Adolescence is the period of changeover from childhood to adulthood. A child goes through a series of changes both physically and psychologically. This is the time when the parents should be extra cautious about their activities and take proper care of them. This usually begins at the teenage but its physical, psychological, and cultural impact may begin earlier and end later.
Different stages of Adolescence:
Early Adolescence (Ages 10-14)
Early Adolescence happens between the ages of 10-14. During this development period, adolescents experience the early stages of puberty. Male and Female senses significant physical growth and increased sexual interest. It is being observed that adolescents in this stage have a minimum capacity for abstract thought but intellectual interests increase and become more important. Although adolescents in this stage have a small interest in the future, they develop deeper moral thinking during the early adolescence stage.
Middle Adolescence (Ages 15-17)
In the middle adolescence stage, puberty is completed for males and females. Physical growth reduces in females but continues for males. Adolescents in this stage continue to sense a growing capacity for abstract thought. During this stage, adolescents set long-term goals and become interested in the meaning of life and moral reasoning. Adolescents in this stage of development sense many social and emotional changes which include an increase in self-involvement and a rise in the drive for independence.
Late Adolescence/Young Adulthood (Ages 18-24)
In the late young adulthood phase significantly experience lesser physical and more cognitive developments. Adolescents now possess the capacity to think about ideas independently, delay gratification, future plan, and adopt a firm sense of identity. During this last phase of adolescent development, young people also increase stability in their emotions and independence.
Parental Care in Adolescence:
As children enter into the phase of adolescence, parent-child conflict tends to increase much. Children at this stage may seem to be noncooperative, unfriendly, aggressive, and destructive whereas previously they used to be cooperative, polite, and controlled. These conflicts range from a mismatch in sense of clothing, music to the logic behind other activities that they used to accept without questioning. This can also range to vital changes such as drug addiction, misconduct, and criminality. To control such situations in proper sense and manner parental change is very important. Parents should try to change their responses towards their children’s behavior along with this they should also respond in a proper sense to the challenges occurring in their lives. To patch up with these parents should take care of a few points. Firstly, parents should be patient enough to listen to their children’s logic and idealism. And then should spend some time with them on these points, appreciate some of their logic but also simultaneously make them aware of the adverse effects (if any) of their thoughts and theories. Secondly, parents should always try to keep them aware of their children’s daily activities, be it in school or playground, their friends and fans, teachers and guides, etc. It is the time when it is not advisable for parents to be more protective of their wards. They should be given to enjoy the freedom to some extent or rather should be allowed to make their own decisions to some extent. Obviously, parents should decide the threshold. This way children can develop a sense of what is good and what is bad for them and will be capable of making good decisions for their future. The key point to all these practices is understanding the psychology of their adolescent children better. To make this successful parents need to understand the undergoing changes in them and their family and surroundings.
