Arecently-publicised case involving a teenager raised a number of concerns in the media, especially from parents. Without going into the specifics of the particular case, the details released in the social media raised awareness regarding: (a) the safety of our children; (b) the vulnerability of teenagers; and (c) the role that families and society must play to help ensure that our children make the transition from teenagers to adulthood safely.

Was it ever easy being a teenager? No! Everyone is aware that this is a time associated with physical and psychological difficulties. Some may well argue that today’s youths and the dilemmas they face cannot be compared to, say, those of a couple of generations back.

Admittedly, times change and this brings about different acceptances to newer realities and more fashionable distractions, at times leaving parents and educators possibly unskilled on how to handle certain situations.

We struggle through parenthood believing that our infinite love for our children will serve as a guiding light through the many challenges that their blossoming lives bring.

We reassure ourselves that the crucial elements of our own formation must have served in good stead (we didn’t turn out so bad after all did we?) and apply these principles as much as possible without realising that we are, in turn, sounding like or own parents! And, yet, the differences from what was acceptable then to present day are so stark that every new scenario brings with it a host of emotions for both parent and child, ranging from anger and disappointment to frustration and rebellion.

Experts say that during adolescence there is an extremely high emphasis on the approval of peers rather than close family members. This usually makes it more difficult for family members to understand what a teenager is going through, seeing as s/he would rather confide in a friend than a parent or sibling.

Social networking has completely taken over the lives of youths

Social networking has completely taken over the lives of youths, changing the way teenagers interact with each other. One may well argue that teenagers today exude confidence, are assertive, are fully conscious of all the technological devices on offer and waste no time in accessing all the educational, employment and recreational facilities that our country has on offer.

Their heavy social media usage constrains them to keep up with their peers, taking the next ‘selfie’, posting details about their new girlfriend, texting their current location, updating status and adding photos of their latest life events.

So far, so harmless.

But what if a teenager is so confused that s/he starts to question his/her self worth if s/he feels unable to keep up with all these expectations? What if friendships are not simply about understanding teenage hormones but lead to potentially dangerous situations?

How would you react if you knew that your teenage son or daughter was safely in his/her bedroom communicating via the internet with a person whose profile you would consider as inappropriate?

Chances are you’ll never find out because teenagers can be as secretive as much as they can be vulnerable.

Trying to keep the channels of communication between parent and child open remains crucial for adults to gauge changes in behaviour and interests.

However, this is not always easy and will, of course, require effort both ways.

Schools here play a vital supporting role and young professional teachers can act as role models and as mentors.

Our schools should ensure that members of their teaching staff are regularly provided with professional development training and updated on issues affecting students. Keeping teachers on the ball will ensure that our children feel more comfortable with confiding in them whether the issues are of an academic or personal nature.

And what about the teachers? Is their professional training sufficient to assume such a responsibility? Are students ever asked to provide anonymised feedback on their teachers? Wouldn’t such feedback be an invaluable source of information for school authorities to assess how students are reacting to their teachers?

Professional behaviour can be instructed to students but is expected from adults. It is assumed that anyone working with children or adolescents, be it in schools, social or sports clubs, understands that professional behaviour is expected of them at all times when dealing with our children.

Parents should be made aware of structures that can be put in place to rectify situations when it is felt that children are being failed by their teachers in this respect.

One should also mention that working with teenagers can be quite challenging and that teachers do go beyond their call of duty to ensure that their students are coping well academically, emotionally and psychologically.

As always in life, for every unfortunate and regrettable story that reaches us there are untold numbers of success stories, all credit due to dedicated and hardworking educators.

I augur that this recent experience will inspire parent-teacher associations across the island and the education authorities to further delve into ways of strengthening the support structures that our students are given.

If readers feel they have to comment online about this opinion piece, may I kindly ask them to do so with the utmost of respect and consideration.

info@carolinegalea.com

Caroline Galea is a member of the PN executive committee