Welcome to episode 183 with me, Sue Firth!

I find this topic of great interest. I’m really pleased to be recording the podcast this week, and giving you my thoughts on this incredibly interesting topic.

Many of my clients have children and are facing dilemmas in bringing them up or are encouraging them to grow up well. Our parents believed that a child was an adult when they were 18.  Or at least this is what seemed obvious in the way I was treated, and indeed the way my own parents were treated.

So, what does this episode cover?

It feels to me that our kids these days are different to when I was younger, although obviously they vary a lot. They seem less well-equipped.  I am spotting this because young people are experiencing more mental health difficulties and in particular because of Covid. They might be capable, but it feels as if they need more skills now and I have called these life skills, or tools for life.

The type of tools I’m talking about include:

• Coping with emotional pain
• Problem solving
• Making decisions
• Building strong self-esteem or self-belief
• Coping with failure and rejection
• Peer pressure

Because our kids are the product of different technological advances, this puts them under pressure. They have different opportunities and different difficulties than we had when we were children.  One of the side effects of this is it gives a young person too many choices.  This can lead to overwhelm.

There is more academic pressure to succeed due to increased assessment in schools.  Kids are also subjected to peer pressure which can lead to a young person feeling daunted, threatened, stressed, and overwhelmed very quickly.  Their emotions, reactions, and choices are more visible now because they are outlined on social media.  Being wired for approval like this is a genuine cause of stress.

It’s easy to say a young person needs to develop a thicker skin but that takes time.  Resilience takes a lot of effort and determination to grow.  Young people need to experience less judgement.  They need to be able to experience situations that they don’t handle well but from which they can learn.

So what can we do?

“Toolkit for Life” (1 & 2), which I wrote and is available in the store, helps you master some of the challenges that life presents to us. 

I know that a book isn’t a substitute for experiencing a situation and working it out for yourself. But I think it will give a young person ideas on how to handle situations and at least provide them with a resource. 

I hope you enjoy this episode and find it helpful