Age of Inferiority - Why do we say what we say?

Ron’s Reflection of the Day:
Last night, Adam (age 11) and I were doing week number 4 together, a study from Focus on the Family - Preparing for Adolescence by Chuck Swindoll. He was talking about when we are teenagers how we can run through certain seasons in our lives as young adults that he calls “Age of Inferiority.” A time when other teenagers put other children down or take personal attacks on a child and start labeling the child in a negative way…” After processing this idea and talking it through with Adam, the study then had you calculate the number of times people say negative or hurtful things about you. So here are the calculations we can up with last night:

On average, Adam and I took a guess that people will say at least 1 hurtful thing over the course of a day;

On average, we decide to use just 5 days per week, hence: 1 hurtful comment x 5 days a week = 5 hurtful things are said to a person on average per week;

5 hurtful comments X 52 weeks per year = 260 hurtful comments per year

260 hurtful comments per year X 7 years for my son (Age 11 – 18) = 1820 hurtful comments from other people over the course of his adolescent years. Ouch!

The Point:
As I reflected on my conversation with Adam yesterday regarding the 1820 hurtful things someone is going to say to my son over the next 7-years. I immediately thought of myself, how as an adult at 38 years of age – how am I doing? Does this continue today as an adult? If I am honest, it probably is double, especially during the current economic climate that we all live in. So next time your ready to fire off something that hurtful, may you be quick to listen, but slow to speak.

Have a good day, Ron.

PS - Here is the link to the study:

http://www.focusonthefamily.com/parenting/schoolage_children/prepare_for_adolescence/physical_changes_and_inferiority.aspx