A nationwide study shows that teens don't feel they are getting the support and opportunities they need from adults
Teens have needs, too! And often, they aren't being met.
Teen Voice 2010: Relationships that Matter to America’s Teens, is a national study of 1,860 15-year-olds in three cities across the United States exploring the importance of teen motivation and engagement in civic life. It was conducted by Best Buy, a partner of Boys & Girls Clubs and myclubmylife.com. The complete report and video can be found here.
What’s clear in the study is that too many teens feel they are growing up without the support and opportunities they need, specifically when it comes to teen-adult relationships. The findings reinforce the 2009 inaugural Teen Voice study findings and that there is a persistent gap between what teens need and what adults actually offer them.
Individual caring adults—parents, teachers, neighbors, grandparents, mentors and coaches—can have a tremendous impact on the successful development of our nation’s youth by building positive relationships with teens. This starts when adults take the time and effort to re-examine the ways we can or could connect with, listen to and seek to nurture teens’ basic strengths.
What exactly should adults do to develop these relationships? Through in-depth interviews with 30 15-year-olds, teens were asked what adults did and didn’t do that told them that adults cared, were paying attention and really understood them. Here is what they had to say:
10 Tips fromTeens to Adults
- LOOK AT US. Make eye contact.
- SPEND TIME TALKING WITH US. Ask open-ended questions.Build the conversation.
- LISTEN. Pay attention. Don’t multi-task or get distracted when you’re with us. Respond to our messages and texts, etc.
- BE DEPENDABLE. Do what you say you’re going to do.
- SHOW APPRECIATION FOR WHAT WE DO. Give compliments. Show that you’re glad to see us or hear from us. Send us personalized cards.
- RELAX. Don’t feel like you have to be on guard.
- SHOW THAT YOU’RE INTERESTED. Attend our concerts, games and other events. Ask us to show you what we can do.
- LAUGH WITH US (AND AT YOURSELF). Laugh at our jokes. Show us your humor.
- ASK US TO HELP YOU. Ask us for our ideas. Share your own, too.
- CHALLENGE US. Teach us what you know. Push us to do our best.
Be sure to check at @15.com to see this report and other content specific to teen trends and concerns!