Adolescence can be a difficult period, during which parents can feel very lonely and helpless in the face of this young person in an identity crisis. They do not understand the needs, the expectations, cannot meet them. When the crisis is there and family relations are deteriorating, calling on an educator can help to breathe a little.

Specialized educators are made to help young people in difficulty and their families to get through the complicated course of adolescence.

To obtain the title of educator, this professional has a solid training of at least three full years of multidisciplinary studies, in particular in child and adolescent psychology, in sociology and in methods and techniques of specialized education.

He belongs to the field of social workers, which allows him to intervene as an educator for adolescents in many institutions: boarding, educational home or open environment service.

He can perform different functions:

• bear the title of parental coach;
• have the role of educational advisor;
• be a specialized educator in an open or closed environment.

For cases related to legal penalties, there are also educators from the Judicial Protection of Youth appointed to the Directorate of the Ministry of Justice.

There are also independent professionals, named educational coach, mediator or parental advisor. The legal vacuum concerning these names does not make it possible to identify the training received by these professionals.

More than a job, a vocation

This profession cannot be learned entirely through training. Some educators are themselves former adolescents in crisis. They are therefore well acquainted with the levers of appeasement and testify, by their calm and their presence, of the possibility of getting out of it. They are often the most effective in their role as educator, because they know the pitfalls and have experienced for themselves the brakes and levers to operate.

The posture of the educator is above all to create a bond of trust with the adolescent and his family.

Many field experiences are necessary but also practice and know-how. Empathy is also important, it’s not about training these idle teens to fall into line, but to understand what they need for a peaceful life in society.

The educator, often called by parents, will first observe and discuss to find out where the problem (s) is:

• family conflicts, violence, anger towards parents;
• difficulty of professional and social integration;
• anti-social behavior, delinquents;
• substance addiction ;
• prostitution.

He works in conjunction with the attending physician, to determine all the causes related to a physical or psychological pathology, which could explain this behavior.

Once these causes are ruled out, he will be able to study:

• the adolescent’s environment (place of residence, room, school);
• hobbies ;
• school level;
• educational rules or the absence of limits applied by parents.

His approach is global to best support the adolescent and his family. Once he has all these elements, he can thus set some goals for success, always talking with the teenager and his family, for example “reduce anger, increase his grades at school, etc.” “.

Once the objectives have been established, he will help the teenager and his family to reach them by formalizing the steps. Like long-distance runners, they won’t be able to do a marathon on the first try. But by training and running more and more, they will achieve their wishes and goals.

Talking is good, doing is better. The educator will make it possible to concretize the will to change. For example: it will help parents determine a bedtime, conditions for doing homework, how often to use the laptop, etc.

Thanks to the intervention of the educator, the young person and his family will be confronted with their acts and their consequences. It is thus there to be a firm and benevolent mirror and to remind the rules fixed when these are not respected or badly respected.

Certain traumatic events in the life of their children and in their own life require the intervention of a third party. The death of a loved one, bullying at school, rape… Modesty and confession of failure can prevent parents from calling on a professional. But all human beings need help at some point in their life.

According to professionals at Consul’Educ, it is useful to seek advice before arriving at physical violence. A slap is not the solution and the longer the parents delay in consulting, the more the problem can become rooted in length.

Hervé Kurower, founder of Consul’Educ, Teacher-Educator for National Education for many years, noted a real lack of educational help at home during his functions. He recalls that the word “education” originally comes from “ex ducere” which means to bring out of oneself, to develop, to blossom.