Roma, 9 Apr. (askanews) – Italy is going through a profound educational crisis which sees parents increasingly struggling to manage their teenage children. According to data from the National Report on the Condition of Childhood and Adolescence, only 6% of adolescents say that their mother limits their freedom a lot, while 23.1% say that she does so quite a bit. The majority of young people, therefore, grow up without significant restrictions, in what experts define as a true ‘educational anarchy’.
The problem emerges with particular severity in the age group between 11 and 15 years, when the concept of limit is undefined for adolescents and is perceived mainly through the point of view of adults. ‘Today we are witnessing a reversal of roles: children are no longer at the mercy of their parents as in the twentieth century, but parents are at the mercy of their children‘, explains Prof. Daniele Popolizio, president of the CENPIS Group and pioneer of performance psychology in Italy.
The correlation between parental monitoring and risky behavior is scientifically proven: There is a negative correlation between parental control and dangerous behavior, especially in the 14-15 age group. This means that greater parental control can significantly reduce adolescents’ propensity for risky behavior.
‘The problem arises from the fact that today’s young people perceive themselves as omnipotent because they have human knowledge in their hands through a mobile phone’continues Popolizio. ‘They think they can control everything because they can have information about everything, but they still remain like little children who often become victims of accidents at home.’
The National Parent Forumthe first national event dedicated to parenting skills organized by the CENPIS Group, highlighted how this problem is taking on worrying dimensions. With 400 participants at the Cavalieri Hilton in Rome, the event recorded an extraordinary participation which testifies to the urgency of the problem. ‘Surprisingly, while on average 15-20 parents attend school conferences, when we organize them we get 180-200 attendees’, says Popolizio.
The issue becomes further complicated in the digital age, where parents have delegated education to external tools which do not have educational but commercial purposes. ‘Social networks and digital platforms are not supposed to educate children, they are economic tools‘, observes the expert.
‘We have created the first school for parents in Italy’, announces Popolizio, referring to the circuit of training events that his group organizes monthly in the most important schools in Rome, such as the Liceo Righi, ranked first in Italy. The approach is based on the theme ‘know adolescence to be competent parents today’an increasingly urgent need in a society that has lost traditional educational points of reference.
Parents and children without control
The phenomenon has deep roots in the social transformation of recent decades. If in the twentieth century the problem was excess parental authority, today we have moved to the opposite extreme: the total absence of control. This situation generates adolescents who do not develop a sense of limits and the perception of danger, as tragically demonstrated by recent news episodes.
The solution, according to experts, passes through a recovery of parental skills and a greater awareness of the educational role. ‘We will need a recovery of parental authority, not authoritarian but authoritative,’ concludes Popolizio. ‘Parents need to go back to be guides for your children, not their friends or accomplices’.
The impact of this educational crisis is reflected not only on family well-being, but on the entire society. Young people who grow up without limits become adults who struggle to respect rules and manage responsibilities, creating a vicious cycle that perpetuates the generational problem.
The future requires a structured intervention that involves families, schools and institutions in a shared educational project, capable of giving young people back that perception of limits that is fundamental for balanced and responsible growth.
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