Peculiarities of Teenager Growth

Parents, from their own experience, may vaguely remember what happened to them at the time when they were transforming from children into teenagers, but when their own children are growing up, often parents do not conduct conversations on the topic of global changes in the growing organism and are not particularly interested in what is happening with their children.

The absence of information can plunge a teenager into depression and all kinds of fears due to misunderstanding of the physiological processes taking place.

A child does not see how he grows and he thinks little about who he is transforming into.

I remember a case when I was talking with children from 6 to 10 years old and telling them that they would not always be children, that they would change and become big and would be adults. And they listened to me with wide eyes and did not understand how this should look in their lives, since growing up was not part of their plans.

God laid a program of growth in every person and whether we want it or not, whether we are ready or not quite, but at the appointed time certain processes begin to occur that change everything in the body.

Parents should not be afraid of the adolescent period, but it is desirable for them to prepare and learn to understand God's plan for this time. Their children grow according to normal laws of anatomy and someday they will grow up and leave their father's house, never to return to it forever. This is how our world is arranged and everyone goes through this.

Many fear the rupture of good relationships with children, and someone even compares this to the rupture of a stretched rubber band, which, when released, flies at tremendous speed in both directions and hurts those who stretched it. Wounds heal, but the memory of the pain caused remains.

But why complicate everything so much and invent problems for yourself and others where there should not be any?

If you decided to study the basics of child rearing when he turned 13 years old, then I think you have missed a lot and will no longer be able to make up for it, even with all your sincere desire. But if you become interested in this science from early childhood and competently apply everything in practice, then it will be pleasant for you to be in the company of your children at any age.

Love and friendship can correct any mistakes and shortcomings at any stage of development, and blessed are those parents who know the time and what needs to be done, they will be like the sons of Issachar from 1Chr 12:32, who came as "...men of understanding, who knew what Israel ought to do..."

The duty of father and mother includes the obligation, starting from 10 years old, to conduct explanatory conversations with son and daughter about the upcoming changes in the child's organism, about what they may feel during this and what painful sensations they may have. Children are very interested to know what awaits them in the future and it will be interesting for them to see their intensive growth when all this comes into their life. All children dream of becoming adults, while adults dream of returning to childhood and compose songs about it. Where does childhood go, to what cities? And where can we find the means to get there?

What happens to the body of a ten-year-old child? Puberty processes are launched in it, which make a youth out of a boy and a girl out of a girl, capable of producing and bearing children.

Girls develop, as a rule, earlier than boys their age and for this reason they are sometimes not interested in having communication with their peers and are more drawn to the society of older children.

Starting from 10 years old in a girl's organism, the hypothalamus activates the production of gonadotropic hormones, which stimulate the ovaries, which produce the hormone estrogen, responsible for further sexual maturation.

At first, girls begin to grow soft tissues in the area of hips, buttocks and chest, and then the appearance of hair cover under the arms and on the pubic part of the body. These processes create prolonged pain in the chest area and, with misunderstanding of what is happening, may cause fear of an unknown disease.

Determining the transition from girl to young woman is very simple. When her feminine days begin, which at first may be irregular, then she can be congratulated on the transition into the adult life of a teenager, but if she is not informed about this by her mother, then it may seem to her that she will soon die from blood loss, which will plunge her into fear and despondency.

A wise mother, and in her absence a caring father, will find ways to prepare their daughter for this time, explain everything to her and teach her to use personal hygiene products.

During puberty, intensive growth of the entire body and bones also occurs, which ends by 16-17 years. Against the background of all these changes, the girl develops emotional instability, which is expressed in sharp mood swings, in tendency to irritation, in increased resentment, in anxious experiences.

There is increased interest in her new body structure, which causes excessive shyness about her new forms and dissatisfaction about the abundance of fatty pimples on the face and chest.

Boys begin to mature a couple of years later than girls, but their growth occurs faster than in girls. The same hypothalamus and pituitary gland produce gonadotropic hormones, which stimulate the production of testosterone, which is responsible for the sexual maturation of the young man. The enlargement of testicles and sexual organs begins. There is intensive appearance of new hair cover in the pubic area and under the arms, and later in many parts of the body and on the face, which is not the same for all young people and depends on heredity.

The vocal cords "break" due to growth in the larynx area and the voice transforms from childish to masculine. Enhanced growth of muscle mass in all parts of the body begins.

Boys also experience severe pain in the chest area and in muscles when their bones and soft tissues receive a command from the organism to grow and begin to grow intensively.

Emotionally, young men are more inclined to manifest irritation and aggression in the struggle for their rights and freedoms. Their mood can also change quickly, like weather, and depends very much on success in studies, sports or in the development of physical strength. They also develop a striving for independence, which forms protest against parental authority.

It is difficult to precisely determine the moment of transition from boy to young man, but this can boldly be considered at the age of 12 to 13 years, seeing his intensive growth.

By 18-20 years, the final growth of the male organism is formed and this age is considered completed sexual maturity, after which young people receive the right to create their own family and begin independent life.

Since the main growth process occurs during sleep, teenagers are inclined to sleep longer than the allotted time, and if their bedtime was late, then awakening will not be early either. And if there is no urgent necessity, then their sleep should not be interrupted, but the organism should be given the opportunity to organize awakening at the right time by itself.

All difficulties with teenagers in parents arise most likely from ignorance and unpreparedness for changes in relationships. How very difficult it can be to "change shoes" and find a new approach to children, because so much one wants them to always remain children.

1. Please read Ps. 139:13-14; 144:12; Eccl. 3:1; Gen. 1:27; Isa. 44:2; Jer. 1:5; Col. 3:20; Luke 2:52; 1Cor. 3:11; Prov. 20:29 in light of this lesson.

2. What other verses from the Bible came to your mind?

3. What was revealed to you in this chapter?

4. Why is it important to begin conversations about teenage changes with children in advance?

5. What is the role of parents in preparing a child for adolescence?

6. Why do parents often fear the adolescent age of their children?

7. Is it important to understand how hormonal surges affect teenagers' moods?

8. How do teenagers perceive changes in their body if they are not informed?

9. Why is it important for teenagers to have parental support during this period?

10. Does adolescence affect relationships with parents?

11. Why do teenagers begin to strive for independence at this age?

12. At what age is it better to begin conversations with children about upcoming changes?

13. How do love and friendship in the family help overcome the difficulties of adolescence?

14. Did God allow the peculiarities of the adolescent period to destroy relationships with parents through this?