Adolescence is a time of expanding spirituality; parents must never underestimate its authenticity or its intensity. But adolescent spirituality is not wise, it is not well formed, it is not mature. We accept the witness of our adolescents to the emphatic presence and necessity of spirituality at the center of our lives, but we do not to look to adolescents to guide us in matters of spirituality. It is essential to distinguish between the two elements. We are completely attentive to the witness of their lives; but we are detached and discerning regarding whatever they have to say on the matter. Like the canary to the miners, they are a signal that we notice, not a model that we imitate.
Like Dew Your Youth: Growing Up with Your Teenager, by Eugene H. Peterson, p. 89
Out of Babel 
I often thought that about my own childhood, while I was a child. I was a weird child.
This gives me a perfect descriptor of how to regard feelings overall. “A canary in a coal mine: a signal we notice, not a model that we imitate.”
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Kids are dumb. Not their fault but it shouldn’t be glossed over either.
That’s why mentoring is so important.
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