Dealing With Emotional Changes During Puberty
In human beings different changes in body take at different stages of growth. Puberty is an important turning point in the life of every child, this is the period when the child first becoming capable of reproducing sexually. These physical changes in the body occurs at the age of about 12 years in girls and age 14 years in boys. Major changes that take place in a child, may be boy or girl, are the maturing of the genital organs, development of secondary sex characteristics, and in girls start of menstrual cycle.
Both boys and girls experience an increase in body size and changes in body shape, change in voice which begins to become more mature and rough as compared to the voice of child. In boys voice cracks i.e. the pitch becomes low or high while speaking a sentence and causes embarrassment. Puberty is the time of beginning of adolescence requiring lot of assistance from the parents, to enable the child to learn and understand the change fully.
This is parents big responsibility to properly deal with emotional changes during puberty of their children. This is the age at which the child faces lots of mood swings. The child becomes moody and gets irritated very fast. Kids at this age will often be rude, arrogant and turbulent, and will act selfish. He or she tries to be secretive about the changes being faced by him or her. The parents should reassure the child about all this being a natural phenomenon through which all persons of her age have to pass.
In case of girls due to beginning of menstrual cycle they get afraid and try to remain secluded. It is the duty of the mother to explain to the girl child about the change and beginning of new period in life and the things about which she should be cautious. She should be explained about sex and conception so that she does not fall in unwanted trap by some antisocial people. It will help if the mother explains about menstruation when the girl enters her teens, so she is not caught unaware when it starts.
It will be good if the parents display their love and emotions to the child. Often at this age the children become hostile even towards parents and try to move away from the accepted path being followed by them up to that time. Despite all sort of provocation the parents should express love for the child and have fair and frank discussion on anything the child wants to discuss. Remember that you are not discussing with a child but an adolescent or a semi adult and need to be extra careful.