ADOLESCENCE: What happened to my sweet little kid?
Everyone who has considered becoming a parent has probably worried about having to some day live with teenagers. I think this concern is the result of a combination of things. First of all, we have our memories of our own adolescence. Then we have the "horror stories" coming at us from both the media, and our often shell-shocked friends who are currently the parents of teenage children. We're told that around age 12 or 13 kids seem to be visited in the night by some evil entity that removes their personalities and replaces them with something akin to Attila the Hun. "What the heck happened to the sweet little kid I had yesterday?" parents cry. The result is a cultural expectation that the teen years will be a trial by fire, and this has sent parents by the millions looking for books and Dr. Phil videos on how to cope with the adolescent storm.
So how much of this is true? Are adolescents so special, and if so why? And how can parents be prepared and effective during this period? Well, we know that rapid changes do occur in youngsters between the ages of about 12 and 16, not just physically, but emotionally, psychologically and even neurologically. And understanding these changes can indeed help parents deal with the inevitable conflicts, miscommunications and hurt feelings that characterize some but not all journeys through the preteen & teen years.
In this presentation we look at adolescent development and how it can trigger so many problems within the family. But more importantly, we'll talk about what to do differently so that much of the conflict can be avoided. As kids move into the adolescent years, they do require somewhat different handling, but it's not something that parents can't manage. In fact, it simply requires us to pay attention to their changing needs, and perhaps grow as people just a wee bit faster than they do.
Oh, and a well honed sense of humour helps a lot!
To book this talk for your parent group, simply contact Dr. Glenn DiPasquale at the email address below.
