Overview
The early teen years see lots of changes – physical, emotional, cognitive and social. During this time, children’s bodies, emotions and identities change in different ways at different times.
Changes in the body are the most readily observed, but other, less definitive attributes such as thoughts, behaviour, and social relations also change radically during this period. The rate of such changes varies with the individual as well as with the particular characteristic.
Social changes
Young people are busy working out who they are and where they fit into the world. So you might notice that your child is searching for identity. This search can be influenced by gender, peer group, cultural background and family expectations.
The nature of teenage brain development means that teenagers are likely to seek out new experiences and engage in more risk-taking behaviour. At the same time, your child is still developing control over her impulses.
You’ll probably find your child is influenced more by friends, especially when it comes to behaviour, sense of self and self-esteem.
Emotional changes
You might notice that your child shows strong feelings and intense emotions at different times. This is partly because your child’s brain is still learning how to control and express emotions in a grown-up way.
Young people get better at reading and processing other people’s emotions as they get older. This means your child might be more sensitive to your emotions.
Your child’s likely to be more self-conscious, especially about his physical appearance and changes. Adolescent self-esteem is often affected by appearance, or by how teenagers think they look. As your child develops, he might compare his body with those of his friends and peers.
And your child could go through a ‘bulletproof’ stage of thinking and acting. Your child’s decision-making skills are still developing, and she’s still learning about the consequences of her actions.
Behaviour changes
Some of the changes in teenage behaviour are explained by the way teenage brains develop. The parts of the teenage brain responsible for impulse control don’t fully mature until about age 25. The brain changes offers upsides and downsides – teenagers can be imaginative, passionate, sensitive, impulsive, moody and unpredictable.