Thursday, March 29, 2012

Parent Child Relationships


Jordan Milliken
Parent Child Relationships
Adolescence is defined as the transition between childhood and adulthood. This stage of life is introduced by puberty, which is a flood of biological events leading to an adult-sized body and sexual maturity. The immediate physical and psychological changes taking places cause psychological distancing from parents. This is a time in the adolescents’ life where they begin to solve problems and make decisions more effectively. Their view of parental control starts to dwindle as they now have an improved ability to reason about social relationships. Parents are now starting to become “just people”.  A warm, supportive parent-adolescent relationship is best for this time in the adolescent’s life. This allows them to explore ideas and social roles foster autonomy, which predict high self-reliance, work orientation, academic competence, favorable self-esteem, and ease of separation in the transition to college. It is important that parents keep a close eye on the young person’s daily life through a cooperative relationship to provoke positive outcomes. The quality of the parent-adolescent relationship is the single most consistent predictor of mental health.  In well-functioning families this will result in a closer relationship in later teenage years.

1 comment:

  1. This is very important for parents to be aware of. Yes, when the parents were adolescents they went through the same thing but they may not remember how difficult and stressful this part of life can be. As I look back on how my parents reacted during my time of puberty, I realize they didn't talk to me about it at all. I really wish they would have so I would of been aware that everything that I was going through was normal.

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