What your teenager needs

Young people going through the process of adolescence need what they have always needed from their parents. They want your love, your support, your encouragement, your nurture, acceptance and attention. The difference for teenagers is that while children need their parents to be in the lead, pulling them along, directing their steps and making the important decisions, teenagers need to be side by side. Teenagers need ‘helpful attention’ rather than protective attention. What teenagers want as much as when they were little is your love, your care, your respect and your attention. They want to be noticed by you. Too often, because teenagers are being moody and withdraw into themselves, we respond by ignoring them. Ignoring bad behaviour and not rising to it is one thing; ignoring the person who is annoying us is another. And it can become a pattern, where they mope so we ignore them so they mope even more, convinced we don’t care. Teenagers still want to spend time together with their parents. Yes, of course they’d like to be on their mobiles or computers, playing games and communicating with their mates, all hours of the day and night. And given the chance, they want to be with them too, either at each other’s homes or out together. But they also still value family time - round a table eating together, watching television as a family, even going out with you.

Being a supportive parent means having your child’s best interests at heart but also being present, involved and helpful. It includes:

·         actively encouraging them to do their best with school, their hobbies and interests

·         listening without judgment and seeking to understand their concerns and challenges

·         acknowledging their achievements and supporting them through mistakes and challenges

·         setting consistent expectations and consequences to help them to feel secure and able to predict outcomes

·         treating them fairly and developing a trusting relationship.

Why Is Exercise Important to Teenagers?

It's well known that routine physical activity benefits both body and mind. And there are no age limits. Exercise, at any age group, is important. It mainly helps teenagers because it reduces stress, burn extra calories, and reflects positive attitude towards academics. Junk and fried food adds more to calories that leads to weight gain. This is why apart from a balanced diet, any form of exercise is equally essential to keep themselves fit and healthy. Physical exercise encourages the body’s production of endorphins, chemicals that improve mood. Exercise reduces the risk of depression, increases self-esteem, builds self-confidence and promotes restful sleep. It also enhances thinking and learning skills and may improve school performance. Regular exercise reduces the risk for type II diabetes, heart disease, stroke, colon cancer and breast cancer. It also helps lower blood pressure and increases HDL blood cholesterol, or good cholesterol. Weight-bearing exercise such as brisk walking, running and jumping strengthens bones and helps prevent loss of bone density and osteoporosis in later life. 

Teen Pregnancy

Teen pregnancy is associated with negative consequences for both adolescents, and, when pregnancy is carried to term, their children. Teenage pregnancy, also known as adolescent pregnancy, is pregnancy in females under the age of 20. A female can become pregnant from sexualintercourse after she has begun to ovulate, which can be before her  first menstrual period (menarche) but usually occurs after the onset of her periods In well-nourished females, menarche usually takes place around the age of 12 or 13.

the UN said earlier this year.

India and Bangladesh remain among the countries where a girl is extremely likely to be married before she is 18, and have a child while still a teenager Pakistan and Sri Lanka show much lower rates of pregnancies among women aged 15 to 19 than India and Bangladesh, according to the report titled “Motherhood in Childhood.” Every year some four million teenage girls in India have babies. Underage marriage and teen pregnancy are major health and economic concerns. Some 70,000 teen girls die every year from complications in pregnancy and childbirth, mostly in the developing world, the report said. 

STD

Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) are infectious diseases transmitted through sexual contact. Fifty percent of new STDs occur in people in the age range of 15 to 24 years.

Numerous STDs have been identified.  According to the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the CDC, common types of STDs include:

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)- HIV, the virus that causes acquired immunodeficiency symptoms (AIDS), destroys the body's ability to fight off infection. It is spread by unprotected sex with an infected person, as well as through contact with infected blood or contaminated needles. People with advanced HIV infection are very susceptible to many life-threatening diseases and to certain forms of cancer.

Syphilis- The initial symptom of syphilis is a painless open sore that usually appears on the penis, in the vagina, or around either sexual organ. Untreated syphilis may go on to more advanced stages, including a transient rash and, eventually, serious involvement of the heart and central nervous system. Syphilis infections can be treated with antibiotic therapy.

The best way to prevent your son or daughter from contracting an STD is to advise them to abstain from any type of sexual contact with another person. However, if they decide to become sexually active, or are currently sexually active, there are several precautionary measures to follow, recommended by experts, to help reduce your adolescent's risk of developing a sexually transmitted disease.

Parents and teen

Conflict happens when two people disagree based on their own goals, values, or beliefs. Parents and teenagers inherently have many opportunities to have conflict. Adolescence is a time when independence and parental influence conflict. Conflict is in the simple as an argument. Conflict is what happened right before the argument. That's what two people disagreed about before they started calling each other names.

The ability for an adolescent to be able to think on his own and yet have parents who have rules and expectations sets the pair of for conflict. Teenagers don't necessarily hold the same beliefs and values as their parents, and their goal to have fun conflicts with parents’ goal to keep them safe. Curfew is a classic topic for parents and teenagers to argue about. It doesn't really matter what parents set the curfew, when kids don't show up when they're supposed to be home and makes parents worried. A worried parent becomes a scolding parent. So when the teen does come home, he gets an earful and a stiff punishment

Depression in teens

Teen depression is a serious mental health problem that causes a persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest in activities. It affects how your teenager thinks, feels and behaves, and it can cause emotional, functional and physical problems. Although depression can occur at any time in life, symptoms may be different between teens and adults.The period of adolescence is one of intense change which can bring with it a great deal of stress, confusion and anxiety for many. The physical transformation that takes place during this time is enormous and often intertwined with feelings of self-consciousness, low self esteem and comparison with peers. In addition there are hormonal and brain changes taking place which affect a person physically, mentally, emotionally and psychologically. There is also the issue of social and environmental change, with the period of early adolescence often being a time when a person will change schools, friendship groups and perhaps develop an interest in the opposite or same sex. All in all, adolescence is a time where many big changes take place in a seemingly short period of time whereby a person may feel tremendous pressure to find their place in the world despite a great deal of confusion, and a sense of feeling ill-equipped or welcome to the plethora of changes around them. Unrealistic academic, social, or family expectations can create a strong sense of rejection and can lead to deep disappointment. When things go wrong at school or at home, teens often overreact. Many young people feel that life is not fair or that things "never go their way." They feel "stressed out" and confused. To make matters worse, teens are bombarded by conflicting messages from parents, friends and society. Today’s teens see more of what life has to offer — both good and bad — on television, at school, in magazines and on the Internet. They are also forced to learn about the threat of AIDS, even if they are not sexually active or using drugs.

What is Bulimia Nervosa

A person with Bulimia Nervosa usually maintains an average weight, or may be slightly above or below average weight for height, which often makes it less recognisable than serious cases of Anorexia Nervosa. Many people, including some health professionals, incorrectly assume that a person must be underweight and thin if they have an eating disorder. Because of this, Bulimia Nervosa is often missed and can go undetected for a long period of time. Bulimia Nervosa is a serious psychiatric illness characterised by recurrent binge-eating episodes (the consumption of abnormally large amounts of food in a relatively short period of time). Binge episodes are associated with a sense of loss of control and immediately followed by feelings of guilt and shame, which then leads the person to compensatory behaviours such as self-induced vomiting, fasting, over exercising and/or the misuse of laxatives, enemas or diuretics.

Warning Signs and Effects of Bulimia Nervosa

·         Difficulties with activities which involve food

·         Loneliness due to self-imposed isolation and a reluctance to develop personal relationships

·         Deceptive behaviours relating to food

·         Fear of the disapproval of others if the illness becomes known

·         Mood swings, changes in personality, emotional outbursts or depression

·         Self harm, substance abuse or suicide attempts

·         Sensitivity to references about weight or appearance

·         Anxiety

·         Depression

·         Erratic behaviour

·         Mood swings

Types of eating disorders

Anorexia Nervosa - characterised by restricted eating, loss of weight and a fear of putting on weight Anorexia Nervosa is a psychological illness with devastating physical consequences. Anorexia Nervosa is characterised by low body weight and body image distortion with an obsessive fear of gaining weight which manifests itself through depriving the body of food. It often coincides with increased levels of exercise. 

Restricting type:  this is the most commonly known type of Anorexia Nervosa whereby a person severely restricts their food intake.  Restriction may take many forms (e.g. maintaining very low calorie count; restricting types of food eaten; eating only one meal a day) and may follow obsessive and rigid rules (e.g. only eating food of one colour)

Symptoms of eating disorders

Symptoms that should always be investigated further include: 

·         rapid weight loss or weight gain

·         changes in weight or shape 

·         changes in behaviour around food

·         excessive physical activity

·         feelings of unhappiness with body shape and size.

Eating Disorders and Adolescents

Eating disordered can have a negative impact on a person's emotional, social and physical wellbeing. It may lead to fatigue, malnutrition or poor concentration. It can affect someone's social life (when socialising is restricted due to anxiety around food/eating), and can lead to anxiety and depression.

Eating disordered behaviours and attitudes include:

·         Binge eating

·         Dieting

·         Skipping meals regularly

·         Self-induced vomiting

·         Obsessive calorie counting

·         Self-worth based on body shape and weight

·         Fasting or chronic restrained eating

 "Normal eating" refers to the attitude a person holds in their relationship with food, rather than the type or amount of food they eat.

It is normal to:

·         Eat more on some days, less on others

·         Eat some foods just because they taste good

·         Have a positive attitude towards food

·         Not label foods with judgement words such as "good", "bad", "clean"

·         Over-eat occasionally

·         Under-eat occasionally

·         Crave certain foods at times

·         Treat food and eating as one small part of a balanced life

Peer pressure

Teenagers strive to fit in with their peers as they begin to spend less of their free time with their families and more of it engaged in activities with friends. Peer pressure can have negative and positive effects on teenagers. Peers can have a positive influence on each other. Maybe another student in your science class taught you an easy way to remember the planets in the solar system or someone on the soccer team taught you a cool trick with the ball. You might admire a friend who is always a good sport and try to be more like him or her. Maybe you got others excited about your new favorite book, and now everyone's reading it. These are examples of how peers positively influence each other every day. Sometimes peers influence each other in negative ways. For example, a few kids in school might try to get you to cut class with them, your soccer friend might try to convince you to be mean to another player and never pass her the ball.  Teens may aspire to get good grades and join a club that a peer whom they admire leads. Teens may also find themselves pressured into doing things, such as drinking or stealing, that they likely wouldn't engage in if they were on their own.

Bullying

Bullying occurs when words or actions are repeatedly used to harm someone’s wellbeing. While there are times we can accidentally say or do things that are hurtful, it’s important to understand that bullying is deliberate behaviour. It’s done on purpose to make a person feel intimidated, threatened or powerless and is often ongoing. Unfortunately, teen bullying can be common, particularly at school.

Types of Bullying

Bullying takes on several forms including:

·         Physical threats and violence

·         Verbal attacks and abuse

·         Cyber bullying

Physical bullying is often the first thing that typically comes to mind. Yet verbal attacks affect the victim in many of the same ways. Bullying may lead to other social problems, such as low self-esteem and making poor choices.

Effects

The type of bullying may vary, but the effects follow a common pattern in teens. The victims often struggle with acceptance after suffering at the hands of a bully. The victim may experience:

·         Fear and withdrawal from normal activities where they may encounter the bully

·         Anxiety and depression

·         Stress

·         Poor self-esteem

·         Headaches, stomach ailments and other physical problems

SMOKING…….

Teens are often exposed to images of celebrities smoking, which can make it seem cool, even though there are many serious downsides to smoking. In some instances, the media tries to make smoking look acceptable, which helps tobacco companies make sales. Teens may be faced with peers who smoke or family members who smoke in their home. teen smoking Smoking has many harmful effects on the health of a human being. It damages the cardiovascular system, causes high blood pressure, increases heart rate, increases the risk of ischemic stroke, increases the risk of formation of blood clot formation, and decreases the oxygen amount which reaches the tissues in the body, reduces coronary blood flow & cardiac output, and damages the blood vessels. Smoking not only affects physical health, but mental health too. It causes psychological distress and depression.

According to WHO

·         Teenage smokers suffer from shortness of breath almost three times as often as teens who don't smoke, and produce phlegm more than twice as often as teens who don't smoke. Teenage smokers are more likely to have seen a doctor or other health professionals for an emotional or psychological complaint. Teens who smoke are three times more likely than nonsmokers to use alcohol, eight times more likely to use marijuana, and 22 times more likely to use cocaine. Smoking is associated with a host of other risky behaviors, such as fighting and engaging in unprotected sex.

Extremely Sensitive, Weird And Confused

Hormonal changes during puberty make children extremely sensitive to certain things. A small zit or acne on their face may seem like a major disaster, and being rejected by a boy or girl may feel like the end of the world. What is worse is that you don’t know what sets your teenager off anymore. This is also the phase where the adolescent can be easily influenced. They may feel uncomfortable and even weird about the changes that take place in their body and the new feelings they experience because of it. Teenagers may be short-tempered and get angry easily, especially when they begin to naturally separate from the family and feel they do not have enough distance or privacy. The natural process of separation begins in early adolescence; this is when parents see that their child begins to be embarrassed by them and spends increasing amounts of time with friends and very little time with the family.

Changes That Occur Due To Physical Changes

The onset of puberty triggers the development of secondary sexual organs in the body. These changes can be outwardly such as the development of breasts and curves in girls, and facial hair, a bigger Adam’s apple, and change in voice in boys. Both boys and girls start gaining weight and begin developing broader shoulders and stronger muscles Brain development is also one of the most significant biological changes that happen during puberty. Pimples or acne is also a cause for concern among teenagers experiencing puberty. Early sexual maturation may even result in the kid being teased or bullied at school. Bodily changes can be confusing and scary for a kid, more so if they have no idea what is happening. Lack of awareness can lead your children to think that there is something wrong with them and make them feel embarrassed. It gets worse when they shy away from talking about it and start worrying.