Tony At 10: THE TEEN ANGEL; BLOG # 2341; FRI MAR 11,2022

THE COMEBACK:

MY WIFE AND I JUST HAD TWINS.

WHEN THEY SAID GROW A PAIR, THEY DIDN’T MEAN FOR YOU TO HAVE KIDS.

THE MESSAGE:

The signs of teenage depression include mood changes, like persistent sadness or irritability. Another indicator of these changes occurs in their level of functioning, such as failure at school. They can also include withdrawal from friends and family, a loss of interest in activities that formerly had been important, and changes in eating and sleeping patterns. There may also be some nonspecific signs like a lack of energy, trouble concentrating and unexplained aches and pains.

What is the answer? It could be depression, drugs or simply that their schoolwork is too challenging. Many of the warning signs are relatively nonspecific. As well there could be many reasons adolescents might be hiding in their rooms. The first step is a sit down with your child, with the purpose of finding out what’s going on in the teens life. The next step could be to talk with teachers, a counsellor or a psychiatrist.

TONY TODAY:

TEENS REACT TO THEIR ENVIRONMENT

The thrill-seeking centres of the adolescent brain can be too much for the teenage brain still developing emerging rational control systems. Adolescents worldwide have the same risk-prone brains; however, they may vary substantially in actual risk-taking behaviours.

Laurence Steinberg, a professor of psychology at Temple University, points to the findings, in the journal of Developmental Science.

The context in which kids grow up must matter a great deal, and adolescent recklessness isn’t the inevitable byproduct of the current and recent biology. Throughout the world, adolescent risk-taking reveals a range of reality. For example, only 2 percent of Indonesian teenagers report having tried alcohol in the last month, compared to roughly half of Argentinian adolescents. Cultural mores in their communities and obvious patterns of limited access to opportunities point to the reasons whereby teens push limits.

Dr. Steinberg suspects that the countries with the lowest rates of adolescent risk-taking....“encourage self-control from a very early age and structure adolescence in a way that doesn’t give kids a lot of free, unstructured time to get into a lot of trouble.”

North Americans often celebrate adolescence as a spirited time of life when young people push boundaries, take chances and seek independence.

In and the USA, many parents see individual autonomy as a cherished aspect of the national identity. The danger is, that granting teens lots of freedom may not be the best way to keep them safe. We must understand that the more supervision teenagers have, the less likely they are to encounter harm. For teenagers to find trouble, temptation must meet an opportunity to act.

Adults need to regulate what teenagers do and encourage them to look out for their own safety as well. Adolescents are especially likely to act recklessly when the rational centres of their still developing brains are introduced in socially or emotionally charged situations.

Even typically level headed teenagers can make foolish choices when they find themselves in unexpected situations. For example, a sleepover at a friend’s house where someone has brought marijuana, or a party where they discover that their ride home is no longer sober.

Adolescents need frequent reminders of clear rules for making choices. Adults can help by conveying the same message in different ways.

Don’t focus on whether you could get caught. Focus on whether you could get hurt.

Remember When the adults are around, they help to keep teens safe. When they are not around, staying safe is entirely the teens job.

Middle school can be an especially complicated time for girls. They are experimenting with social identity, and their digital world intensifies the scrutiny.

Girls are particularly more vulnerable. The more skin you show, the more likes you collect. They want be seen as pretty but also as innocent and as nice. This is an impossible balancing act. Parents can help by suggesting more empowering alternatives to posting bathing suit pictures.

THE MUSIC:

THE PLATTERS> THE GREAT PRETENDER