- Knowing My Baby and Toddler
- Knowing My Preschooler and Nursery Child
- Knowing My Kindergartner
- Knowing My Child in Her Primary Years and
- Knowing My Junior
I hope if you have children within these age groups, you could read these posts and leave your thoughts.
For this post, the topic is about the Early Adolescent. I still don't have a child who is in this stage of development. My oldest son is only 11 years old. But then time flies, so sooner or later, I would have to deal with my son in this stage. So, I better get acquainted with what to expect or at least refresh myself on how it was like to be 12-14 years old.
Early Adolescence (12-14 years old) - Growing Independence
Physically. The young adolescent is now more conscious about how he or she looks. He or she will start to notice many growth changes happening in his/her body being in the age of puberty like having pimples, hair in unusual places, etc. A question he or she may be asking "Are these necessary for me to grow up?"
Mentally. He is more critical. Before you can convince him about something, he needs to be given reasonable answers. He can now handle abstract ideas more and can memorize well if he finds things reasonable.
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| 3 of my son's adolescent friends. My son is the youngest. |
Socially and Emotionally. How much the growing child wants independence! He is always hoping that dad and mom would consider his opinions and objections to different issues.
There's also so much social pressure at this stage! The young adolescent feels that he or she needs close friends of the same sex whom he/she can confide with - someone whom they can share secrets about their crushes and admired person. He/She needs someone who can understand his/her undefined shifts in emotions. As parents, it is important that we should be there for them and guide them especially now that they're starting to enjoy more freedom.
Spiritually. Spirituality for them is becoming more personal. They do not go to church or pray simply because they are told. They do it because they want to. By now, it is extremely important that the adolescent knows who Jesus is to him. Is Jesus Lord? Is Jesus His Savior? Or else, he may never be made to believe in Christ anymore. Though he would look for some real proof about it in order to believe and not just feelings. As parents, we need to introduce Jesus Christ to our children while they are still young so that when they have grown-up, they will not abandon the faith.
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