This phrase gets passed around over and over and over - with little to no meaning: you're just too young. What exactly does a person's age have to do with what they are able or not able to do? Being young does not necessarily mean that you are immature. There are actually quite a few young people that I would say are more mature than their older counterparts.
The issue with this phrase is not that I want younger people to do stuff that is meant for more mature people, but it is denying a large group of people the opportunity to prove their worthiness. This comes in the way of denying young people key responsibility roles, all the way to rejecting them for jobs simply because they are "too young". If they were given this chance and failed - then yes, it's fair to say they were not suitable for the position, but this has nothing to do with their age.
This doesn't just affect the youth of today but it affects the generation below them as well. Young kids are coddled more than ever before, less trusted, and overall shut off from opportunities that they might have been able to take in earlier days. This is working against them, not for them - the more protected they are when they are young means the more unprepared they will be when they have to enter the real world. Mistakes are what help you learn, if they are never able to have these opportunities; they would be severely lacking in life experience by the time they reach adulthood.
What is my suggestion? I suggest that we should start taking more chances on young people. What's the worst that happens? They make a mistake or they fail? Failure is an important part of learning - and if it is really that bad you can fire them/ take away the opportunity. However, no one ever thinks about WHAT IF they SUCCEED! Think about how much you could be adding to their life by giving them this simple chance.
This idea wasn't sparked by just one situation of someone saying "you're too young" to me or someone else I know - it is about a continuous trend I've observed these past few years. Some of these "adults" are going so far as to suggest that young people (above 18 but under 25) should not have rights as an adult, but instead as a child. Let's stand against this lack of trust in our youth and give them a chance instead.
Let me know what you think about this situation below!
