To some extent the majority of parents become extremely anxious or frustrated
when their beloved blue-eyed blonde-haired star rugby player turns into a slothlike hygiene-less mood-sample. This is a normal phase every boy will reach
– sooner or later – in their development, the same phase your husband went
through once too.
Puberty – a physical and psychological cocktail that is characteristic of
teenagers at some stage during their development – is defined as a process
of physical changes through which a child’s body matures into an adult body
capable of sexual reproduction to enable fertilization. It is initiated by hormonal
signals from the brain to the gonads which refers toa boys testes.
Parents tend to forget that it is not only physical changes – bodily
metamorphosis – that is shaping their child but also psychological changes in
relation to their social, cognitive, emotional and sexual functioning.
Most parents find it difficult and challenging to not only live with a teenager
who is going through puberty but to also handle the challenges that accompany
these changes as well as to maintain a strong and positive parent-child
relationship. This is the norm in most households with a pubertal-teenager.
There are a few measures that parents – both mother’s and father’s – can
put into place to not only assist their child when he is experiencing emotional
turmoil but also to strive to maintain a healthy home-environment and to
ensure that the relationships within the family stays intact.
Talk
talk talk
Do not be afraid to talk
to your son when it comes to
the “changes” he is experiencing.
Some boys will find it somewhat
embarrassing talking to their mothers
about pubic hair, erections or even
nocturnal dreams. Best the dad take
to addressing these topics. Mothers
should cover topics regarding their
behaviour towards girls, showing
respect and what behaviour
is appropriate