Dr. Olivier REVOL

Former Head of Department, Child and Adolescent Neuropsychiatry, Woman Mother Child Hospital, Eastern Hospital Group, Lyon, France.

Caring for, supporting and training Generation Z:

The new codes

Summary : 

These are unusual times!

Parents, teachers, and caregivers can understandably feel overwhelmed by 21st-century children and adolescents, with the unsettling feeling of facing a locked door with a new code. This obstacle can become insurmountable at an age when the therapeutic relationship demands mutual trust and empathy.

Children born since 2000 are forcing previous generations to adapt. They don't occupy the same space, and they impose new ways of eating, dressing, negotiating with adults, and managing social relationships. Not to mention their particular interest in screens, with their own image, of course, at the center of all their concerns.

Understanding the specific characteristics of this generation thus becomes a necessary, exciting, but complex challenge. Addressing the importance of healthy lifestyles, schoolwork, and risky behaviors requires prior awareness of the new codes of adolescence. Over-informed and hyper-connected, they seek immediate gratification and struggle to envision a future made uncertain by a series of unsettling events (AIDS, unemployment, terrorist attacks, tsunamis, pandemics, wars in Europe and the Middle East, etc.).

For healthcare professionals, the challenge is significant. Providing close support to millennials requires understanding the incredible sociological shifts that have occurred over the past 30 years. This necessitates adapting to establish a therapeutic alliance that is not always guaranteed, avoiding intergenerational misunderstandings, and preparing new generations for the challenges of the 21st century.