Teenagers in North America, and their parents it seems, have the perspective that to be rebellious, disrespectful and unappreciative towards parents during the teen years is perfectly normal and even inevitable.
This is demonstrably untrue, however, as evidenced not only by the many millions of teens here who grow up well-adjusted and do not experience such things, and by the many millions more in other countries and cultures for whom this is unheard of - and unacceptable - behaviour.
In many cultures, people grow up as part of loving, dynamic families and communities and never disrespect their parents.
They are cherished for the people they are; they are encouraged to learn and grow in a supportive environment, and they have much respect for their families.
They help with family businesses and gladly pitch in at home, and disagreements are most likely to be about future job choices than clothing, hair or friendship choices.
Does this sound too good to be true? It's not, and it's possible for us to raise our kids this way as well.
Though they are surrounded with input - from friends to media - that encourages them to be, well, obnoxious (even Disney is in on the act - have you seen how Miley Cyrus or Alex Russo talk to their elders?), we can have more influence as parents than we realize.
First of all, we can be clear about what is and is not acceptable behaviour, a distinction which seems to be lost on most teens these days.
We can insist on love and respect in our households, and demonstrate it in our interactions with each other and our kids.
Remember that your kids are watching and learning from you far beyond their younger childhood, and you have more impact than you may realize.
We can expose our kids to the 'real' world as often as possible, including various cultures, ways of life and age groups.
The more kids see the more they gain perspective on - and appreciation for - the lives they live and how much they really have.
This also helps kids think about global issues and how they may help and impact our world, which is a big step up from wondering who will text them next.
Additionally and most importantly, we can continue to see our wonderful children for who they are rather than a) who we want them to be or b) writing them off for a few years and hoping they turn out OK.
With just these few tips, perhaps we can help create a generation of kids who care about the world and the people, creatures and issues in it, and do our part to make things better.
This is demonstrably untrue, however, as evidenced not only by the many millions of teens here who grow up well-adjusted and do not experience such things, and by the many millions more in other countries and cultures for whom this is unheard of - and unacceptable - behaviour.
In many cultures, people grow up as part of loving, dynamic families and communities and never disrespect their parents.
They are cherished for the people they are; they are encouraged to learn and grow in a supportive environment, and they have much respect for their families.
They help with family businesses and gladly pitch in at home, and disagreements are most likely to be about future job choices than clothing, hair or friendship choices.
Does this sound too good to be true? It's not, and it's possible for us to raise our kids this way as well.
Though they are surrounded with input - from friends to media - that encourages them to be, well, obnoxious (even Disney is in on the act - have you seen how Miley Cyrus or Alex Russo talk to their elders?), we can have more influence as parents than we realize.
First of all, we can be clear about what is and is not acceptable behaviour, a distinction which seems to be lost on most teens these days.
We can insist on love and respect in our households, and demonstrate it in our interactions with each other and our kids.
Remember that your kids are watching and learning from you far beyond their younger childhood, and you have more impact than you may realize.
We can expose our kids to the 'real' world as often as possible, including various cultures, ways of life and age groups.
The more kids see the more they gain perspective on - and appreciation for - the lives they live and how much they really have.
This also helps kids think about global issues and how they may help and impact our world, which is a big step up from wondering who will text them next.
Additionally and most importantly, we can continue to see our wonderful children for who they are rather than a) who we want them to be or b) writing them off for a few years and hoping they turn out OK.
With just these few tips, perhaps we can help create a generation of kids who care about the world and the people, creatures and issues in it, and do our part to make things better.