Teenagers live in a very different world today than their parents did when they were teenagers. With the current social media explosion, there are so many ways in which they are connected to other people, and by which their popularity is judged. Many teens are plugged permanently into social networking, and are not dressed without their cell phone.
We know the importance that friends play in the development of a teenager. The negative effects that this can often was once offset by family interaction, aunts, grandparents, and such. Due to the fast pace of our modern lifestyle, many teenagers are left without enough support from older women to guide them through the tumultuous years into their womanhood. Even though their social world has expanded dramatically, their support network has shrunk just as dramatically.
Many of us had our mothers, aunts, and grandmothers to guide us through our teen years. They offered us sound advice and showed us how to behave as a woman. We learned about how a respectable woman should speak, dress, walk, sit, treat other people, and care for herself.
Who is helping to teach our teenage girls today?
Mothers are under more of a strain than ever before. They are out in the workforce and they themselves often don't have an extended support network. Mostly, the mothers are doing it alone and doing it tough. There is often no one to back up their advice, and it often falls of deaf ears, which are being bombarded with contradictory information from their peers.
Teachers have over-crowded classrooms and struggle just to keep their students under control, let alone giving them personal one-on-one attention.
Where to learn necessary life skills?
Here are some ideas which may help to offer direction:
Church groups offer a strong support system for teenage girls. They offer a voice of reason through many of the difficult stages of teenage life.Some school systems offer extended curriculum which include the issues faced by teenagers today.Sporting activities are a fantastic way to be involved in a healthy lifestyle, as well as make friends who are of the same mindset.Charm and Deportment Schools are still in existence, and can offer a teenage girl the skills necessary to deal with her steps into womanhood.Teenage girls need to have access to older women who can mentor them through the transformational stage of their teenage years. They should not be left without guidance, support, and encouragement.
This article has been written by Lynda Margaret. Lynda Margaret operates an Online Charm School for women.
Teenage girls may enjoy becoming involved with Teen Charm School