Risk-taking on Adolescents
Adolescence is the period where every person encounters a rapid growth and development. It is the period where we confuse ourselves most of the time. Some adolescents are starting to be independent from their parents in some ways like solving problems. There are some problems in adolescents that they cannot tell their parents that sometimes, lead them to risky situations.
Risk-taking is always part of being an adolescent because this is the time where we love to explore more about life. “Curiosity is the main word”, as the adolescents said when I asked them why adolescents are exposed to risk. We are so curious about everything that happens in our environment. This is also the time that they are so aggressive. For instance, adolescents are curious about sex. In a long run, it will result to premarital sex and soon, to unwanted pregnancy because they are still young.
Furthermore, not only curiosity that drives adolescents to risk but also the influence of the environment. According to Will Meek, PH.D., in his book, Adolescents & Risk-Taking Behavior, peer has also a great influence to adolescents. Because of their peer, adolescents are sometimes exposed to risky situation like car accident because they were driving drunk. The adolescents learned to acquire some habits from their friends like smoking that will lead them to lung cancer, illegal intake of drugs that will lead them to addiction and often times, to gang violence that lead them to death.
Nevertheless, adolescents believe that they are always right. They really do what they want to do without thinking the consequences. It will also lead them to risk. When their parents got angry with them, they tend to run away from home and stay to their friends to show their revenge without thinking that the safest place for them is their home. On the other hand, parent should be more open-minded about the behavior of their children especially during adolescence period wherein their children are still trying to understand of who really they are. Parents should understand that risk-taking is part of who the adolescents are. The best thing to do is to guide them to the right path. They should be given an attention or else, you will just see your son or daughter lying on the street, coping with his/her breath or standing behind the steel cage in prison.
