Teenage StagesThere are two main teenage stages which start at different ages depending on the individual child. For simplicity I call these young teens and older teens. Young teens As your child reaches his teens, being a parent becomes a whole different ball game. So many changes are taking place. One minute your 11, 12 or 13 year old is a warm and affectionate child. The next minute he is moody, bad-tempered and refusing to talk to you. This can be a very confusing time as a parent and requires the maximum amount of patience and tolerance. Remember, if it is confusing for you, how much more confused your young teenager probably is. He may feel that his life is turning upside down. He still feels like a child in lots of ways. Yet the world is demanding that he grows up. It is scary to grow up and lots of children in their early teens are facing challenges that they don’t always feel ready for. Alongside these feelings, there are: - physical changes happening in their bodies Even as adults, we would find all of that difficult to cope with. Yet young teenagers are expected to cope with all of this and behave in a sensible and normal way. Older teens Things can get easier as teenagers reach the later part of their teens. Although, this obviously depends on the person. Girls especially can become very grown up from about 15 onwards. Boys tend to be about 17, 18 or older before they start behaving more as you would expect an adult to behave. This more grown up attitude can bring its own difficulties. Teenagers start wanting a lot more freedom at this age. Although it can often be earlier, this is the time when dating, sex, staying out late, alcohol, and sometimes, drugs may begin to play a large part in your teenager’s life.
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