Choosing Friends for Support
Children who are facing many challenges in life will benefit from instruction in resilience, the ability to rebound from adversity. We live in an age with ever surmounting problems which seem to have no end. It is important for teens to learn how to manage the challenges which come so that they will be better prepared to face the problems as they get older.
Teens face many pressures today which include being well-like, getting high enough grades to get into college, the pressure to be thin, and the fear of being fat. The failure to cope with these problems has caused many teens to resort to crime, suicide, and to develop anorexia. Pre-teen and teen girls in particular have the highest suicide rate.
As teens experience life, they will come to awareness that good friends are very important for their peace of mind. However, choosing the right friends is important. A good friend is someone who is always there for you. When we experience disappointments in life, we need to hear words of encouragement to help us over the hurdles. The friend who knows what to say or does thoughtful things for us in these times is invaluable.
Conversely, the teen should be there for their friends as well. There will be times when the teen will be able to help the friend over a hurdle. If the teen learns the importance of interdependence as well as independence, he/she will be better equipped to look for the right person to support them in time of need.
Because of the many challenges which we face and the varying degrees of coping skills, the teen will benefit from understanding that sometimes, we must go out of our way for our friends. This action will help the teen to develop long lasting friendships based on mutual trust, self-esteem, and unconditional help and support. These are not easy qualities to find in a person, but when they do find this, the friendship is one to keep.
By the same token, teens must learn the importance of nurturing the relationship and not doing anything which would compromise the relationship by violating a trust or refusing to help when there is a crisis, or devaluing the person. These actions cause friction and will result in lost friendships.
Teens must learn how to choose friends by observing the other person’s behavior with others. The qualities that they should be looking for in a friend are trust, loyalty, being of assistance, honor, kindness, complimentary, and people who do not devalue or ridicule others. It will be difficult to be friends with people who do not have these qualities.
In conclusion, teens will be better able to handle the challenges in life with the support of good friends.
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Guy Hogan | Nov 16, 2010 | Reply
This is not only good advice for teens it’s good advice for adults, too.