Why aren't teenagers prepared to transition into adulthood?

Date: Tuesday, May 9, 2017

Topic: Why aren't teenagers prepared to transition into adulthood?

This topic is dear to my heart. I've worked with adolescents for over 13 years. My experience has ranged from group homes, outpatient clinics, school-based mental health centers, private practice and juvenile justice correctional facilities. Over this time period, I have noticed an influx of youth that experience mild to severe anxiety related to transitioning into adulthood. Most of their anxiety is related to not being mentally prepared about what the transition entails. As I stumbled across multiple clients and youth who experienced this level of anxiety, I began to ask the following questions: * What does your curriculum include to assist with the transitional process? * What skills have you learned in your household related to going to college, moving out on your own and becoming independent? * For the parents, do you recognize the difference in curriculum from when you attended high school in comparison to your child? The latter question is vitally important, as most parents or caregivers become very irritable when their child experiences anxiety or complains about not being ready to leave the home or a transition. Therefore, I've made it my goal to help caregivers reflect on their experience and curriculum in high school in comparison to their child. What I have found is that before the year 2000, most high schools had mandatory transitional courses such as cooking, typing, Microsoft office or computer systems and more. The Economics course typically included a section where the teacher instructed the students to go look in the newspaper or online for a job, determine income, and the students were given a list of bills to determine if they would be able to make it on their own considering the job market at that time. The latter strategy is rarely used and is not mandatory School. Due to this epidemic linked to lack of knowledge of transitioning into adulthood, in 2009, I developed an 8-week structured program that was implemented in a high school in Richmond, California. The course included various topics such as resume and cover letter writing skills, interview etiquette, building credit, managing bank accounts, paying bills and moving out on their own. I was very surprised during my first pilot program to see the amount of youth that were involved. The attendance weekly for a one hour workshop range from 15 to 30 kids per week. As a bonus, One day as I provided steps on how to complete a W-2 form for employment, I had an economics teacher stop by to Observe. He saw the value in the program so Much that he offered his students extra credit for participation after school in the program. Thereafter, I began to implement this structure within the juvenile justice correctional facility for young men that were returning home after a 3-9 month camp sentence. I also have implemented this workshop within my private practice such as my monthly "Get Grown" workshops for transitional age youth ages 16 to 24 years old. Question of the Day: If you know of youth within that age group (16-24), what have you done to successfully prepare them for their transition? For more information on the new home program, please visit my website. The workshop link is also below for the upcoming date June 2017.

Get Grown Workshop