A Teenager's Rebellion - Right or Wrong?

Section: Mind Your Body
Publication: The Straits Times 13/02/2008
Page: 18
No. of words: 676

Rebellion of a teenager
In the article of Rebellious Teenage Brother, it says that it is normal for teenagers to rebel. That will make a lot of teenagers jump for joy and a lot more parents worry more. However, is it really okay for teenagers these days to go astray and cause trouble in their neighbourhood?

For me, I’m also a rebellious kid myself. However, I don’t smoke, don't have a tattoo and don't go out till the wee hours of the night. So, I should still be one that does not rebel to that extent. But there is one thing that I feel is common amongst the youngsters of today – wanting to be with their friends more than anyone else. I’m the same here. My mother will nag at me if I don’t reach home at the designated time allocated and will question me till something is squeezed out of me. Most of the time, I would lie, “A lot of project to do. Have to stay back and finish up.” But the fact is I am either hanging around in school with my friend, talking about work and life. I feel bad sometimes when I lie about it. But if I don’t lie, I will die from my mother’s nagging. When I come to think of it, what’s wrong with hanging out with your friends?

Coming back to the point, is it alright to rebel? Rebelling might be something that most teenagers might do to get their way, but ultimately it all comes back to the person who is in charge. In most cases, the person in charge of the situation at hand would be someone of higher authority. Let’s call this person Mr A. This is when things start to turn worse. The teenagers would group together to plan the fall of the Mr A. That is when a gang is formed. This is not the kind of rebellion that I would like to see. It is not rebellion anymore. It is plain law-breaking.

So, some might ask, “When is the time to stop the rebellion of a child?” According to Kenny Toh, a life coach and founder of The Coaching Academy and International Network for Parents as Coaches, it is better to let the teenager express his feelings and let him know that his feelings are accepted. It can be better if someone else shows him the right way to control his feelings towards certain situations and make him feel that he is loved. Trying to stop the thoughts that the teenager has might cause oneself even more problems and it will become harder to overcome it.

Overall, I feel that being rebellious is just nature. But there should be guidance to show the young people the right way and make them feel that they have a part in the world, that there is someone out there who cares for them.(479 words)