Teenagers and Control Charts

I have discovered the perfect case study for teaching the concept of variation-Teenagers!

First, the concept of variation: There are two types of variation in a process, common cause and special cause. The former is the ebb and flow of the process. This is what you set it up to do every minute of every day. The variation is random and due to chance. The common cause variation defines the process' capability to meet customer requirements.

If something abnormal occurs, common cause variation is interuppted by special cause variation. Often called assignable cause variation, its occurence is due to a signficant event. One that should be relatively easy to discover if proper resources are applied to the effort.

If no special cause variation exists, the process is in statistical control. It is behaving randomly above and below a central value (called the process mean).

Now to teenagers: A teenagers life is a series of highs and lows. There is a normal pattern of behavior which is analogous to common cause variation. We know our children and their tendencies for behavior. How many times have you reminded yourself of your child's goodness or kindness of heart? You do this because of their common cause pattern of behavior.

Once they reach seventh grade, the special causes kick in. One day they are happy and the next day overflows with drama. There typically is one or several events (we'll call these assignable causes) that instigate the emotional outburts. The keys are recognizing that such triggers exist and being patient enough with your child until the special cause is evident.

As a parent, you often must "pick battles" with your children. You can't argue with them on every issue but some situations warrant a parental outburst.

If you respect the concept of common/special cause, I submit to you that this thought process will help you be a better parent.