The transition from being a kid who goofs off with friends and doesn’t worry about tomorrow to being an adult who pays the bills and votes, is huge. Parents love keeping their kids kids, but what happens when they graduate from high school? Do they get a job or go off to college? What college a adolescent goes to, how they study(or don’t!) and how they choose the career they’re going to embrace as a young adult–its all about transitions.
This shift from child to adult may be one parents and kids are not eager for, but it begins when adolescents enter high school. Many choices lie ahead. Most kids don’t get this and don’t realize that when they enter high school, their grades start really counting. This major life transition can be challenging–for parents and teens. All at once, it seems, adolescents have scary lifestyle options–freedom to choose destructive relationships and bad behavior. Parents may want to keep them on a close leash, but that doesn’t help kids become responsible adults. Getting professional help can take some of the heat off parents and can give teens a clearer view of the choices they’re making.