Recently I was passing through a line at a clothes store, when a teenage boy ran in to turn in a wallet he had found on the ground by a car. When he walked out, the cashier remarked to me how surprised she was that he had turned it in as “all teenagers steal.”  I wonder if she knew the man who sat next to me in the plane this summer who told me, “All teenagers smoke pot.” Perhaps she was a distant cousin to the parent who informed me on parents’ night that “all teenagers cheat” (except her daughter).

The fact is, the majority of young people are great, and teachers, parents and other concerned adults need to be town criers proclaiming this fact.

Here are some ideas you can put into action that will publicize the positive actions of teenagers and improve relationships between adults and teens:

• Talk about teenagers as individuals instead of stereotyping them as a group.
• Tell people about remarkable things teenagers have done for others. Teens donate countless volunteer hours in the community.
• Listen, listen, listen.
• Share your past. Young people are interested in your stories. Tell them something that will surprise or amuse them.
• Let teens know that you like them even if you don’t like their hair, piercings or tattoos.
• Seek out even events in your community and then rave to your neighbors. Attend a high school art show, a choir concert, a basketball game.
• Donate money for a scholarship or the upkeep of a skateboard park. When you see kids waving signs cajoling you to their carwash, drive in and make a donation.
• Send in letters to the editor commenting on the positive actions or accomplishments of a local teenager.
• Remember back to your high school days. Keep in mind that all teenagers test the waters and something disagree with the adults around them. It is not always personal; it is natural.

So, this summer, when you hear someone talk about “the neighbor boy who stole from his mother,” counteract with a positive story.

There are lots of great kids to talk about.