Adolescent emotional development and solutions :

Disrespect, silence, anger, attitude, bad language and the face of an angel. Perhaps this sounds like teenager. Adolescence is a developmental stage.  It is a vulnerable time when kids can develop unhealthy habits that grow into problems in their adult life. Behavior issues of adolescence, which are quite common, also crop up during this time, making it impossible for parents to reach out to their teenagers. For many parents, the adolescent period can seem like a whirlwind of rapidly changing emotions. In fact, some earlier theories about adolescent development proposed that "storm and stress" was to be expected, and suggested adolescents characteristically tended to over-react to everyday situations. However, more recent research refutes that outdated notion. Developmental experts have since learned that what may appear as "storm and stress" is actually the natural outcome of youth learning to cope with a much larger array of new and unfamiliar situations.

The most common problems during adolescence relate to :

·        Growth and development

·        School

·        Childhood illnesses that continue into adolescence

·        Mental health disorders

·        Consequences of risky or illegal behaviors (including injury, legal consequences, adolescence is a developmental stage..pregnancy, and infectious diseases)

Hormones affect your teenager emotionally what makes it more complicated:

• Adolescence is the age between adulthood and childhood. Teenagers are often confused about their role and are torn between their responsibilities as growing adults and their desires as children.
• They tend to feel overly emotional (blame it on the hormones). Just about anything and everything can make them happy, excited, mad or angry.
• Adolescent girls are vulnerable to crying.
• Mood swings are common among teenage boys and girls.
• Bodily changes result in self-consciousness.
• Children who hit puberty early may even feel weird.
• Feelings of inferiority or superiority may arise at this time.
• Adolescence is the age when sexual feelings arise in youngsters. Feelings and thoughts about sex can trigger a sense of guilt.

So what can parents do is:

• Assist their children to take care of themselves. Tell your teenagers that it is okay to feel the way they are feeling.
• Encourage them to exercise as physical activity helps keep the serotonin (creates good feelings and happiness) levels up.
• Let them talk. Listen to them without judging and avoid giving them advice when they are not ready for it.
• Share your experiences of puberty or let them talk to an older sibling who has gone through the same. It will emphasize that it is okay to feel the way they do.
• Indulging in a creative activity can help them channelize their emotions.