Pam Broker, the founder and director of Milestones for Young Adults in Idaho, a young adult program, spoke to Lon Woodbury and Liz McGhee on Parent Choices for Struggling Teens show on L.A. Talk Radio. She talked about what young adults need to do to grow up and become independent, mature adults. The host of the show, Lon Woodbury is the founder of Woodbury Reports. He has worked with families and struggling teens since 1984. Co-host Elizabeth McGhee is the Director of Admissions and Referral Relations at Sandhill Child Development Center. She has over 19 years of clinical, consulting and referral relations experience. Parent Choices for Struggling Teens is sponsored by Father Flanagan’s Boys Town in Nebraska.
Pamela Broker
Pamela Broker is the owner and Executive Director of Milestones for Young Adults, a young adult transition program. Having worked with teens, young adults and their families for numerous years, Pamela has worked at six different programs in the Northwest as the Admissions Director before founding Milestones.
Numerous Challenges on the Young Adult’s Path to Independence
The young adult’s path to independence in the United States is strewn with difficulties. The classic path of maturity-working, getting married, raising children, and contributing to society-is becoming increasingly difficult for young people to follow. There are many reasons for this situation. It may be due to society’s influence-it takes longer to get a good education and entry level jobs barely pay for the cost of food and shelter and life’s necessities. It may be due to the impact of telecommunication devices-it’s possible for a child to get all their needs met vicariously through Internet access. It may be due to over-functioning parents doing everything for their children. It may be due to the child having psychological problems like learning disorders or addictions. However, Pamela also believed, a large part of the issue may simply be due to the child’s reluctance to leave home. “They are comfortable where they are,” she explained. “Why would they do something different? They get an allowance, a roof over their head, a warm bed, and tasty meals.”
The guest offered several pointers for parents: provide kids bottom line instructions, give them a chance to try things out, and simply let them learn from their mistakes if they do happen to run out of money. She recommended that moms and dads make it clear to their children that their kid’s disarray is not the parent’s turmoil. Furthermore, toward the close of the program, she summarized how parents can acquire external assistance from their local community, from therapists and coaches, and from companies devoted to assisting young people develop into mature adults.
Summary
The interview covered problems like why young adults are “failing to launch.” It discussed the adverse effect of helicopter parents, the negative impact of addiction to modern technology, and the creeping alienation experienced in modern society. Finally, the interview also discussed how kids’s brains do not develop until they are twenty-five years of ages, how parenting has altered over the decades, and how moms and dads need to make their children take responsibility for their very own lives.
Lon Woodbury, the founder of Struggling Teens, has recorded the entire interview on his weekly L.A. Talk Radio show for people to at their convenience.