Every parent knows that when their children go through adolescence things change around the house. Adolescence is a period of rapid change in the life of a child and of the family that the child lives in. Many families experience huge amounts of turmoil as their children pass through the teenage years. Parents could, and reasonably so, describe adolescence as a period of temporary insanity. What influences adolescents at this time in their lives and how can you as a parent understand their world?
Hormonal changes in the adolescent body bring about sudden, dramatic changes in their physical bodies and in their ability to reason. Hormones cause rapid growth spurts in teens that not only bring about larger physical features but also the mature development of their sexual and reproductive organs. Along with all of those changes, adolescents find themselves with new physical strengths and abilities. Sexual development brings with it a new interest in the opposite sex. This can occupy much of a young person’s thought life as they discover new ways to interact with and catch the attention of the opposite sex that a few months earlier were of no interest to them.
During the teen years, peers become much more important than ever before. Adolescents want to fit in, they want to be part of the crowd and they want to feel popular. You will notice that they often adjust their dress, speech, and taste in music and more just to become more acceptable to others of their own age group. In addition to this, your teen will probably want to spend more time hanging out with their friends. Friends can suddenly have a huge influence over your child during adolescence. If you want to keep some level of control over the influence other teens have over your child, don’t stop your child from being with their friends. Instead, get to know your children’s friends, allow them to visit and feel welcome in your home. The more you see of them, the more it helps you monitor their activities.
Music, media and television are each factors that have a strong influence over teens, as with the rest of the population. Media programming and music that are directly aimed at influencing youth can affect the way your children dress, speak and even the things that they buy. In fact, the music on your child’s iPod will most likely have a heavily influence on the way they think. This does not however have to lead to paranoia on your part, try to balance out your child’s collection by buying them milder forms of music to listen to as well. They will listen to them when they need a change.
Although adolescence is often a time of extremes, whether that be mood swings, behavior or dress sense, parents do not necessarily need to panic when they see big changes in their children. It is important to learn as much as you can about the adolescent stage of life and coping with it as a parent. Although your children may flirt with things that seem scary and extreme to you, they will most likely naturally come back to center. It will not be very long before they have successfully passed through the teenage years and have turned back into the wonderful human being that you love and remember. Continue to hug them throughout the teen years, even when they screw up their faces and act as though they don’t like it. They still need those hugs no matter how big they have got.
Archive for the ‘Sex & Teens’ category
What Influences Your Adolescent?
December 18th, 2009Warning Signs Of Teen Eating Disorders
December 17th, 2009As parents, you need to be aware about the increasing number of cases of teen eating disorders nowadays. Teens fall into the age group that is very vulnerable to the attraction of looking good. However, when they start to obsess over their body shape, they are at risk of developing an eating disorder. Teen eating disorders can be very dangerous, simply because the bodies of your teenagers are still growing and the impact of an eating disorder can have vast consequences about their proper development.
There are various reasons why teen eating disorders are becoming so common nowadays. Influences from the media are partly to blame. A constant bombardment of how the media projects its perception of what is considered good looking has an impact of how your teenager thinks. During adolescence, teens also tend to focus on their physical appearance, including the body, in order to attract members of the opposite sex. Thoughts of inadequacy can cause your teen to want to gain control over the weight or body, thus putting him or her at risk.
Most teens say that control is a main thing that they are looking for. Some take being able to control their weight is taken as a way of taking control of their life. This control issue can become an excessive focus upon their food intake and exercise level.
Two teen eating disorders are usually diagnosed. Each one of them is characterized by slightly different symptoms, but they still are a means of gaining control over their body and weight.
1. Bulimia refers to a condition whereby the patient to go through periods of eating way excessively, followed by purging to remove the food from their bodies due to guilt from having eating too much. The purging can involve many methods such as vomiting, enemas, taking laxatives, fasting, etc. Purging is undertaken as the patient does not want his or her body to absorb the nutrients and put on weight. This eating disorder can cause many different symptoms, including visiting the bathroom after meals, using medications to control weight, withdrawal from friends and family, high consciousness concerning the body and weight, amongst others.
2. Anorexia nervosa refers to an excessive obsession with dieting and exercising to cause extreme weight loss. Aneroxic patients usually prefer to hide their weight loss, which is why parents of the patients fail to detect them. Some of the most common symptoms include skipping meals, finding excuses to eat alone, refusal to stay at or near the normal body weight for the age and height of the patient, excessive exercise, wearing baggy clothing to hide weight loss, etc.
Teen eating disorders can be fatal, in the event that no treatment is sought. Unfortunately, most teens would prefer not to tell their parents or someone senior about their obsessive behavior and bizarre eating habits and behavior. It is to your benefit that you find out what warning signs to look out for, so that you can take appropriate action to deal with teen eating disorders.
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10 Negative Effects of Teen Depression
December 17th, 2009Teen depression can have detrimental effects on your child’s life. The first step to helping is to identify the difference between sadness and true depression.
Interestingly, there are differences between teen depression and adult depression, which makes it a bit more difficult to tell when a teen is depressed.
Irritable or angry: this quite often is the most common result of depression and might play out as being grumpy, hostile, easily frustrated or experiencing frequent outbursts of anger.
Vague aches and pains: headaches, stomach aches and other such complaints that do not seem to have a physical or medical cause can indicate that your teen is depressed.
Sensitive to criticism: While some sensitivity to criticism can be normal, a teen who appears overly upset is likely suffering from depression. Depressed teens often have low self esteem and self worth, making them more sensitive to rejection and failure.
Withdrawal from friends: Teens are likely to maintain some friendships while staying actively involved with others when they are depressed. Adults, on the other hand, tend to withdraw completely from family, friends and acquaintances. One sign to watch is when your teen drops old friendships and starts up with an entirely new crowd, especially if the crowd has different views than your teen.
It is crucial that teen depression be treated early to prevent serious and perhaps permanent problems. Left untreated, depression can lead to these 10 outcomes.
1. Low self esteem, triggered by feelings of worthlessness, failure, and inferiority.
2. Eating disorders including bulimia, anorexia and binge eating.
3. Problems at school resulting from low energy and difficulty concentrating. Watch for low grades, poor attendance, and lack of patience to complete schoolwork.
4. Running away is one cry for help by teens who are depressed.
5. Substance abuse (alcohol and drugs)
6. Self injury including various kinds of self-mutilation such as burning, cutting, hair pulling are sure signs of depression.
7. Other addictions including computer games and Internet surfing as an escape mechanism.
8. Violence becomes predominant in some depressed teens, which is based in self-hatred and hatred of others that can lead to homicide.
9. Dangerous or reckless behavior covers such things as binge drinking, unsafe sex, reckless driving and other careless behaviors.
10. Suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts are exceptional cries for help. Depressed teens who think of suicide will make death-related comments and talk of killing themselves. It is imperative to get immediate help for any teen or talks of suicide or death wishes.
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Troublesome Teen?
December 17th, 2009
The call is from a flustered parent rhyming off a litany of complaints about their teenaged son or daughter; drugs, alcohol, truancy, sex, smoking, shoplifting, vandalism, hanging out with the wrong crowd. The parent is focussed and organized by the youth’s misdeeds. The parent is seeking the magical solution: someone to speak with his or her child, such that the egregious behaviour is instantly curtailed. Typically, the belief is that the counsellor can wag an even bigger finger in the teen’s face, such that he or she finally gets it and mends his or her ways.
Sadly, when this kind of call is received, the teen is so far off kilter that correcting the course will be a drawn out process. The challenge for the parent is to withstand the process and for the parent to learn a new role in correcting their teen’s course instead of just concentrating on the behaviour in the moment. This can be more thorny than working with the teen as many parents have difficulty surmounting their own anger in view of the turmoil imposed by the teen.
The change the parent must learn to adopt is to move from a policing and corrections stance where one seeks to only address misdeeds and curtail behaviour, to one where the parent gains control of their own behaviour first, to then offer guidance and direction to their son or daughter. The only goal herein is for the parent to engage their son or daughter in more reasonable and wholesome activities.
In truth, telling a teen what not to do and harping on them for misdeeds and poor choices only keeps them mired in the mud. In lieu of this, parents must come to coach and coax their son or daughter towards activities inherently of interest to their son or daughter. They must help the teen join clubs, sports, recreational or creative activities that are fun. Do not view this as rewarding misbehaviour, but providing alternate activities to that which the teen was otherwise drawn.
More to the point, every minute spent engaged in a reasonable activity, is a minute away from the other nefarious activities. Further, all structured and organized activities are supervised. Hence, the teen is now under the guidance and direction of an adult, geared to facilitating skill development as per the area of interest. If your teen is amenable, join with him or her. Change the context of the relationship from punisher to collaborator. In so doing, resist harping on the issues of old, in favour of chatting about the new current activities.
In defensive driving terms, this is known as steering where you want to drive – crash avoidance. Steer towards the crash, and that’s what happens. Steer where you want to go and enjoy the ride as you achieve your destination.
In some situations, the relationship between parent and teen is so deteriorated that all manner of influence is lost and the teen cannot contemplate a change in direction facilitated by the parents. In such situations, parents may need to use an alternate source of influence. To this end, there may be a youth worker in a community-based program who may be helpful in engaging the teen in their program. Such programs may be available through the YMCA/YWCA, Boys and Girls Clubs, Salvation Army, church groups, etc. Call your local program and ask to speak with the youth worker. Explain your situation and see if the youth worker can invite and engage your son or daughter in their program. This means of “outreach” is designed to capture youth and reintegrate them into more meaningful activities with the support and guidance of the youth worker.
The goal remains the same: out-of-control, troublesome teens need to be engaged in meaningful activities, of inherent interest and fun. These activities are supervised and incompatible with getting into trouble. These are the first steps to changing the course of a wayward teen and improving relations with parents and family.
The real challenge in managing teens is engagement in reasonable activities. Put your efforts here.
Gary Direnfeld, MSW, RSW (905) 628-4847
gary@yoursocialworker.com http://www.yoursocialworker.com Gary Direnfeld is a social worker. Courts in Ontario, Canada, consider him an expert on child development, parent-child relations, marital and family therapy, custody and access recommendations, social work and an expert for the purpose of giving a critique on a Section 112 (social work) report. Call him for your next conference and for expert opinion on family matters. Services include counselling, mediation, assessment, assessment critiques and workshops.
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Acne in Adolescents
December 17th, 2009Acne is one of the most common problems in adolescent teens affecting nearly seventeen million people in the United States. Acne is nothing but a disorder involving sebaceous glands and hair follicles. Acne results from the clogging of sebaceous glands leading to the formation of pimples and cysts. The condition usually begins with the onset of puberty. Going by the facts, as teens attain puberty the androgens also called male sex hormones are produced in high number leading to sebaceous glands becoming over active which results in sebum being produced in high proportions.
Sebum, which is nothing but oil is produced by sebaceous glands which travel to the skin surface through hair follicles. But, skin cells block the follicles which results in oil also being blocked. When these hair follicles are blocked it results in the development of skin bacteria known as Propionibacterium Acnes within the follicles which in turn results in swelling of the skin called Acne. If the hair follicles are partially blocked it results in blackheads. If the follicles are completely blocked they result in whiteheads. But if these plugged follicles are not treated they ultimately burst causing the oil, bacteria and skin cells to spill all over the skin resulting in irritation and formation of pimples. Acne can be shallow as well as deep in various individuals depending on the nature of skin and amount of oil produced.
There can be various causes why Acne forms. Apart from rising hormone levels due to puberty it can also be attributed to certain other factors like intake of drugs which contain lithium, barbiturates and corticosteroids. Acne can also be caused due to excess grease and oil in the scalp, due to cooking oil and use of some cosmetics can actually alleviate the acne problem. Acne problem many times is inherited also. Acne problem is worsened if the pimples are squeezed or scrubbed too hard.
Acne can form at any place of the body but they most commonly form in the areas where there sebaceous glands are present in high proportions like face, chest, shoulders, neck and upper back. The symptoms may differ from person to person but commonly seen symptoms are: formation of blackheads, whiteheads, lesions filled with pus and which are very painful and lastly nodules. One may get confused sometimes as symptoms of acne may be like some other skin condition and it is always advised to consult a doctor in this scenario.
There are lots of treatments available today to treat acne. The primary goal of the treatment is to reduce scars and better appearance. There are various treatments and the doctor decides which specific treatment you need based on: the extent of acne problem, age, medical history, overall health, tolerance to specific medications and procedures, expectations and last but not the least what patients prefer.
Treatment of acne is classified into topical and systemic drug therapies which are given based on extent of severity. In some instances the combination of both the methods might be the way to go for acne treatment. Topical medication is nothing but creams, gels, lotions, solutions etc. prescribed to patients for acne treatment. Some of the examples of topical medication are: Benzoyl Peroxide which kills the Propionibacterium Acnes bacteria, antibiotics helps in stopping or slowing down the growth of the bacteria and also reduces inflammation, Tretinoin helps in stopping the formation of new acne lesions and Adapalene reduces formation of comedo.
Systemic drug therapies involve prescription of systemic antibiotics primarily for the treatment of acne problem which is moderate to severe in nature. The examples of antibiotics prescribed are Doxycycline, erythromycin and tetracycline. In some cases an oral drug called Isotretinoin is prescribed for teenagers with severe acne problem which shrinks down the sebaceous glands that produce oil. The results are pretty good and almost ninety percent of the adolescents have success with this oral drug. But the drug has some serious side-affects and thus it is very important that one consults a doctor before use.
Depression in Adolescents
December 17th, 2009Depression in adolescents is a disorder which occurs due to persistent sadness, loss of interest, loss of self worth and discouragement. Depression is normally a temporary reaction towards situations of stress. Depression is a normal part of the maturation process of adolescents. It is even induced due to production of sex hormones. Adolescent females are depressed twice more than adolescent boys according to a study.
Adolescent behavior is normally marked with good and bad moods. The transition from a good mood to bad mood and vice-versa, can take minutes, hours and even days. That is the reason why true depression is very difficult to find out. Depression in adolescents can be caused due to bad school performance, break up with boyfriend or girlfriend, and failing relations with friends and family. These causes can lead to persistent depression. Other serious causes are chronic illness, obesity, child abuse, stressful lifestyle, poor social skills, unstable care giving and depression in family history.
Symptoms of depression in adolescents are eating disorders, weight change, irritable mood, excessive sleeping in daytime, excessive temper, criminal behavior, memory loss, fatigue, self preoccupation, sadness, difficulty in concentrating, worthlessness feelings, loss of interest, self hatred, obsession with death and thought & attempts of suicides. When these symptoms are being noticed for more than two weeks, it is important to get treatment for the adolescent. Depression not only affects interpersonal relationships, but school performance as well. Depressed adolescents are more prone to take onto drugs and alcohol as an attempt to overcome their depression. Such problems require intensive treatment.
The doctor will take blood test and perform physical examination to determine the cause of depression. The adolescent can also be tested for substance abuse such as smoking, heavy alcohol consumption, marijuana smoking, and usage of other drugs. After the physical examination, psychiatric evaluation is also done to understand the cause of sadness, loss of interest and irritability. Depression can also lead to the development of other psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia, mania and anxiety. It is also important to determine whether the adolescent poses a risk for himself/herself and others. Family and school personnel can provide valuable information about the adolescent to the doctor.
Treatment for depression for adolescent is similar to the treatment of depression for adults. Along with the treatment, the adolescent are given antidepressant medication and psychotherapy. Antidepressant medications include tricyclics, Prozac, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors or SSRI. Some of the medicines increase the risk, so it is a good idea that parents discuss the possible risks with the doctor. Only some of the antidepressant medications are meant for children and adolescents. Adolescents with severe depression need to be hospitalized as they are more prone to kill themselves.
Family and school support is necessary to tackle the depression of the adolescent. Parents can get their children admitted in emotional growth schools, boot camps or wilderness programs, to solve the behavioral problems. These programs consist of non medical staff and confrontational therapies. But care must be taken as some of the programs can in turn harm children who are depressed and sensitive. Adolescents, who get caught due to criminal offense, should be taken special care of by their parents. It is best that the child face the consequences and learn a lesson from it. Depressed adolescents respond well to treatment if they are treated comprehensively and early. More than half of the adults are known to have depression when they were in their teens.
Teen Dating Violence
December 17th, 2009Dating among the teens from its cover looks like a different world where violence ceases to exist. But shockingly, one in every five teens is experiencing either physical or sexual abuse from their dating partners who try to control and overpower them. According to statistics one in every 11 adolescent experiences the abusive blues. And by the time they reach high school, the figure shot up to 54 %. Violence in teen dating begins with the teenager trying to control the behavior of the other teenager. In order to overpower their counterparts a teenager may resort to physical violence, calling names, sexual abuse, harassing, trying to gain control over your personal life etc. These were some of the very common ways how teenagers resort to violence.
In the year 2006, about 134 murders were the result on intimate partners killing their other half. However, it has been believed that reduce teen violence can result in the reduction of domestic violence. Most teenagers, despite knowing the fact that, they are in an abusive relationship does not wish to leave the relationship. One reason is because dating creates a status symbol and secondly, they feel secured. According to a recent study, about 35% of teenager girls will experience teen dating violence. On the occasion of the domestic violence awareness, a conference was held in which the proceedings of domestic violence were discussed. The month of October has been observed as the domestic awareness violence month.
Teenagers are often forced to sex, drugs and other abuses. In the midst, they fail to understanding what is going on and being young they do not know how to react to it. They tend to misinterpret the abuses for love. And by the time they realize the fact, it is either too late to move out of the relationship or they are left totally devastated without any hopes. Teen dating violence can have a lasting effect throughout the life of the victim even when she becomes an adult. So far violence in teen dating has been warded off by most of us but it is high time that we must talk about it spread awareness among the teenagers about it.
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Symptoms of Teens depression
December 16th, 200920th June 2006 , Although most parents say they would recognize depression in their own children, fewer than half of depressed youth are diagnosed and treated.
Why is mental illness in teens so difficult to catch? If you’ve parented or worked with teenagers , or even remember your own adolescence, you probably already know: Teens tend to be emotionally volatile, and they may be less likely to communicate their feelings to adults than at other points in their lives.
Parents or caregivers may mistake the symptoms of clinical depression for the considerably more benign turbulence of adolescence. Also, the stigma of depression or other mood disorders may deter youth or their parents from seeking help. Adolescent boys frequently conditioned to handle emotion with stoicism or aggression, may find it particularly difficult to ask for or accept help.
Symptoms in teens often manifest in marked personality changes, including …..
a significant change in appetite or weight;
withdrawal from or loss of interest in friends, family, social activities, or hobbies;
irritability, intense anger, continual crying, or aggressive/ problematic behavior;
risky behavior involving alcohol, drugs, sex, or delinquency;
chronic fatigue or drastic changes in sleeping habits;
unusual neglect of personal appearance;
frequent or unexplained aches and pains;
skipping school, or a drop in school performance;
Running away;
expressing feelings of self-loathing, worthlessness, guilt, or helplessness; and
a prolonged sad or hopeless mood.
Many teens experience one or more of these symptoms periodically and briefly without being depressed or posing a risk to themselves. If you are a parent, try to be conscious of your teen’s behavior without overreacting. If your child exhibits three or more of these symptoms for two weeks or more, seek professional help. Any youth who attempts to harm himself, no matter how novae it may seem, should also be taken seriously and receive professional help immediately. Any youth who has previously made a suicide attempt should be considered at high risk for further attempts.
For professional help just log on:
http://www.abundantlifeacademy.com/
http://www.troubledteens4jesus.com/
http://www.troubledteenministries.com/
They can be of great help. Abundantlifeacademy Group’s schools and programs excel at finding an individualized plan for troubled children and teens. Their purpose is to introduce, or re-introduce, their students to the Holy Spirit. There are ways to help manage the depressions and all it takes is some effort to find those answers.
Harry Johnson For http://www.abundantlifeacademy.com
For listings please visit http://www.abundantlifeacademy.com/ (Website For Troubled Teens) Troubled Teens School You can also visit http://www.troubledteenministries.com/ For Troubled Teens Programs and Homes
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Acne Problems in the Adolescent
December 16th, 2009Acne in Adolescents
Acne is one of the most common problems in adolescent teens affecting nearly seventeen million people in the United States. Acne is nothing but a disorder involving sebaceous Acne in Adolescents
Acne is one of the most common problems in adolescent teens affecting nearly seventeen million people in the United States. Acne is nothing but a disorder involving sebaceous glands and hair follicles. Acne results from the clogging of sebaceous glands leading to the formation of pimples and cysts. The condition usually begins with the onset of puberty.
Going by the facts, as teens attain puberty the androgens also called male sex hormones are
produced in high number leading to sebaceous glands becoming over active which results in sebum being produced in high proportions.
Sebum, which is nothing but oil is produced by sebaceous glands which travel to the skin surface through hair follicles. But, skin cells block the follicles which results in oil also being blocked. When these hair follicles are blocked it results in the development of skin bacteria known as Propionibacterium Acnes within the follicles which in turn results inswelling of the skin called Acne.
If the hair follicles are partially blocked it results in blackheads. If the follicles are completely blocked they result in whiteheads. But if these plugged follicles are not treated they ultimately burst causing the oil, bacteria and skin cells to spill all over the skin resulting in irritation and formation of pimples. Acne can be shallow as well as deep in various individuals depending on the nature of skin and amount of oil produced.
Causes of Acne
There can be various causes why Acne forms. Apart from rising hormone levels due to puberty it can also be attributed to certain other factors like intake of drugs which contain lithium, barbiturates and corticosteroids. Acne can also be caused due to excess grease and oil in the scalp, due to cooking oil and use of some cosmetics can actually alleviate the acne problem. Acne problem many times is inherited also.
Acne problem is worsened if the pimples are squeezed or scrubbed too hard.
Acne can form at any place on the body but they most commonly form in the areas where the sebaceous glands are present in high proportions such as face, chest, shoulders, neck and upper back.
The symptoms may differ from person to person but commonly seen symptoms are: formation of blackheads, whiteheads, lesions filled with pus and which are very painful and lastly nodules. One may get confused sometimes as symptoms of acne may be like some other skin condition and it is always advised to consult a doctor in this scenario.
Some of the treatments for acne
The primary goal of the treatment is to reduce scars and better appearance. There are various treatments and the doctor decides which specific treatment you need based on: the extent of acne problem, age, medical history, overall health, tolerance to specific medications and procedures, expectations and last but not the least what patients prefer.
Treatment of acne is classified into topical and systemic drug therapies which are given based on extent of severity. In some instances the combination of both the methods might be the way to go for acne treatment. Topical medication is nothing but creams, gels, lotions, solutions etc. prescribed to patients for acne treatment.
Some of the examples of topical medication are: Benzoyl Peroxide which kills the Propionibacterium Acnes bacteria, antibiotics helps in stopping or slowing down the growth of the bacteria and also reduces inflammation, Tretinoin helps in stopping the formation of new acne lesions and Adapalene reduces formation of comedo.
Systemic drug therapies involve prescription of systemic antibiotics primarily for the treatment of acne problem which is moderate to severe in nature. The examples of antibiotics prescribed are Doxycycline, erythromycin and tetracycline. In some cases an oral drug called Isotretinoin is prescribed for teenagers with severe acne problem which shrinks down the sebaceous glands that produce oil.
The results are pretty good and almost ninety percent of the adolescents have success with this oral drug. But the drug has some serious side-affects and thus it is very important that one consults a doctor before use.
This article is a basic instuction on Acne, it’s causes and cures. This is number one of
a series of 25 articles on this subject. No claims are made of any professional medical knowledge by the author of these articles either seperately or collectivly
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