Over the years, many adults, especially parents, seem to forget that kids are just kids. They seem to forget that a kid has no responsibility except that they should enjoy their years of innocence.
A kid should make mistakes and not be punished;
A kid should cry and not be yelled at;
A kid should talk nonsensically and not be ignored;
A kid should be naughty or unruly yet beloved;
A kid should be held, embraced, and kissed and never be hit;
A kid should be receiving proper education and not be forced to work at such a young age.
Kids should be their parents' responsibility, and they should not be treated as adults. Their only responsibility is to spend their early years with love and be immersed in the innocence and purity of a child.
A kid grown into a teenager is still a kid. They are not yet adults.
Teenagers are supposed to change.
Teenagers are supposed to feel things.
Teenagers are supposed to be confused; they are supposed to explore.
Teenagers are supposed to be able to tell their parents what is happening to them without fear.
Teenagers should not be judged, for they are still kids who know a little about the world's reality we live in.
If adults know and understand what kids need to strive physically, emotionally, spiritually, and mentally, perhaps they will guide them more. It is the responsibility of adults to teach kids to become grown men and women who know how to value themselves, who know how to look at people, and who know how to become responsible adults. Unfortunately, not everyone grows up in a healthy family, and the main reason for this is irresponsible adults.
Who are the irresponsible adults? These are the people of the right age who, without their knowledge, abuse society's kids. They can be in the form of a sibling who constantly nags at her sister for being too skinny or overweight. They can be in the form of a dad who persistently makes his son feel like a disappointment shaped like a boy. They can be in the form of a mom who makes her young child an emotional punching bag for her dissatisfactions and insecurities in life. They can be in the form of a relative who consistently dumps an emotional toll on the young, hoping it would feel less of a burden to bear. They can be in the form of anyone who physically hits children, verbally threatens kids, shames youth, gaslights people, and invalidates others.
The irresponsible adults raised depressed kids, anxious children, and suicidal teenagers-- without their knowledge. In turn, kids grow up hatching self-doubt instead of confidence. Kids grow up with hate towards their bodies instead of love. Kids grow up with emotional issues harnessed by adults. Kids grow up a little earlier than they should. They develop mental health issues way before developing their bodies—kids who were not treated like kids. If only adults knew how to be responsible, maybe numbers and statistics for the youth with mental health issues would not be that high.
We should not treat kids like this. They should not be your way out of distress. They should not share the emotional burden you bear. They are just kids. We are just kids. It is a sad yet striking reality that parents and families, the first adults in a kid's life and who should be our most vital support system, are ironically the root of some children's mental health issues. This is not right; teenagers grow up in a home where their supposedly strongest allies become their most despised enemies. No one is perfect, even family, but we owe the kids to be responsible adults. Because if we are not, how do we expect them to be?