The Sidney herald., 1955-02-17
Steps
(From the Richland COUNTY

(From the Richland County
Health Department Office.)
The average teenager, taking his
first steps into the adult world,
much as he took his first faltering
steps as a baby, is uncertain about
meeting life'S challenges. He wav-
ers between the safety and Sc
curity which comes from depend
ing on his parents, and his urge to
be free and independent.
Any period that involves so
many adjustments, and lasts as
adolescence, is bound to produce
emotional ups and downs. Some
times parents blame themselves
for this lack of stability, and
sometimes they unleash a torrent
of anger at their children. When
parents accept unpredictable be-
haviour as a part of growing up,
the adoleScent has a better chance
to work out solutions to his prob
lens. What he needs from his
parents is the assurance that they
are standing by to act as shock
disorders against the worlds re-
bluffs. Parents need not - and
/ should not - expect to understand
everything their boys and girls are
going through. But it helps if
they recognize the signs of growth,
and are patient.
A number of circumstances
combine to make adolescence a
somewhat trying period for both
parents and children. We live in an
increasingly complicated, mechan-
lied world, changed by new in
ventions and new ideas too rap
idly for our habits and attitudes
to keep up. Such complexities
make the teenager's introduction
to the world fraught with emo
tional strains. Parents have diff
ficulty in adjusting to the rapidly
changing social habits Of the
younger generation.
Let's define adolescence. It's a
period of growth, lasting in most
children from age IL through 20.
Puberty, or the point at which
sexual maturity begins, marks a
child's passage into adolescence.
The changes that come with it
concern everything about a person,
making him act differently, and
look and feel different. His atti-
tudes toward himself and toward
other people change.
Parents would be wise to look at
the adolescent boy or girls be-
havior, not for what it is on the
surface, but for what it reveals
about how he feels inside.
Learning to do this takes lots OF
patients. From the late-lying abec
in the morning to the late staying
UP at night, the adolescent's day
is crammed with events parents
need to interpret. Daydreaming
becoming suddenly irritated al
unexpected times, and other pc
culiarities puzzle parents, but this
must be expected.
This growing process will give
us pleasant surprises too. When
teenagers begin to show more self
control in difficult situations
when they begin to recognize &
clearer distinction between right
and wrong, when they show SYM
pathy or good will when it's moi
seemingly to their advantage, we
can welcome the strides being
made in adolescent development
They are growing to emotional as
well as physical maturity.
Meanwhile, they still need di-
rection, protection, love and I'M
Outstanding. Our ways of handling
our children often are the methods
our own parents used on US. Some
times we react against either oul
own severe or lax upbringing by
leaning over backwards to do the
opposite for our children. For ex-
ample, children can stand only Sc
much freedom. So a mother whC
tries to be permissive, reactinG
against her own strict CHILDHOOD
environment, may make her owl