PUBERTY

A Parent’s Guide to Surviving the ‘best years of their lives’

Discuss

• What are the challenges of puberty?

• How do you see your child behaving /what do you expect to see?do you expect to see?

• Why?

Objectives

• Understand developmental and environmental changes in puberty

• See adolescence in context of life tasks• See adolescence in context of life tasks

• Develop awareness of strategies to avoid conflict

ADOLESCENCE

Period of change – Transition frombeing a child of parents to being a child of parents to

potentially becoming a parent of children (Oates, Lewis, Lamb 2005)

THREE AREAS OF CHANGE

• Biological

• Social• Social

• Cognition (Thinking Skills)

BIOLOGICAL CHANGES• Hypothalamus controls action of pituitary gland which produces

necessary hormones• Hypothalamus like a ‘thermostat’ which regulates levels of sex hormones

in the body. At puberty there is a change in the ‘setting’ of the hypothalamus requiring pituitary gland to work harder thus increasing sex hormone levels, i.e. testosterone, oestrogen, androgen and progesterone.

• The brain's hypothalamus begins to release pulses of GnRH. • Cells in the anterior pituitary respond by secreting LH and FSH

into the circulation. • The ovaries or testes respond to the rising amounts of LH and

FSH by growing and beginning to produce estradiol and testosterone.

• Rising levels of estradiol and testosterone produce the body changes of female and male puberty.

EFFECTS OF BIOLOGICIAL CHANGES

• Menarche in girls (9-17 years)• Spermarche in boys (11.25 – 17 years)• Reproductive organs become fully

functionalfunctional• Growth of body hair• Growth spurt (approx 9cm per year in girls,

10 cm per year for boys

Early/Late maturation in girls

• Body fat (athletic, undernourished)• Stress/conflict in family (early onset)• Early onset associated greater storm and

stress (ie:not all hormones..later less stress (ie:not all hormones..later less reaction)

• Bigger, heavier –reaction from peers/parents

Early/late maturation in boys

• Early maturation positive social benefits size, strength, athleticism

• Late maturation disadvantageous-more • Late maturation disadvantageous-more likely to be socially awkward, insecure, variable in mood

Effects of biological changes on behaviour

• Not causal, interaction biological/environmental factors ( e.g sleep, increased sensitivity of sensory systems)

• Combined with negative life events/stress not prepared for

• Social context/expectations

Depression

• Adolescents (boys and girls) consistently more depressive moods than pre-teens, no difference with adults in clinical states

• Girls more likely suffer depression hormone changes make them susceptiblebut evidence influence of gender role, body image, sexual anxiety, expectations of success, discourse style, rumination

COGNITIVE CHANGES

• Developing pre-frontal cortex

• Increased executive function– Ability to think abstractly– Ability to think abstractly– Becomes concerned with social issues– Thinks long term– Sets goals– Compares one’s self to one’s peers

SOCIAL CHANGES

• Goal of adolescence emotional emancipation from parents

• Identity (Crisis?)• Identity (Crisis?)– Ego Theory: Erik Erikson 1968

• Adolescents ‘over identify’ with cliques• Intolerant and cruel to others who are « different »

in petty aspects of dress

SOCIAL CHANGES

• Identity– Social Identity Theory/Social Categorisation

Theory – Henri Tajfell/John Turner 1987

• Adolescents categorise themselves as members of groups, i.e. self stereotype through dress, music etc.

SOCIAL CHANGES

• Reduced closeness with parents

• Peers become more influential

• Consumerism aids in forging desired identity.

THESE ARE NORMAL!!!

PARENTING STYLES• AUTHORITARIAN– Value obedience and forceful imposition of

parents’ will.

• PERMISSIVE – Believe parents should be non-intrusive but available as resources

• NON-CONFORMIST – Although opposed to authority, are less • NON-CONFORMIST – Although opposed to authority, are less passive and exert more control than permissive parents

• AUTHORITATIVE – Warm, encourage independence and attempt to shape behaviour using rational explanation

Baumrind 1975

PARENTING STYLES• Authoritative most positive parenting style:

• They combine high responsiveness (good listeners and empathetic)and high demandedness (high expectations and enforcement of good behaviour)

• They foster independence while instilling a value system • They foster independence while instilling a value system charactersied by conformity to cultural and societal norms by balancing the use of both reasoning and punishment.

• They value self assertion, wilfulness and independence and foster these goals by assuming active and rational parental roles.

PARENTI NG STYLES

• According to Baumrind (1967, 1973) children of authoritative parents become socially responsible because their parents clearly communicate realistic demands clearly communicate realistic demands that are intellectually stimulating, while generating moderate amounts of tension.

TRANSACTIONAL MODEL OF BEHAVIOUR – Sameroff & Fiese (2000)

• The child/adolescent actively relates to its environment and is being acted upon by its environment, i.e. caregivers/parents

• Interactions not only modify the way the child • Interactions not only modify the way the child behaves, they also modfy the environment on subsequent encounters.

• Therefore a difficult encounter will modify the way a parent or teacher treats the child the second time around, and so on and so on…..

Challenges for us

• Try to remind ourselves of the many changes going on with our kids – ALL AT THE SAME TIME!

• Encourage cooperation, provide consistent, loving discipline with limits, restrictions and rewards

• Encourage distraction (focusing on neutral/pleasing thoughts and activities) to rumination (obsessively going over problems)

• Modeling possibilities for positive gender role

• Problem solving

• Talk about puberty, the social and hormonal changes happening to them

• Find ways to spend time together

TOP TIPS

• Make your home a safe baseAdolescent children are exploring life, but need a base to come back to. Home should be a place where they feel safe, protected, cared for and taken seriously.

• Mutual SupportParents need to: Agree between themselves about their basic values and rules.

Support each other in applying them

• Easy Listening• Adults need to be a source of advice, sympathy and

comfort.

• Rules• Whilst they might protest, sensible rules can be the basis • Whilst they might protest, sensible rules can be the basis

for security and agreement.– Be clear, so everone knows where they stand– They should be agreed with the children– Be consistent so everyone sticks to the rules– Be less restrictive so the children become more responsible– You can’t and shouldn’t have rules for everything. While some

rules will not be negotiable, there should be room for bargaining on others.

• Rewards and Punishments– Sanctions such as grounding or loss of pocket

money will only work if they are established in advance. Don’t threaten if you are not willing advance. Don’t threaten if you are not willing to carry them out.

– Rewards for behaving well are just as important – probably more important, in fact.

– Don’t use corporal punishment

THE GOOD NEWS• Recent studies have shown most teenagers actually like their parents and

feel that they get on well with them.

• It’s not just a difficult stage, although it can feel very much like it at times. The anxiety experienced by parents is more than matched by the period of uncertainty, turmoil and unhappiness experienced by the adolescent.

• Difficult times come and go, but most adolescents don’t develop serious• Difficult times come and go, but most adolescents don’t develop seriousproblems.

• Parents may sometimes start to feel they have failed. However, whatevermay be said in the heat of the moment, they play a crucial part in theirchildren’s lives.

• HELPING YOUR CHILD GROW THROUGH ADOLESCENCE CAN BE PROFOUNDLY SATISFYING!!

• Set an example– Despite becoming more independent, your children

will still learn a lot about how to behave from you. « Do as I say, not as I do » will just not work!

GratitudeDon’t worry if your children aren’t as grateful as you’d

like, they may not be until they have their own children and realise how hard it can be!