"What was he thinking?" It's the familiar cry of bewildered parents trying to understand why their teenagers act the way they do. How does the boy who can thoughtfully explain the reasons never to drink and drive end up in a drunken crash? Why does the girl who knows all about birth control find herself […]
If you’re the parent of an adolescent, you know how turbulent this stage of development can be. Beginning at about the age of 13, both boys and girls go through a transition that stymies parents and kids alike. Kids arrive at a stage of physical development that tends to fuel psychological bafflement for kids and […]
Understanding teenage depression is crucial to prevent school drop outs and suicidal attempts among teens. Childhood depression occurs even during infancy through toddler to teens, but it is often misunderstood for irritable non compliant behavior. The early support that could come forth from parents, teachers and friends is thus lost. The results then are disastrous. […]
Does the thought of getting involved in your teen’s life scare you? As a dad, do you think that maybe you should just back off and let your teen child have his or her independence? It is generally true that teens are exploring their independence and may seem to shut you out, but research indicates […]
Every parent dreams of having a "perfect" child. One who is smart, attractive, talented, obedient, polite, and healthy in mind and body. Many spend money on preschool and private education to create academic advantage and increase the odds of acceptance into a prestigious college. It comes as a shock when our youngster has difficulty navigating […]
Adolescent psychology is an entity of a major branch of psychology- Developmental psychology which also constitutes Child and Adult psychology. Any concise definition of adolescence falls short of a comprehensive description of the term because every definition reveals the bias or major interest of the author. Often a technical term is invented in order to […]
Growth and change are an integral part of adolescence. Studies on the brain during the last decade show that it -- along with height, weight and hormones --goes through dramatic changes during the middle school years. While outward changes are easy to see, brain development goes much deeper, but it can go far in explaining […]
Most teenagers do not experience physical aggression when they date. However, for one in 10 teens, abuse is a very real part of dating relationships. According to the 2007 Youth Risk Behavior Survey, approximately 10 percent of adolescents nationwide reported being the victim of physical violence at the hands of a romantic partner during the […]
Are you dealing with adolescent eruptions? It often seems they come out of nowhere — one minute, life is moving along smoothly for your child, and the next, it’s incomplete chaos. Welcome to the teenage years! I have found that to lower the likelihood of these outbursts with my teenagers, working with goal setting and […]
It’s Saturday night, and kids all over North America are hanging out at their friends’ houses, watching movies, going to parties. And children as young as 11 are taking their first drink of alcohol—the average age when boys start drinking. For girls, that age is now 13. More and more kids are drinking hard liquor, […]
It’s common for kids to have a lot of anxiety about the start of the school year, especially if they’re entering a new grade or going to a new school. All of these issues weigh very heavily on the minds of teens and pre-teens. And children with any type of impairment—whether it be a neurological […]
In part one of this two-part series, James Lehman explains why kids change so much during adolescence, and he warns us about the sudden changes of which every parent needs to be aware. Whether we like it or not, kids change. Their behaviour, their attitudes, their likes and dislikes: these shifts can be seen throughout […]
Does your teen have low self–esteem? Maybe he has a lousy self image, or anxiety about fitting in at school or with peers. This week in EP, read about these difficult adolescent issues from someone who’s been there and knows what he’s talking about. Abandoned and abused as a child, Josh Shipp was raised by […]
Does this sound familiar? You’ve told your teen she can’t go out with her friends this Friday because she came in past curfew last weekend. There’s been a huge fight where one—or both of you—lost control and screamed at each other. Now the tension in the house is unbearable. Your child is irritable and argumentative—or […]
"If your child is talking back all the time and you’re not setting firm limits around it, make no mistake, you are training him to do it more often." When your kids start to talk back, you might as well welcome them to adolescence. Back talk, however disrespectful and obnoxious it is in the moment, […]
If you’re the parent of a teen, you’ve probably heard a version of this coming from your child’s lips—or expressed with an eye roll or door slam. It’s very painful for us when our children suddenly can’t stand the sight of us, and act like they’d rather die than be seen with us. On top […]
When your teen is angry and screaming at you, the temptation for many of us is to fight back and scream louder so you “win” the argument. But what does that do? It's natural to want to push back or stand up for yourself if someone pushes your buttons or provokes you in some way. […]
The development of children ages 12 through 18 years old is expected to include predictable physical and mental milestones. Information During adolescence, children develop the ability to: Understand abstract ideas, such as higher math concepts, and develop moral philosophies, including rights and privileges Establish and maintain satisfying relationships by learning to share intimacy without feeling […]
Many adolescents have mental health problems that interfere with their normal development and daily life activities. Some mental health problems are mild, while others are more severe. Some mental health problems last for only short periods of time, while others, potentially, last a lifetime. The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), part of the National […]
Children's behavioural patterns develop as a very young baby, and are constantly adapting as a result of their interactions with care-givers, and other people, and through their experiences - including of the way in which they are parented and their experience of events, including stressful or traumatic experiences. From time to time almost all children […]
Being a teenager and raising a teenager are individually, and collectively, enormous challenges. For many teens, illicit substance use and abuse become part of the landscape of their teenage years. Although most adolescents who use drugs do not progress to become drug abusers or drug addicts in adulthood, drug use in adolescence is a very […]
Adolescence -- the period lasting from approximately age 11 to 21 -- covers many social and emotional changes. This transition between childhood and adulthood leads to rapidly changing behaviours, identity disturbances and strong emotions. Although these characteristics can frustrate or confuse parents, they are developmentally normal and a natural part of an adolescent’s growth. Labile […]
Although adolescence was once believed to be a time of rebellion and tumult, we now know that this developmental stage is calmer than previously assumed. The "rebellion" often seen in teens is likely due to the increased physical, cognitive and social changes that occur in development. During this period, parents may feel as if their […]
Mental disorders are classified as a psychological condition marked primarily by seriously impaired psychological and often social functioning of an individual. Adolescents diagnosed with severe mental disorders are typically deemed unable to function in the community. Mental disorders occasionally consist of a combination of effective, behavioral, cognitive and perceptual components. We specialize in treating the […]
Children must pass through several stages, or take specific steps, on their road to becoming adults. For most people, there are four or five such stages of growth where they learn certain things: infancy (birth to age two), early childhood (ages 3 to 8 years), later childhood (ages 9 to 12) and adolescence (ages 13 […]