All My Children

Adolescence Body Odour

Body odours become much stronger in adolescence—partly as a result of glandular changes and skin changes, partly as the result of axillary (armpit) hair on which perspiration collects and is decomposed by bacterial action. It is essential that teenagers, in a society like ours which considers body smells offensive, take a careful soap or shower daily and follow with an underarm deodorant.

Adolescence Hair and Scalp

Sweat is more profuse and oily in adolescence, which means that hair on the head gets to look greasy and straggly in a shorter time. Dandruff appears in winter and may become profuse. The hair should be washed once a week, more often if necessary. If dandruff is troublesome, a dermatologist should be consulted. Continue Reading »

The task of achieving independence from parents

With rare exception, adolescents develop a powerful drive to become independent, to be in charge of their daily affairs and their future. As a result, bucking the limits, challenging authority, and resisting constraints imposed at home and school are pretty much par for the course. Just as in the first adolescence of toddler days, the extent of willfulness and the lack of good judgment can at times be spectacular. And while it may sometimes seem outrageous, some degree of struggling against parental control is a normal and necessary part of growing up. Continue Reading »

Some things that bother you may not be worth a major conflict with your teenager. Think carefully before starting a war over the following:

• A mess in his or her own room (unless the health department pays a visit). Remember: dirty-room syndrome is a self-limited and nonfatal illness.
• Length of hair
• Earrings (for either gender)
• Style of music
• Sound level of music
• Choice of everyday clothing
• Fast food
• Sleeping in when there’s not a specific need to arise for school or work
• How, when, and where homework is done—as long as it is getting done

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From a physical standpoint, the main event of adolescence is puberty, which serves as the physiological bridge between childhood and adulthood.

Puberty: The stage of maturation in which an individual becomes physiologically capable of sexual reproduction. (From the Latin puber: “adult.”)

Rapid growth and body changes during these years are to a large degree brought about by interactions between several hormones, biochemical compounds that are created in one part of the body and sent via the bloodstream to have a specific effect somewhere else. These chemical messages provoke an impressive number and variety of responses throughout the body. All of the hormones and the glands that secrete them are collectively known as the endocrine system. Continue Reading »

During or before toddler days, your child undoubtedly discovered that touching the genital area felt good, and you may have been dismayed to see little hands exploring inside the diaper zone (whether clean or otherwise) on a number of occasions. This type of exploration is common and quite normal in young children, as is an ongoingcuriosity about body parts. Questions about where they (or their siblings) came from are part of the same package. When it comes to dealing with such sensitive areas and topics, you have a number of important assignments:

Make it clear that you are the prime source of information about these matters—and not the kid next door or some other unreliable source.

Be levelheaded, honest,calm, and straightforward when you name body parts and explain what they do. Using actual terms (penis and vagina) and not more colorful vocabulary may save some embarrassment later on if your child happens to make a public pronouncement. This information by itself doesn’t jeopardize your child’s innocence. Continue Reading »

As you ponder the process of communicating to your school-age child about sex, remember that the primary message you need to give him—more important in the long run than the specific facts and figures—is the importance of respect:

• Respect for the body each of us has been given and for the Creator of that body
• Respect for the wonder of reproduction
• Respect for privacy in sexual matters, not only his own, but parents, friends, and others’
• Respect for his future and an understanding that sexual activity can have a profound effect on his health and happiness for the rest of his life
• Respect for marriage as the appropriate context for sexual expression

Think in terms of a gradual and relaxed release of information to your child, beginning with the basic naming of body parts and a general understanding of where babies come from during the preschool years and progressing to full disclosure of the reproductive process before puberty begins. Continue Reading »

Twenty to 30 percent of American children and adolescents are estimated to be overweight, which is traditionally defined as 10 to 20 percent over “ideal” (a better term would be “appropriate“) weight‘ for age and height or obese (more than 20 percent over appropriate weight). It is important to understand that the significance of a given weight depends not only upon age and height but also on general build and percentage of body fat. For example, a muscular, well-conditioned athlete may technically weigh more than the ideal amount for his height, but his percentage of body fat may be normal or even low.

Normally height and weight are entered on a growth chart as part of routine physical examinations, and very often a look at the pattern of these measurements over a period of time can clarify concerns about a child’s weight. If your child or adolescent is more than 20 percent overweight, a medical evaluation is appropriate, whether as part of a regular checkup or during a special visit. While it is unlikely that the doctor will find a treatable disease that is responsible for the weight problem, it is most important to seek help and begin to work with the child on this problem for the following reasons: Continue Reading »

While eating and body image are sources of concern or exasperation for millions of people, for some they become the focus of extreme and potentially dangerous behavior. According to the American Psychiatric Association, at any given time roughly a half million people in the United States are affected with an eating disorder. Of these, 95 percent are young women between the ages of twelve and twenty-five, most from middle- or upper-income families. (These conditions are rarely seen in developing countries.) Athletes, models, dancers, and others in the entertainment industry are at particular risk, usually because of intense concern over maintaining a particular, often unrealistic, appearance or level of performance.

The two most common eating disorders, other than obesity, are anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. Continue Reading »

What influences cause such seemingly unrewarding and even dangerous behaviors? While each case is unique, potential contributing factors include the following:

• Cultural factors. In developed countries, advertisements, films, videos, and TV programs continually display images of bodily perfection, especially for females. Those who are shapely, sleek, and most of all thin are seen as successful, sophisticated, desirable, and apparently free of emotional or personal pain. A vulnerable individual who desperately desires these attributes but cannot attain them through normal means may buy into this and thereby set in motion unhealthy and extreme behaviors.

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