In the human life cycle, adolescence is unquestionably the most critical phase regardless of gender. The teenage years are the transitional stage from childhood to adulthood and are pivotal because that is when puberty takes place. Boys’ voices change, girls get their periods and the young ones become more sexually aware beings. They also begin to separate more from their parents and become more independent.
Guidance for this age group is important but also difficult. And if not guided properly during this stage, both young boys and girls can end up with physical or psychological problems. The primary duty of guidance obviously falls on parents to inform and educate them: pretty much answer every question, otherwise they will get incorrect information from wrong sources which can be disorientating and make puberty a stage of unpleasant discovery.
A common issue during puberty is emotional turmoil — anger, frustration, lack of confidence and personality conflicts. Moreover, a survey shows that girls perceive a change in attitude of people at this time owing to a newfound youth which scares them. This is compounded with the lack of access to correct information about puberty and hygiene in Pakistan.
Since lack of awareness is a contributing factor in all these issues, teachers need to promote discussions and opportunities for children to reflect on their experiences. Parents and teachers need to work on making children and adults aware of the various dimensions of abuse, life cycle changes and the concerns that adolescents have about and during puberty.
All in all, most of the problems of this growing age stem from the state of confusion caused by lack of self- awareness and roles a child needs to take in the transitional stage. Change is difficult to handle, be it for a teenager or an adult.
As adolescents gravitate towards their peers as influencers, there is the likelihood that negative habits catch on like a contagion. Parents are in a position to prepare children beforehand for situations in which they would encounter peer pressure and let them tackle those tough situations by acting them out, e.g, what would you do when your friends force you to smoke? It’s a good idea to say confidently that I am a fitness or health conscious individual therefore I am not into smoking.
Substance abuse and addiction is the nightmare of most parents of adolescent children. There are so many things one can become addicted to, including tobacco, alcohol, illegal drugs, prescription drugs, food, sleeping, compulsive behaviours, etc. Drug abuse is rapidly growing in Pakistan, especially amongst youth in colleges and universities, with serious social and health implications. Adolescents tend to succumb to drug addiction when they feel insecure or feel the need to belong, peer pressure, when they feel confined and want to rebel, for pain avoidance or just as a means to eliminate boredom. According to a National Assessment study on drug abuse in Pakistan, one out of ten college students in Pakistan is a drug addict.
If parents and caretakers communicate with their teenagers, they are often in a position to recognise changes in behaviour that result from substance abuse. More importantly, however, they can protect children from addiction by giving them adequate knowledge about the harmful effects of substance abuse, by keeping checks and balances, monitoring their activities, ensuring that they are disabling addictions and engaging them in healthy activities.
The need for instantaneous gratification that is the hallmark of the times and of adolescence is visible in addictions, anger, excessive texting, restless driving, instant rebellious retaliation, forming multiple romantic relationships. Short attention spans and quick fixes impair academic performance and relationships with family and friends. Poor relationships in turn affect adolescents at the emotional level and limit their access to accurate information.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 15th, 2014.
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COMMENTS (4)
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Most often, after reading you, I send it to my daughter who, along with her husband, is bringing up my two granddaughters.......because I think you talk sense. The beauty of the present times, is that there is so much EASILY ACCESSIBLE information available and NOT to use this facility would be a waste. What does at times perplex me is that ..... even without all this information being then available we turned out ..... all right, or so I'd like to think.
True communication with children is important, but what I see happening in most families is the lack of training in raising kids. Parents expect complete obedience from the offspring and no room is given for deviating from the 'father' lines. This results in unhappy relationship and when these kids go out in the world, do the same with others resulting in bad relationships. Yes, if we want something from someone, we are nice to them, but otherwise arguing with everybody. A family which allows kids to express their options and listen to them with respect is rare. Many turn TV on for them so that they (parents) are left in peace.
A very general article. Some statistics to support the prevalence of abuse of different drugs by age group would have been very useful. Secondly, some information on the major people studying it and those organizations providing support.
The article just takes up space under such an important issue but does such a poor job in representing the magnitude of it.
i would also add addiction to "power" and "self" in our society to it.
Can you elaborate on this sentence ?????
"And if not guided properly during this stage, both young boys and girls can end up with physical or psychological problems."