Development Stages of Adolescence

• Exploring personal identity and roles
• Lessening dependence on family
• Emphasis on separation and individualisation
• Exploring sexuality
• Exploring ways to feel competent, important and accomplished

Normal development of adolescents involves:

• Swings in mood and reliability
• Fluctuating between dependence and independence
• Self absorption
• Impulsiveness
• Control conflicts with adults

Children vary greatly in the rate at which they develop, and different skills develop separately and at different rates. While it may be hard to sometimes watch your children suffer from their own actions, teenagers do need to experience these consequences and parents who continually protect them from the consequences are not helping them grow and mature. The role of parents is to help them learn to be responsible rather than try to protect them.

Note: If your young person is making choices that are really dangerous it is important to get some professional help - some consequences are too dangerous to learn from.

Source: Adolescence - When times get tough (n.d) Retrieved November 11, 2005 , from http://www.cyh.com/HealthTopics/HealthTopicDetails.aspx?p=114&np=122&id=1533