges that they are expected to face. To ensure that children take up their challenges calmly, it is very important that parents don't put pressure on their children. Parents should cultivate confidence in children and make them feel that they can very well lead responsible lives. Simply shouting or scolding children, only makes them feel inferior.
Having girlfriends/boyfriends is common at this age. Children want to look great, feel great and attract the other sex. While this is very common urge, it is important for the child to understand what constitutes a serious relationship, and what constitutes casual relationship. They should also be aware of how to handle their relationships without disturbing their surroundings much.
Prosperity :
The importance of implemented hobby project is only more important for children at this age. It may be music, sports or just reading books. Every activity gives children the necessary stability in their minds,involving financing , sourcing , implementation , presentation, as it is in the challenges of real life. Children also need to have practical understanding of what they learn at school and why and how the different isms and philosophies apply in real society. This will get them an idea of what they would like to do in future. Children also need to learn the importance of money, and how to handle it responsibly. Children should get a feeling that one should grow up like a tree , struggle with hand, head and heart and spread one's prosperity.
Peace :
Mental peace is of utmost importance at this critical stage in the child's life. This will help the child concentrate on what he/she should be doing to achieve his/her goals, instead of what he/she likes to do. It is important that the child learns to manage his/her mind and focus. Parents need to explain to children as to the nature of mind, how it works, and how to manage it to ensure that their goals can be achieved, while ensuring that they don't lose their mental peace. Children should also be aware that every action has equal and opposite reaction. Hence, to remain peaceful, one should not disturb other's peace. Parents should teach their children to value the freedom of other people. Not disturbing others, understanding people's moods, talking amicably are various things that children should also start learning at this stage.
Planet :
While it is very common that schools and society contribute the knowledge of the importance of our planet to the children through academics, children need to be made clear of the very small actions that they can take to contribute to the health of our planet. Hobbies such as gardening, cleaning etc help inculcate the habit of interacting with nature in a healthy manner. Through practice in real life, children should be taught to contribute to the planet in a positive way.
