What Teens Want...

Most teens have high-ticket items on their wish lists, but this list, compiled by CPC’s Teen Times columnist, Lisa Grant, won’t cost you a penny. Grant asked a variety of Coulee Region teens: “If you could ask your parents to give you anything that was not material (such as a car, computer, etc.), what would you ask them for?”

• Only constructive criticism. No other kind is needed.
• Turn that television off long enough to play a board game or something.
• Advice and stories of what you went through at my age.
• Freedom. Don't have a lot right now.
• Some distance and space. I'm a pretty private person; I don't need you breathing down my neck all the time. Just let me be alone when I need to be, okay?
• Understanding.
• More trust.
• More privacy, and yet at the same time, one-on-one time to spend with just them.
• Stop getting angry at me for everything.
• I wish I could talk to them more about what really matters to me. Tell them what I'm really feeling.
• Show appreciation for things that I do.
• Talk and share.
• More patience, more understanding, more freedom, more love, and less “I-know-everything” syndrome.
• More discipline.
• Ask me what’s really going on at my school.
• More responsibility.
• Some time to relax and unwind.
• Stop comparing me to my older brother/sister. I already feel badly enough about myself.
• Walk the talk. Don’t be a hypocrite.
• Stop fighting with each other.

What would your teen ask for? It might be worth asking. Even in these difficult economic times, it seems granting Christmas wishes could be easier than you think.