Parents

What was the first time you realised you were no longer a child? Was it a gradual realisation? Was it when a shop keeper or other child referred to you as a man or woman? Maybe at times you think you or your partner have never fully left childhood behind! Chances are for many though, it was not by way of a formal ceremony recognising your passing from childhood to adulthood.

And that’s a shame, because for thousands of years in cultures across the globe, the community of adults in those cultures treated recognising the passage from child to adult as the most important event in a person’s life.

Formal recognition of this time is helpful for everyone:

• It helps parents face the reality that their baby is no more and they need to change their parenting style to match that of a growing young adult.
• It helps the child manage a very difficult time by knowing that their parents and the wider community have recognised they have passed a threshold and are welcomed into adulthood.
• It helps the community to have young adults who behave as young adults and not continue to act out their childish ways as they become older.

Dr Arne Rubinstein has devoted much of his adult life to the promotion of Rites of Passage and his video recording at a TED gathering is well worth watching to understand more about why Rites of Passage for teenagers are so important.

But doing something about it can be harder. Because most Australian parents never went through a Rite of Passage experience themselves, they lack the knowledge and experience to pass this on to their own children. Well that where this website comes in, by provide some basic knowledge and linking to resources which build on that knowledge further. We also hope to inspire you to take action so your son or daughter not only gets the experience you were unable to access, but so that they in turn may pass this on to their children too.