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Key Points to Remember About Adolescence
KEY POINTS TO REMEMBER ABOUT ADOLESCENCE
Physical Development:
- Rapid weight gain occurs at beginning of adolescence. A change (+) in appetite occurs.
- Sexual maturity accompanies physical and emotional mood swings. • Girls are usually about two years ahead of boys.
- Sometimes a period of glandular imbalance.
- Skeletal growth completed, adult height reached in girls, later in boys, muscular coordination improved.
- Heart size increases rapidly at beginning of adolescence
Characteristic Behaviors, Responses and Activity:
- Going to extremes, emotional instability with “know-it-all” attitude.
- Swaggering sense of power due to private (secret) life knowledge
- Regressing to personal habits of a younger child: nail biting, tricks, impudence, daydreaming, teasing and humorous mimicry and disgust of people and things
- Searching out philosophical, ethical, and religious ideas.
- Preoccupying one’s self with peer approval and social groups.
- Fearing ridicule and being unpopular; acting pitiful and sensitive.
- Strongly identifying with teen culture heroes, groups, peers and admired adults.
- Asserting independence from family in public and in private.
- Joining clubs and clique groups under supervision, given responsibility by adults
- Attaining status for physical attractiveness for both boys and girls.
- Girls usually more interested in boys than boys in girls.
Helpful Family Behaviors to Ease This Stage of Life:
- Acceptance of the need to communicate and conform to age-mates.
- Parental understanding of sexual attitudes and secret life relationships and attitudes.
- Adult guidance and leadership, especially in making friendship choices, and respect for the adolescent’s need to learn from mistakes and exercise his/her free will.
- Assurance of security through parental supervision and constant communication.
- Insistence of parents to engage adolescents in conversations on all topics, whether adolescents complain or not offer objections
- Early provision by parents for opportunities to self-employed or get a job that earns and saves money.
- Provision for constructive community service; select with adolescents a cause, idea, or issue to work for, which comes from their own talents, skills or interests.
Should you have any question, please Ask Dr. Susan for your free parenting advice.
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