Brian Mardjuki

FHS 1500
4/1/17
SLCC
Question: How can parents help their teenagers deal with the conflicts of adolescence?

Advice To Parents

There are many conflicts that teenagers deal with in adolescence. Teens

experience a lot more self awareness and can sometimes become worried about what

their peers think of them. This can cause teenagers to have low self esteem, depression

and other things of that sort. During adolescence there are a lot of changes going on in

teenagers lives and that can sometimes become a bit overwhelming for them. One of

the first conflicts that teens experience in adolescence is puberty. During this time teens

will see lots of changes in their body. They will see things such as pubic hair, hips

widening (girls), menarche (Girls), facial hair (boys) and spermarche (boys). Parents

can help their teens deal with this by explaining to them that what is going on is

perfectly normal and that there is nothing wrong with what is happening to their body.

Teens first experiencing changes to their body can sometimes get confused by what's

going on and sometimes embarrassed. If parents give their kids some reassurance

about what is going on, it will help the teen going through these changes feel better. In

the texts it says About two-thirds of the variation in age of puberty is genetic, evident

not only in families but also in ethnic groups. (Berger, 2016, Pg. 320). This quote is

important, because teens can experience changes at different times than others. Some

teens can start puberty earlier and this can cause them to feel insecure about what is

happening. The same feeling can occur if they start going through changes later than

their peers. If parents just explain to them that people undergo changes at different
Brian Mardjuki
FHS 1500
4/1/17
SLCC
times it can help the teen to feel better about themself. During adolescence teens are

very self conscious and having reassurance from their parents or somebody close to

them can help them have a better experience. During this time in their lives, teens can

experience a lot of stress. Stress hastens the hormonal onset of puberty, especially if a

childs parents are sick, drug-addicted or divorced, or if the neighborhood is violent and

impoverished. (Berger, 2016, pg. 321). During adolescence teens stress about many

different things. Teens at this age worry about their self image and what others think of

them. Since they are going through changes in their bodies, the hormones causing

stress amplify the stress for the teens. When teens judge each other it can make

themselves and others have lower self esteem and parents can help this by talking to

their child and tell them that their differences are okay. Parents just need to explain

everything to their adolescent teen. Teens at this age usually dont fully understand

what is going on in their lives during adolescence, so reassurance from their parents

can help the adolescent teen feel better about themselves.

Brian Mardjuki
FHS 1500
4/1/17
SLCC
Works Cited:

Berger, K.S. (2016). Invitation to the life span (3rd Edition). New York, NY: Worth

publishers.