Emotional Changes During Puberty: Supporting Your Child

Introduction

Puberty and adolescence are very sensitive times for boys and girls going through that age. It not only causes various physical changes but also emotional and mental changes. The child starts to explore the world with a new pair of eyes and mindsets, setting different types of perspectives in their head, which can cause emotional ups and downs.

Many parents will agree that adolescence is a time of emotional confusion for children where they get to explore unknown emotions as well as a mix of emotions, making them worry about many things or feel irritated constantly.

Parents should know about these emotional changes during puberty beforehand to support that child better through this age. Being there for your children at puberty can help them in various ways. Keep on reading to know more about it.

Understanding Puberty

Understanding puberty in a deeper sense is required to understand the emotional changes a child goes through during puberty. Most of the time, parents dismiss the adolescent child's feelings, thinking they are irrational or invalid, but they often fail to think through why the child is having such thoughts.

Various hormonal changes also affect the mind's thinking and thinking about various things. That new perspective and exploration can also divert the child into thinking about stress and depression for small aspects of life. As the child is going through a new path, it is pretty common for them to get scared.

Parents should make sure that during the sensitive time of puberty when a child is going through various body and hormonal changes, they are constantly supported and guided through emotional changes to feel better about themselves and become confident individuals.

Understanding Child's Mental Health

Parents need to consider that child's mental well-being before dismissing any thoughts or requests a teenager makes. It is a common scenario in everyone's household that a teenage child's parents do not understand their feelings.

It is simply because of the generation gap and the gap in communication due to various reasons. Parents should always support their children and encourage them to explore for better understanding. At the same time, children should also emphasize various aspects with their parents.

Disciplining the child through bad decisions is also necessary for parents during this age when the child reckons that they know everything as a grown-up. But, while discipling; it is important for parents to maintain a sense of understanding to ensure that all the emotional needs and validation are met to support the mental well-being of children.

Get To Know About Emotional Changes During Puberty

Here are a few changes that directly impact the emotional imbalance in children during puberty:

• Mood Swings

The body is working extra hard internally to meet all the changes required for the adolescent milestone. This makes the child develop hormones, which impact the mood swings. It can be common for children to feel okay in one moment and feel irritated in the other.

• Irritation

On the other hand, it is important to understand that a child going through various body changes physically and mentally is more prone to irritation, which affects the emotional needs of children by affecting the situation. A child getting irritated or in a rage might dismiss or say things that they regret later, which impacts them emotionally. Parents should be more lenient during this time to create a sense of understanding and fulfill their emotional needs.

• Behavior Changes

Parents need to understand that their kids are not kids anymore. There will be certain behavioral changes or imitations of grown-ups that the child might follow. Parents should either encourage healthy behavior while guiding them through the proper course of being adults, or they should discipline children while validating all their feelings.

How To Support Your Child Through Emotional Changes?

Here are a few simple ways to help your child through different emotional changes during puberty.

• Encourage your child to be vocal in communication. Also, parents should make an offer to understand their child better, making it a two-way effort.
• Show acts of love and support for your children to help them understand that you care for them and that growing up has not affected one bit of your love for your child even when they start to think that you do not care for them, creating an emotional bridge between both.
• Open communication in both cases is extremely necessary for children and parents to emphasize each aspect emotionally. Parents are advised to initiate open conversation while validating their children's feelings to help them manage their emotions better.

Conclusion

Now that parents have learned about new ways to handle emotional changes during puberty and about supporting their children. Help your children become stronger emotionally with more confidence and resilience, making them good individuals.