As a 16 year old, I am very frustrated with how much I am restrained. Our society has a very negative view on youths because of their stereotypical form. I am not the "stereotypical youth". I consider myself quite, polite, responsible, and mature(judge me by the previous posts I made if you doubt me). With that said, the amount I am able to do with respect is severely limited.

I know society can't give out the same amount of privileges they give to adults to the youth, that is the frustrating part. I know as a whole we should not be given equal respect as adults because their are many of the "stereotypical youths". But what about the rest of us? We just have to sit and wait until we are older before we get the same amount of respect.

This same applies to almost all stereotypes. Why am I posting about this one? Because it applies to me directly and immediately. This does not mean in any way I see this problem higher than any of the other stereotypes, in fact, it is one of the lesser. But it is still very frustrating to me.

What do you guys think about the respect we give the youth? What do you think should change or stay the same?

Do you know why they are taking or calling you young? Because 16 years old man just starting secondary school.

You will not child after you end secondary school and you will work.. That age 18 years is very good age.
When I was 16years old I haven't got experience as now.When you will have your own family or you will live alone without your family you will be man.. I hate this young people who think about them I'm the strongest and I'm the best, but they havn't in theirs head nothing As I can see I was happier when I was 15years old and they called me child..
Now you must look to your future and start thinking about your life..
My opinion but all about OT just ignore Thanks

Will, could you please give us a couple of examples on what you mean by disrespect?

I have a lot to say about this subject, actually, but I need to understand exactly what motivated you to write this post, so that my reply can be a little personalized. I wouldn't want to rant for hours then find out I was talking about something completely different

Also, do you believe your entire age-group faces the same irritation as yours? Is it a general complaint, I mean?

When I was 16, I thought I knew what was best for me. I was a good kid. I didn't do drugs, drink, or go to wild parties. I was a good student, respectful to adults, well-informed on world affairs thanks to my dad always listening to the news or NPR, and considerably well-read compared to many others my age. Despite being a rather well-behaved youth, I still cringe now when I think how naive and foolish I was at that age.
However, I understand what you mean. You're in that awkward in-between stage where you're old enough to explore your own beliefs and ideas, to think and act independently and be responsible for your actions, but you're still in that youthful boundary testing phase where most kids do stupid things to find out how far they go without being punished. It's probably worse for you than most others because you're intelligent enough to reason each side of the issue. You know why adults treat you like this, but you also know why these stereotypes and restrictions shouldn't apply to you.
My suggestion would be to prove that you shouldn't be lumped with all the other kids your age. One of the first steps to establishing independence is to get a job. If your parents won't let you or no one's hiring, then try volunteering with an organization like the Red Cross, Habitat for Humanity, or something like that. This will show others your level of responsibility, earn you some extra cash that your parents can't have any say over, and give your college apps a nice padding.

hmmm, I guess I'll try to answer this.

First of all, there are kids who have everything and get treated like much more from adults than they should, but a lot of children around my age (I'm fifteen, sixteen in three months) get treated just like that - kids. Now, a lot of them deserve that, but, I guess what Will.Allison is trying to say is this: (well, actually this is my story basically, but I guess this is kinda the way Will feels too.)

- I am a junior in high school (I actually skipped a year. Most kids in my grade are 16 or 17 right now)
- If I want to buy something besides food or clothes, I pay for it with my own money from my own job (which I might add, pays very nicely)
- My I.Q. is about 160, which means my mental age is that of a 25 year old.
- I am a straight A student taking the hardest classes at my school
- I am responsible, courteous, I am always thinking of others and not myself, I am going out of my way to help others all the time
- I am an Eagle Scout. (If you're in boy scouts you know how huge that is)
- If I break something, (physical or not), I make it right.

I could go on but you don't need to hear me talk about how great I am. Basically, my point is my parents still treat me like I'm five, whenever I go into a store I get weird looks from the clerks because they think I'm going to go around shoplifting, when I want to talk to an adult and confide in them they think I'm being ridiculous, and adults in general don't think that I'm anything more than a fifteen year old punk.

That about how you feel, Will?

Ah...Youth! I think at age 16 the urge to be adult burns the hottest of all the ages. So close, and yet so far! You feel confident in yourself, you think you have the answers and know what is best for you. Trust me, you don't. With age comes wisdom, and you have to go through all these stages in order to develope into the person you will be. And part of growing up and the things you need to learn are patience. Waiting for the privledges of adulthood is a leason you will learn, like it or not.

Please re read Tiki's post here too. It is beautiful and elogant and right on the mark. Did a much better job than I could, I almost didnt' bother to post after reading hers!

Hang in there kid, you will be surprized how quickly the time comes when you are wishing you were only 16!

To me there are 2 modes of respect. The first mode is material involving personal space and property, while the second mode is immaterial in terms of intellectual respect and the such.

The material mode should be given to everyone, and is in fact considered a human right; an example is the right to own property and not have another take or damage it. This mode is for everyone but is not taken seriously until you're about 18.

In my opinion the second mode, immaterial respect, is something you earn, and should not be given. No demographic should receive instant respect. It's true that you should "respect your elders" but all that really means is that you should consider their greater experience. Think about it, a 19 year-old and a 45 year-old are both your elders, but what can be called your "default respect" is almost a function of their age difference to you; independant of their personality you have more default respect for the older of the two.

I have a feeling your complaint falls between the two. My advice is to you that you have to earn the second mode of respect on a person to person basis which indeed takes patience. I know you don't want to hear it but legally you are still considered a minor, keep that in mind.

I do not think I am the best or the strongest, I do not think I deserve more respect than an ordinary person. I just don't think I deserve the respect that is given to a person my age.




What I mean by disrespect is that it is very hard to do anything without other people thinking its a joke, or your not trying to do something seriously. Like cangor said, how I am immediately a suspect when I walk into a store, and stuff like that.




You have a very good point. But one of my reasons for wanting more respect is jobs. I tried to apply to a few, and as for being my first job, no one accepted me. I understand that they may want someone with more experience, but for a cashier or a stocker, it dosn't take that much skill. I believe a major reason they turned me down was because of the stereotype of people my age.




Yes, that is a lot of what I am saying. However, it is not all.




That si also a very good point. But it is hard to get close enough to earn that respect because of immediate judgment that I receive. Yes, it is possible to do that and I have with a few friends and parents of friends, but it is hard when you don't know someone.