There is much talk nowadays about a “generation gap” between the young people of today and their parents, or the “establishment”, as the older generation is more frequently called. Many psychologists and social workers blame the problems of today’s youth on the difficulty or lack of communication between parent and child. Problems with drugs, robberies and juvenile delinquency in general, they say, can be traced to a lack of understanding between the two age groups.
Is there truly a “gap” of this nature in the world? If so, is this also evidenced in the church and in our own Protestant Reformed circles? The Beacon Lights staff decided to put these questions to you, our readers, in the form of a new rubric, entitled Bridging the Gap. The goal of this new rubric would be better communication between parents and children in our churches. First, however, we must answer the question; does this gap actually exist in our circles? We would like both adults and teenagers to write their opinions to the Beacon Lights staff, and these will be printed in the next issues. Then, if it is the consensus of opinion that such a gap exists, we will proceed to discuss pertinent problems between parents and teenagers caused by the generation gap. These problems would be suggested by our readers.
Therefore, the responsibility of the success of this new rubric rests upon YOUR shoulders. We would strongly urge all of you to contribute. Since it is in the middle teenage years where many problems apparently exist, we would especially enjoy hearing from high school students and their parents. May we hear from YOU?