Risky behaviours : Are they a part of your youth? 

Risky behaviours have become a habit among the youth and over the years these behaviours have created enough and more headlines on media. Therefore drunk driving, racing, swimming in deep rivers, smoking, drug abuse and looking for thrilling experiences are quite popular pasttimes. In most instances the victims are youngsters who are either in their teens or are still schooling. How are they motivated to engage in these behaviours? Are these due to bad parenting? How can they be avoided? The Daily Mirror Life spoke to a few individuals to identify the root causes of these behaviours.

Kanchana

It depends on who they associate with. Sometimes they want to show that they can do everything and this is why they have to face a lot of trouble.

Priyadarshani

I think it’s psychological too. There is a phase in life when you want to engage in risky behaviours and show a never-give-up attitude.

Bandara

As a parent I never allow my children to listen to their friends. Sometimes they are given unachievable challenges and when they fail to accomplish them kids get bullied and go through harassment. In this case teachers too have a role to play because all these develop while in school.

Rani

I don’t think these can be avoided. It is up to the child to think wisely and avoid them but for this parents should strictly advise them to stay away from friends who are quite mischievous and irresponsible.

Christopher

Suicide and cases of that calibre arise from relationship issues mainly. They should think wisely before accepting challenges and facing unfortunate circumstances.

Keeping teens safe 

Knowing that teenagers test limits doesn’t make thrill-seeking and risky behaviour any easier to live with. Here are some ideas to help your child think about consequences and stay safer:

· Talk about behaviour and consequences – for example, ‘If he hadn’t been speeding, he wouldn’t have lost his licence. Now he’s going to lose his job as well’. This can help your child learn to work out how much risk is involved in different situations.

· Talk about values – the earlier the better. Knowing what’s important to your family will help your child develop responsibility and personal values. You can back up family values and rules by being a good role model in things like drinking alcohol, driving and treating other people respectfully.

· Keep an eye on them. Knowing who he’s with and where he is can help you protect your child.

· Encourage a wide social network. You probably can’t stop your child from being friends with a particular person or group – but you can give him the chance to make other friends through sports, church or family activities. Welcome them to your house so that you can get to know them better.

· Give teenagers a way out. If your child feels peer influence to fit in, you could help her think of ways to opt out without losing credibility. For example, she could tell her friends that smoking gives her asthma.

Source : http://raisingchildren.net.au/articles/risktaking_teenagers.html 

By Kamanthi Wickramasinghe
Photographs by Waruna Wanniarachchi