Through my counseling sessions, I emphasize on certain
aspects of teenage life which parents tend to overlook or exhibit a lack of
understanding about. This blog is solely dedicated to those parents who worry
that their teen kids have stopped eating properly or their teenage son is
getting into bad company or their daughter is dating a smoker, yada yada yada.
Many adults are very anxious about their kids entering
teenage. But we need to understand that teenage is not restricted to casual
flings or long lasting crushes, there’s much more to this much hyped age.
Teenage is very energetic, thoughtful and idealistic. Your kids begin to
develop their own sense of right and wrong which may not match with yours. It
is a time of difficult conflicts between you and your little teenagers but do
keep in mind that this is the time when they develop most of their
individuality. Be there for their support but never overdo things. Teenagers
don’t really listen to parents who constantly nag.
Puberty and adolescence are two important terms for you to
understand and differentiate between. Puberty is to do with more physical
changes whereas adolescence is more about the changes in behavior patterns.
Adolescence is about the emotional changes which your kid goes through
alongside the physical ones. So, we might be more supportive of puberty changes
like breasts, menstrual periods,
pubic hair, and facial hair but we need to more receptive and understanding of
the changes of adolescence too.
One of the stereotypes which have gotten attached to teenage
is the spirit of rebellion. There is a very thin line between being rebellious
and asking for more independence. Parents need to willingly accept the need of
space by their child and not tag it as rebellion.
Remember one thing always, the more space you give, the more
they will respect you. But keep yourself informed of the company they keep and
the things they indulge in.
