Being a first-time parent is never an easy challenge. The role requires a lot of patience, adaptation, and most of all understanding – and the moment you think you have it all figured out, your “little one” simply enters a new phase of their lives, and you have to get to know them all over again.
For many parents, this is a challenge they take on with excitement, while others simply stick their fingers through their hair to find solutions on how to best deal with their child.
One of the critical stages this often occurs is when children hit puberty.
“Puberty is a key stage in the transition from childhood to adulthood. It usually starts when a person is in their early teens. It involves physical, psychological, and emotional changes, and each person’s experience of it is unique,” explains the reputable medical website, Medical News Today.
The above-mentioned source also states that this can happen between the ages of 8 and 14, and often happens in females earlier than in men.
Meanwhile, each gender’s experience of puberty is different, and therefore, the way they respond to it may be different.
Some of the more noticeable changes in girls include a curvier body shape, acne, breast growth, and menstrual periods, while boys on the other hand, will experience a change in height and muscle, voice changes, hair growth, acne, genital growth, and wet dreams.
The health publication Better Health explains that both genders are affected by the following emotional challenges:
- Experiencing a greater sense of self
- Starting to have a sexual interest in other people.
- Experiencing changes of mood, energy and sleep patterns.
- Coping with a changing body and feeling self-conscious about looks
This constant change in mood and behaviour can make life as a parent extremely difficult. The Australian parenting website, Raising Children says that emotional support from you as their caregiver is of high importance.
Here are some tips you can apply, as recommended by the above-mentioned publication.
- Give simple, factual explanations of physical changes.
- Reinforce that physical changes happen at different times.
- Use the right words when you’re talking about body parts.
- Avoid comparing your child with others.
