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.
Posts Tagged ‘Adolescents’
What Influences Your Adolescent?
December 18th, 2009Teen 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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Anticipating Parent-Teen Sexuality Talks
December 16th, 2009Teenagers can be quite stubborn sometimes, even if they do know that you mean well. If you’re having problems in opening up a sexuality talk with your teen, it may help to see where they’re coming from, so you’ll be able to anticipate the problem in advance and then deal with it.
The following are the four common hurdles you may encounter the next time you want a sexual discussion with your teenager; they may be difficult to overcome, but with patience and persistence, you may just convince your teenager to sit down and talk.
With adolescents, maturity is definitely the first to be considered. Although it’s never too early to talk to your children about the birds and the bees, they may not be ready for it – as yet.
The usual reaction you get from boys is a suppressed snicker, and girls have a tendency to be scared or embarrassed about the whole affair. If you’re teenager finds it difficult to keep a straight face on the issue, try providing him or her with a reliable resource to browse through; be ready to talk once they are willing to ask.
Teenage angst can be the most difficult hurdle to get over with, since it involves a great deal of stubbornness. If your attempts at discussion are met with a scowl or a strange look, it may be best to give your teenager the space he or she needs, at least until your son or daughter is receptive enough for a reasonable talk.
If the dissent is rooted in your personal relationship with each other, its best to entrust the sex talk to another adult, and mend the problems which get in the way of your relationship.
Your teenager may believe that he or she has enough knowledge of sex that there’s no need for further information. Usually, this knowledge is gained from secondary or questionable sources. Adult videos are easily accessible especially on the internet.
Although watching adult videos at an early age can be a good thing, since your teenager is exposed to information which is part of popular culture, oftentimes it leaves the wrong impression on sexuality. Be prepared to dispel the myths, and replace it with the facts, such as the benefits of safe sex, or the emotional aspects of the act.
Your teenager may be apathetic, or would like to maintain certain issues private, including his or her sexuality. Your efforts should be focused on putting him or her at ease in this case.
Start by telling your teen that you are very much open to the discussion, and that there is no need to disclose sensitive or personal details about sexuality. Even if your teen clams up after such an effort, you’ve sent you message across that all you want is a healthy discussion, not an interrogation where everything is laid out in the open.
You’ll have a better chance of having the discussion with your teenager in the future, since you have intimated that you are willing to talk as much.
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Acne Cures For Teenage Years
December 13th, 2009The majority of people develop acne at some stage in adolescents, often beginning with the development of blackheads on their nose. Children as young as eight regularly visit dermatology clinics looking for acne solutions. The first important point to remember is that the black “dot” at the center of that blackhead isn’t dirt, but a combination of melanin and cells that turn black when surfaced. Unfortunately, acne carries a stigma that often lead to teenagers feeling dirty or embarrassed about the development of acne.
It’s estimated that over ninety percent of teenagers aged between 12 and 17 will be affected by acne and similar skin conditions at one stage or another in life. It may be an occasional pimple, or it could be a full-scale breakout. It may not be limited to the face; acne may also develop on the neck, chest and back.
Adolescence can be a testing time – perhaps the understatement of the year. Bodies develop, hormones are high, and teenagers find themselves facing new social experiences. Acne issues simply add to the mix and can lead to extreme frustration, embarrassment and discontent.
Teenagers are the main age group feeling the affects of acne, due to natural body developments and hormonal changes. Both growth and sex hormones – which, as their names imply, are responsible for physical, mental and sexual development – swing into action during the onset of puberty. For adolescent males, the hormone responsible is testosterone, which is produced in the testes. In female teens, the primary hormones are estrogen and progesterone, which are produced in the ovaries. Androgens, the sex hormones also cause sebaceous glands that secrete more oil, affecting the condition of the skin.
Unfortunately, less than ten percent of all teens affected by acne actual visit dermatology experts for diagnosis and treatment. Many will take the advice of various home cure resources, some offering valuable insights, some less valuable such as the use of toothpaste, dishwashing liquid, hydrogen peroxide, rubbing alcohol and even Preparation H to reduce pimples. These solutions aren’t developed as a cure for acne, and can have adverse affects on the skin. While you may think hydrogen peroxide and alcohol, as disinfecting agents, would reduce bacteria and cleanse the skin, the tend to dry the skin to an unhealthy extent and can actually make acne worse. There are many products on the market – both prescription and over-the-counter – that are specifically designed for acne treatment that come highly recommended.
As all teenagers affected by acne know, it can be difficult, but very important to talk to your parents about the psychological effects acne has. A common myth is that teenage acne means ‘bad skin,’ it is actually a simple development stage. In many clinical studies, acne sufferers share feelings of depression and some have even felt suicidal as a result of acne. This is an extremely alarming issue, considering acne can be treated simply by educating yourself about acne and effective treatments. Parents need to be aware if a teenager is becoming anxious, depressed, ashamed, humiliated and embarrassed. Such anxiety affects behavior and attitude that reflect in poor school performance, discipline issues and often effecting social skills. Teens may develop body image problems, and you may start to withdraw from friends, family and generally become more introverted. This can be seen in changes as small as a teen that suddenly stops going to parties, school events and social events.
Acne can often affect family life and create problems within the family unit, as frustrations grow children tend to act out against parents and siblings. It can be extremely difficult when other family members make jokes about the situation and humiliate with subtle remarks.
Needless to say, acne can turn relationships into a nightmare. There’s nothing worse than preparing for a big date and noticing a pimple in the middle of your face. You begin to believe that your date will see nothing other than your acne- you, the Human Zit – and you may even be tempted to cancel.
As you get older, you may become self conscious visiting, or taking part in interviews and meetings. To worsen the situation, some studies have demonstrated that employers may actually discriminate against job applicants affected by acne. It’s undeniably unethical and often illegal, but it just demonstrates how much importance today’s society places on acne-free skin, encouraging the stigma that surrounds acne.
And being stressed out about acne will only cause it to get worse. There is a direct correlation between stress levels and acne flare-ups. In a March 2001 study conducted by the American Academy of Dermatology, 10% of teens stated that acne is one of the worst things in their lives. Virtually every teen is obsessed with his or her complexion and disturbed by acne breakouts. Sufferers are convinced that everyone around them is staring at their faces – and we all know that kids can be cruel, inflicting damage with names like “Pizza Face.”
Parents can also be a unintentional negative influence, telling adolescents that they mustn’t be practicing proper hygiene, further fueling the frustration. This creates tension and alienation. The best solution for teenage acne can be an informed parent. A responsible parent that takes his or her teenager to a dermatologist and arrange adequate acne treatment. Parents must remember that acne is a normal part of adolescence – not an abnormality. Perhaps they are reacting to their own teenage experiences and painful memories. Some parents may even be embarrassed by their teenagers’ complexions. A skilled, experienced dermatologist can help both teenager and parent deal with the real issues associated with acne.
