Question: Teenagers who are involved in integral education act like adults and at the same time like children. This borderline is subtle. What is the way to form interaction with them if this switching is constantly taking place?

Answer: This depends on a person. Of course, there is a difference in the way boys and girls mature. We know that girls develop and mature faster than boys, therefore age isn’t really measured by the number of years. However, there are boys who become responsible and mature at an early age. And there are those who are spoiled, who wish to remain children, don’t want to take on responsibility, and always take the sidelines when it comes to dealing with problems. However, in an integral circle this difference gradually disappears.

Remark: It is very difficult for me and for many other specialists to interact with them because they give two reactions simultaneously: that of an adult and that of a child.

Answer: This is what they are. Try to enter their state, try to speak like them (this is a natural approach), be together with them, and justify them fully. Then you’ll suddenly begin to see the world through their eyes, feel it through their perception, and agree with them. You’ll have to climb out of this young age.

Question: I’ve always considered myself to be a progressive person. Now I feel like a retrograde in this matter. How can one remain internally young and free?

Answer: Sit together with them at a seminar, talk and think like they do. Try to play this character. Then you’ll suddenly feel young and understand that this is how it should be. You’ll absorb their worldview because otherwise, you won’t be able to do anything.

Also, you can give them more freedom and let them do what they feel is necessary, with the exception of certain framework that they shouldn’t step outside of in order to prevent the undesirable: promiscuous sexual relations, drugs, and so on.
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From a Talk on Integral Upbringing, 4/2/2013

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