Adolescence: A Wake up Call for US to do Better!
Firstly, I hate bandwagons, and how fickle we all are with the trends media tells us to care about.
But there’s a narrative we need to address. Adolescence is not just a story—it’s a mirror reflecting the harsh truth that too many of us are overlooking: we can, and must, do better. It’s a painful yet powerful reminder that, as adults, we often fail the very young people we are meant to protect, guide, and nurture.
I don’t say this in judgement, its an observation and it’s my own experience of losing a relationship with my own child because, with hindsight, I should have done better. But the reality is I couldn’t have done better. I did all I could with the tools I had, but that doesn’t mean I cant acknowledge I could have done better at times (even with the tools I had).
In the final scene with the mum and the dad I felt it in my bones! I knew the feeling of that loss. that regret. the ‘shoulda woulda coulda’s’ and I sobbed.
For me the heart of this story is adults. A father, a police officer, who has a life-altering realization—the kind of epiphany that makes your chest tighten. The moment when he understands that the time he’s been so desperately trying to control, the time he’s sacrificed, has slipped through his fingers when it comes to his own son. How often do we, as parents, partners, or mentors, miss the moments that matter the most? How often do we leave the people who need us the most, wondering if we even care?
The mother in this story carries a grief that cuts to the core: “We should have done better.” These words, uttered with an aching, raw vulnerability, should be heard by every single one of us who has ever been too busy, too distracted, or too consumed by the noise of life. Because, in the end, what truly matters? What do we leave behind when the years slip by, and our children have grown up? What will they have learned from us? what is our legacy?
This is a story that should haunt us, in the best possible way. It’s about parents who recognize too late that their disconnect, their neglect of those small, everyday moments, is what led to the loss of something that could never be replaced. A son. Alive, but unreachable. a loss not many will ever understand. We can relate at the outcries of a life taken, the righteous anger, the injustice. We can empathise with a family who have lost a child to death.
But what about the loss of a child who still lives, how do you rectify that? This is what I feel this show demonstrated so well, ‘normal' people’ living mundane lives realising ‘they should’ve done better’.
And then there are the teachers—who are expected to do the impossible. To be everything to everyone, to shoulder the weight of society's expectations, and somehow still keep their hearts open and their own mental health intact…
Teachers are not just educators; they are mentors, counselors, and sometimes, the only source of stability and love some kids ever know. Yet they are left alone, holding the fragments of broken systems, trying to pick up the pieces. How often do we thank them? How often do we support them (instead of blame them)?
This story—Adolescence—challenges us all to reflect on how we engage with young people. It demands that we stop mindlessly jumping on the latest media bandwagon, following trends that tell us what we should care about, and instead turn our gaze inward to those small, everyday moments.
The opportunities we all have, every single day, to be better. To show up. To be present. To listen. To love. To have the courage, dedication, and patience to enforce boundaries.
When that mother uttered those words, “We should have done better,” I felt it in my bones. I wasn’t judging her—I was seeing myself in her. It was a mirror. A reflection of my own journey, my own struggles, and my own realizations. We can all do better. We must do better.
So, let this be a call to action. Let it echo in your heart the next time you look at the young people in your life—whether they’re your children, your students, or your friends. The moments you have with them are fleeting. The choices you make now will echo throughout their lives. Will you be the adult they needed, the one who showed up when it mattered most?
adolescence should be a programme we use to reflect on ourselves as adults, not a bandwagon to tackle one of the millions of symptoms of the wider societal problems we face!
We can do better. It’s time to stop waiting for the perfect moment and start creating the opportunities to be better, right now.
Finally if the attention around the show has been hard for you, if watching the show raised something in you and you need a safe outlet. we are here for you.
Check out our Parent Support Offering: