Helping Teenagers during Puberty.

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[media-credit id=1 align=”alignnone” width=”425″][/media-credit]A teenage is a person between the ages of 13 to 19,within this period, he or she will begin to experience changes in their bodies. Changes such as behavioral, psychological, physical as well as attitudinal changes and these changes are caused by hormones that their bodies start producing during that stage of life. This period is called Puberty.

The changes differ in both boys and girls. For the boys, they start to experience deeper voice, growing an Adam’s apple, growing pubic hair and so on, while the girls begin to grow breasts, grow pubic hair and even start their menses. Some psychological, behavioral and attitudinal changes include; showing signs of maturity by showing responsibilities and taking initiative, feeling like they are all grown up and know it all, showing signs of independence, becoming difficult to control, feeling the need to connect with the opposite sex and so on.

A lot of teenagers are not able to manage these changes properly and as such, needs the support and guidance of an adult.  It is therefore crucial that parents should look out for these changes and prepare to assist teenagers. It is usually better for mothers and fathers alike to have a talk with their growing children on what they are to expect from their bodies at some stage of their growth. This will help prepare them and make them willing to open up to you when these changes begin to manifest.

If you as a mother or parent do not have a close relationship with your child, chances are that he or she will look for help and solace elsewhere especially if they don’t have older siblings who have gone through the same phase to confide in. Often, they are left with no choice but to rely on the help of fellow teenagers and friends. Young adults tend to form opinions about things for themselves.

All parents were once teenagers and are therefore better equipped to teach teenagers what to do. Do not make the mistake of letting your teenager get information about puberty from their peers. And do not be embarrassed about having that ‘talk’ with them because in this day and age of computer, mobile phones and internet, they probably already know things you never knew when you were their age. They also need to understand that they are to take responsibility for themselves and not expose themselves to premarital sex and teenage fatherhood or teenage pregnancy.

If they are not taught these things they could form opinions for themselves. Some of them can lose their self esteem during puberty if they not adequately educated about puberty. Some (boys) may impregnate girls or (girls) could get impregnated by a boy. And there is also the possibility of peer pressure and teenage delinquencies like smoking, pornography and the likes.

Both boys and girls need to know that the changes are normal and not something they should be afraid of. They need you, the mother or father to walk them through this very important stage in their life because whatever happens at this stage will affect either positively or negatively the adults they will grow to be.