Here’s a quick true-or-false quiz about teens:

1. Are all teenagers are rebellious?

2. Do all teenagers experience emotional turmoil?

3. Living with a teenager is worse than living with a toddler?

If you answered true to any of these three questions, you failed. But don’t worry, you don’t have to tell anyone how you did on this pop quiz — and most adults probably answered the same way you did.

Adolescents typically get a bad rap. Most of the media coverage, some research has shown, tends to be more negative than positive when it comes to talking about teens. We’re used to hearing about teenagers taking weapons to school, committing violent crimes, or making poor decisions.

Oftentimes, teenagers can get too noisy, irritable and maybe even disrespectful. From an adult’s perspective, teens can be pretty hard to manage. However, the teenage years are actually a very valuable time in a person’s life. The teen’s brain is still developing, they’re on the cusp of adulthood and they’re trying to figure out their identity. Not to mention, middle and high school can be a tough place to find friends and feel accepted.

Teenagers have a lot to manage and not a lot of life experience to utilize, which can result in a bad attitude and frustrating relationships. All of this is exactly why teenagers need valuable adult relationships in their lives. They need someone they can look up to, feel connected with and know they can go to during difficult times. If you’re an adult trying to live a more altruistic life, one of the most valuable contributions you can make is supporting a teenager.

Teenagers are our future; by building them up and encouraging them—even if they’re not our own children—we can create a better future for generations to come. Still, how do you start? How can you establish a valuable relationship with a teenager? Tomorrow we will delve into some ways to make a difference in a teen’s life.

~Adapted from James Windell