About childhood
I get on with my younger brother quite well but I wish he would come up to school age. Although he is not an infant (raczkujący) anymore, he is still a toddler (maluch) who cannot play football or surf the net. He is a two-year-old child who has to grow up to be a good company for his older brother.

About adolescence
The life of a teenager is not easy. Youth is wonderful but as long as I am under age I have to obey (słuchać) my parents’ decisions. I try to discuss my future with them but they keep on saying I am still a minor (mały) and I do not know what is good for me.

About being an adult
My older sister is in her twenties and she has already set up a family. She gave birth to a baby girl last week. My mum is happy to be a grandmother. She is in her prime and she looks extremely young for her age. It is a pity she has not reached retirement age yet as she cannot help my sister take care of the baby.

Czy wiesz, czym jest przepaść pokoleniowa?
przepaść pokoleniowa (dokładnie: dziura pokoleniowa) – generation gap

The problem of generation gap is very old and it results from the inability (nieumiejętność) of the younger and the older generation to understand each other. It is especially strong during the period of adolescence when teenagers want to be more independent and look for their own identity (tożsamość). Teenagers would like to be equal partners and begin to rebel against limits set by their parents. They start to answer back to adults, fly into a rage easily, quarrel a lot and in extreme cases run away from home.

Rozwód to problem (divorce – rozwód)
A divorce is always a painful experience both for adults who decide to split up and for children who observe their family disintegrate (rozpadać się). There are a lot of cases when one of the couple neglects (zaniedbywać) his or her family or commits adultery (dopuścić się zdrady małżeńskiej). His or her partner finds it difficult to put up with this situation and files for divorce. The matters get worse when the custody (opieka) battle starts. The children suffer.