Parents and teachers are always complaining about how irresponsible young people are these days. At the same time, teenagers strain against restrictions imposed on them. While parents fear that teenagers, if given freedom, will misuse it, we feel frustrated that we need to be bound by so many rules. Perhaps the solution lies somewhere in between. We wish parents and teachers started trusting our judgement more. As teenagers, we should not be protected from the harsh realities of the world. There are so many people of our age who are forced to fend for themselves. While we are fortunate to have a more sheltered life, we should also be given the freedom to understand the adult world and what it expects of us. It is also time grown-ups realised that having fun is not necessarily a bad thing. Going to watch a film with friends one evening or a day spent reading a book instead of studying will not result in any great harm, but will definitely help us in the long run by opening our minds to the larger world. It would be helpful if young people are taught to understand their limits, for how much of something is good for us. We might slip up and make mistakes. But to err is human. We all make mistakes. We should be given the opportunity to learn from our failures and take responsibility for them instead of being taken to task. It is important to point out, though however, that there should be checks and balances to freedom. Freedom without restriction can also have serious consequences. Who hasn’t heard of promising youth going astray, including losing focus on studies? At the same time, we should remember that giving freedom does not mean removing the safety net to catch someone if they slip up. A lot of teenage offenders have slipped through social nets and have had no one to watch out for them. Overall, it may be better to give teenagers more freedom, but with limits, to help them blossom into more responsible adults.
