"Dennis Prager talks to Mike Linderman, a Montana-based licensed counselor who has worked with teens for more than ten years. His new book is The Teen Whisperer: How to Break through the Silence and Secrecy of Teenage Life."
Where I come from — Australia — there were no scheduled playdates. Parents rarely showed up for the equivalent of little league. Parents didn’t help with homework (mine did not). Parents seem far more involved today in the lives of their teenagers.
The way I grew up, I could go wandering alone in the woods all morning. I could be gone for five or six hours, blazing trails and chopping down trees and killing things, and there was no worry about it at home. By age 14, I could be gone all day. My brother used to hitchhike 50 miles away to go to races, hang out, party, and then hitch home. No drama. No worries at home. When we lived in Baltimore in 1980, I was 14, I could wander off all day. I just went on a walkabout exploring the white parts of Baltimore and some of the darker zones.
And look at how I turned out!
