Constantine, teenagers

[danaeris]

I really enjoyed Constantine. My eyes may have deceived me, but I think that Keanu might have actually been acting. Anyway, I thought it was neat. No gaping plot holes that I noticed, very few "magically pulling tricks out of ass" resolutions. I recommend it, although I haven't read the comic so I have no idea what points it failed on.

Theory on teenagers and how difficult they can be:

-Teenagers are difficult during the transitional portion of puberty because their bodies keep on drastically changing and it is upsetting and confusing.
-Thereafter, when things have mostly settled down to an equilibrium (albeit not completely), they are difficult because they are adults being forced to live like children by their families and society (but mostly by their families)

Evidence for my half-baked theory:

All the parents I know who bring up their children by treating them like adults and presenting them with options and giving them as much freedom to choose for themselves (once they're informed) as possible don't seem to have so much trouble with their teens being rebellious.

Comments

[pyat.livejournal.com]

I also developed a theory about teenagers this past week, while driving past my old high school. My theory is that teenage boys are really, really, really ugly. :)

They achieve a magnificence of ugliness that they are unlikely to reachieve until late middle-age.

[velvetpage.livejournal.com]

There is some research to indicate that the part of the brain which allows people to think ahead and plan for their future doesn't develop fully until about age 17. So if by "transitional phase" of puberty, you mean until grade 11 or so, you're right.

On the other hand, my three-year experience in grades seven and eight indicates that you're at least partly right. Parents who teach their kids how to deal with the world, and then allow them increasingly more freedom to do so, generally have very little rebellion going on with their kids. It's the parents who suddenly wake up on their child's twelfth birthday to discover they've created a monster - they're the ones who should have been paying attention. These parents are usually the ones who decide twelve is a good age to start being strict. The problem is, by that time the kid is as big as they are or bigger. It's much harder to give them a time-out when they're naughty.

My feeling is that a child who knows the meaning of the word "no" at age two will still know it at age twelve. They will test it, but much less - more to find out that it is, in fact, still a part of their parents' vocabulary and they can trust that those limits will catch them when they fall. Those kids will have confidence in the decisions they've been taught to make, and in the limits they've tried and tested, and they'll understand the idea of responsibility.

My own observations...

[cynan-poly.livejournal.com]

...over many years say that your theory may be more fully-cooked than you think.
;-)