TimesHerald-Record
Middletown teens teach parents
about communication
Mayor’s Youth Council
members respond to questions during a workshop on
bettering child-parent communication at the Paramount
Theatre in Middletown.Times
Herald-Record/JEFF GOULDING
Middletown —
Nobody knows the pressures facing teens better than teens
themselves.
 As
the community grapples with how to handle troubled teenagers
disrupting life in Middletown, a group of civic-minded youngsters
took positive action Wednesday night.
They called in the help of the Dispute Resolution Center in Goshen
and held a workshop for parents to teach them to better communicate
and discipline their kids.
The workshop took two hours and when it was over, both the kids, and
the 15 or so parents who attended, walked away feeling like they
learned something.
"I am actually really glad I came," said Jerri Berlinski, of
Middletown, who has a 9-year-old at home. "It was really
informative. They (kids) are actually young people. Sometimes we try
to run their lives."
The workshop was the brainchild of Daniel Mendoza, a high school
senior on the Mayor's Youth Council, which is comprised of teens
working to help better the city.
"I have responsibility to decide what's right and wrong," said
Mendoza, who plays soccer, lacrosse and is an NJROTC lieutenant. "I
have that ability today because my parents taught me."
The teens see the same problems plaguing Middletown that adults see
but from the inside.
"I don't think parents really understand the times," said a teen on
the panel named Dave. "It's easy to get scared for your child.
Middletown is a small city. They think you are not safe. But you
are."
"Parents expect you to do the wrong thing," said another named
Steve.
"Talk to kids," said Dave. "But you gotta do it the right way,
almost like an equal. Don't just tell them what to do, Ask them what
they think."
The floor was opened to parents. Denise Orzeck, whose son was on the
panel, spoke first.
"I don't have a question," she said. "I just want to let the kids
know that I know it's 10 times harder to be a kid now."
At the end, Mayor Marlinda Duncanson said she thought the workshop
was such a success, that they should take it on the road to trouble
spots in the city.
Mendoza said he was also happy with the outcome.
"They walked out seeing another point of view, and that's what I
wanted," he said.
Yesterday, Duncanson called Tall Oaks Apartments, where police
posted a full-time patrol last month because of ongoing teen
fighting. She said they were very interested in holding a parent
workshop there, as well.
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