Adolescence is the transition from childhood to adulthood. It is the most significant period of human life. It is a new birth, a unique and special stage of life. The end of childhood and the beginning of adolescence is part of the stormy process of life.

It is a bridge which children must cross to become mature enough and independent enough to develop a unique personality and identity.

The family begins influencing a human being before birth and continues to affect a person from childhood until the end of life. It shapes a person’s spiritual development, formation, and attitude through its economic and social interactions as much as by the physical environment it provides.

Besides its basic educational function of transmitting the society’s cultural values from generation to generation, the family is the most important socializing institution for pre-school children.

The family, besides being the place where a baby is born and raised, is also a place where a child’s psychological needs, like security, love, respect, belonging, and sharing, are met.

Studies indicate that parents’ attitudes and approaches toward their children have the greatest influence on shaping their characters, personalities, and identities.

Children raised in a home with good family relations usually grow up to be psychologically balanced and well adjusted. Healthy family relations create a happy, friendly, and creative atmosphere not conducive to depression.

On the other hand, children who have adaptation problems are generally the product of dysfunctional families with inappropriate mother-father-child relations. Children who grow up with little or no parental love and attention almost always have an exaggerated desire to be loved later in life. And this hunger for love may cause them to have awkward social skills.

A mature adolescent who grows up in a home with healthy family relations can usually solve his/her problems easily and pass through this transition phase without encountering many difficulties.

A child who grows up in an environment where there is love and a feeling of confidence and discipline is successfully instilled is more likely to grow up to be a happy mature person. A child who can have a proper dialogue with his/her parents can solve personal problems easily and maintain friendly family relations during the difficult adolescent period.

The most dominant feeling during the period of youth is the desire to escape from the supervision of authority figures. For this reason, although young people harshly criticize other people, they cannot bear any criticism themselves but rigorously judge every person representing authority from their parents to state officials.

A young person must become independent of parental authority in order to become mature and to develop his/her personality and identity.

On the other hand, many parents tend to raise their children to be dependent on them. At this point, communication problems may arise between parents and children.

Studies reveal that young people mostly complain about not being taken seriously, lack of understanding, pressure, the rigid attitude of their parents, and being treated like a child.

Since a young person is usually not treated like a mature person within the family, the youth starts to search for places where he/she will be valued and can experience love and respect.

In this period, what young people are asking their parents for is not unlimited independence or the right to do things without others’ approval. Rather, they want to be respected within society and to be allowed to be independent in order to prove themselves. In addition, every young person wants to be trusted and treated like a mature person.

Their impatience is the result of their wish to be immediately saved from the uncertainty of the time of youth.

In this regard, parents’ most significant duty is to avoid being overly judgmental and critical of their children and to help them during this sensitive period. They must support their children both financially and emotionally. Parents should try to do their best to pave the way for their children to grow, develop, and realize their potential in life.