The teen years

Sometimes they are supercharged, other times listless and moody; sometimes full of ideals, other times totally self-centred.

Suddenly your 'great kid' has become a demanding, even disruptive, family member who seems to want to challenge authority at every turn and rebel against longstanding family rules and practices.

Being seen with their parents in public can be 'uncool', while their newly emergent sexuality can make them seem like strangers. And of course, they consider themselves bullet-proof as they engage in all sorts of risky behaviour.

The teen years, in short, can be an exasperating and worrying time for the parent. But not always. Teenagers can also be fun, loyal, and caring family members and friends.

Every adolescent is different and while some have given the age group a bad name, others cause their parents no problems at all. So relate to your teen as an individual, don't typecast them.

Focus on their good points, be loving, patient and supportive.
 

What is adolescence?

Adolescence is that stage in a person's development when the child matures into an adult. Different children will enter adolescence at different ages. Some can be well into their teen years before it begins. It tends to start earlier for girls.

It kicks in with puberty which is the name given to physical changes to the child's body which occur at the beginning of the process. Adolescence is much more than those physical changes however. It is a time when adolescents work out their own beliefs, values, standards and ways of behaving. This usually means challenging and testing their parents' values and beliefs as they work out their own.

By late adolescence, the teenager will have reduced or largely eliminated their psychological dependence on their parents. They will have become much more their own person, ready to enter full adult independence with their own opinions and values driving them.
 

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