Expectations

I was reading chapter three of Do Hard Things and was laughing and shaking my head sadly at the same time. Here is why:

Ages 10-14...

• make your bed every day
• be able to take a message on the phone
• clean your room once a week (with help from Mom and Dad)

Ages 15+ must do all the above, plus...

• do a daily chore [just one], like taking out the trash
• make sure the gas gauge stays above a quarter of a tank
• clean your room once a week (without help from Mom and Dad)

This is a list Alex and Brett Harris found online of what kinds of expectations parents should have of their teens. The article even went on to assure the parents that they should not feel that their children should have to even do all of these things, because that might be expecting to much from them!

If you are a young person and that does not encourage you to rise above low expectations (and in this case very low expectations) I do not know what will. Why, adults expect almost that much from two-year-olds.

When we were little we were expected to help pick up our toys, obey, and learn new stuff every day. Think about it, if you are two and you refused to learn new words, you would never learn to talk. If you thought that your parents were expecting to much to encourage you to walk, then you would still be crawling around. If you refused to eat real food that you had to work hard to chew since you did not have all your teeth, you might still be eating baby food. Why is it all right to expect toddlers to learn so much and work so hard to become more independent, and it is not okay to ask the same of your teenagers?

I am a Rebelutionary, and I am proud of it. I believe that every young person is capable of so much more the what is expected, and I challenge you to rise above what people expect of you and do great things.

"Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity."
1 Timothy 4:12