Should teenagers be protected or should they experience the real world?

Question

Should they go to the school of hard knocks or be safe and protected at home?

Answer 1

A bit of both. I think as a parent it is your job to ease them into the hard knocks stage. Sometimes if you just throw them in the deep end, they drown.
With my kids, responsiblities grow through the years, as well as consequences. And my oldest is finding that the rewards, can be quite nice as well.
I would much rather have my kids learn from my hard knocks. Some of those bruises dont heal to quick.

Answer 2

Is the parent going to protect them their whole life? Not at all.

But you don't want to UNPROTECT them all in one shot! That would be insane. Easiest thing to do would be to start letting them go out on the weekends. I find that to be not such a good idea... why? because they'll be exposed to EVERYTHING right off the bat.

In my opinion, even though there is school and everything during the week, it would be better off letting them go out monday through wednesday nights at first. This way they get the feel of going out when the creepo's AREN'T out!

Let them go out with a friend or two, no huge drinkin parties... if you let them go out on the weekend, they're more than likely experience the full real world within 2 or 3 weeks... meaning, they'll be around Drugs, Alcohol, and Sex... Weekdays are much more mellow. Start it out that way, see how it goes.

So how's that going to be different? When you let a teenager out on the weekends, they experience WAY too much crap to ever talk to you about it. EVER! You'll never find out what's going on, and you'll never know what's actually going on.

On the weekdays, maybe one wierd thing might happen, and the teen will want to probably know more about it. NOW: The parent is in a better position to be able to explain that one wierd thing that their teenager saw, and explain the ups and downs of what it was. Usually the downs will always overpower the ups. And in some cases, there will be NO ups!

Either way, both you as a parent and you as a teenager will be A LOT less stressed out with the whole "experiencing the real world" process.

Thanks,
PaMiPa

Answer 3

It all depends, there are so many different places to go and if your in a place where there is a lot of gangs, then it would be best to keep your child protected. Public and private schools are great places, if you are in a really bad community I suggest getting your child into a private school. The only reason why im strongly against homeschooling is because the childeren who are homeschooled become outcasts from the rest of the childeren.

Answer 4

The answer is a little of both. Teens need to be protected because their brain is a tad clueless until it's fully developed (age 25... sorry, it's true!). At the same time, you don't learn without life experience and there are a lot of lessons to be learned (safety, security, friendships, etc. etc.)

Answer 5

I believe, personally, that nobody should ever be sheltered from the realities of living. Teenagers are no exception. Though competent parents should be concerned and trying to equip you with the tools you need to succeed, making you believe that everything in life is rosy is both irresponsible as a parent and foolish. I say, explore the good with the bad and it will make you appreciate the good much more in the long-term.

Answer 6

Your question is vague, we are talking about teenagers which are on the verge of adulthood. Therefore bearing self responsibility for their own actions or not be accepted well in today’s society.

If you are talking about punishment for a crime then I believe that if a teenage commits a crime which if committed by an adult would be considered a felony then the teenager needs to be treated like an adult in the eyes of the law.

Answer 7

Protected and taken out of the public school!

Answer 8

They need to know how to deal with peers...because whether we parents like it or not....they cannot hide from people their whole lives.....they will need to know how to socially deal with others especially when starting a career and a family...nothing against homeschooling...in fact they might just get a better education from home....but no matter what children need to be around others their own age!

Answer 9

What exactly do you mean by the "real world."

Throwing your kids to the wolves could be a sign that you just don't want to be a parent.

Parents should always teach and protect their children, even if their kids are adults.

Answer 10

You cannot protect them from everything but you can prepare them for what lies ahead.Showing them how to deal with bullies and pressures from the opposite sex.Teaching them to respect life and themselves.