HELP FOR THE FAMILY/PARENTING

Helping Your Child Deal With Puberty

THE CHALLENGE

It seems as if it were just yesterday that you held your infant in your arms. Now you have a preteen on your hands-still a child, true, but one who may be about to embark on that section of road toward adulthood called puberty.

 How can you help your son or daughter deal with this confusing and sometimes traumatic transition into sexual maturity?

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW

Puberty has its own timetable.  It can begin as early as age eight or as late as the mid-teens.  "The range of normal puberty is wide," says the book Letting Go With Love and Confidence.

Puberty can bring insecurity. Adolescents can be highly sensitive about how they come across to others.  "I became conscious of how I looked and acted," recalls a young man named Jared.  "When I was around others, I'd wonder if they thought I was weird."  Self-confidence can plummet even further if acne develops.  "I felt that my face was under attack!" recalls 17-year-old Kellie. "I remember crying and calling myself ugly."

Early bloomers face special challenges.  This is particularly true of girls, as they might be teased when they develop breasts or curves.  "They're also at risk of attracting the attention of older boys who are more apt to be sexually experienced," says the book a Parent's Guide to the Teen Years.

Puberty does not mean maturity.  "Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a youth," says Proverbs 22:15. Puberty does not change that.  A young person may look grown-up, but that "tells you  nothing about his ability to make intelligent decisions, behave responsibly, exercise self-control, or [display] other measures of maturity," says the book You and Your Adolescent.  

Next time: HELP FOR THE FAMILY/PARENTING - WHAT YOU CAN DO

From the Awake! magazine