“Teenism” is a term I first encountered in Ellen Galinsky’s book, “the Breakthrough Years: A New Scientific Approach to Raising Thriving Teens.” Galinsky says that teenism occurs when we as adults stereotype the teenage years and those going through them in negative ways. She says that teenism can not only harm our kids, but can harm us as well, by putting us in an interactive posture with our kids where we assume negative things. When asked to describe the stereotype of an adolescent, researchers used negative terms, including moody, overly emotional, makes risky decisions, selfish, self-centered, impulsive, wild, rebellious, lazy, and awkward. When asked to describe the teens they studied, researchers used positive words like motivated, creative, fun, curious, social, excited by life, and hardworking. As Christians, let’s begin by looking positively on our kids, as at their core, they are divine image bearers.