What to expect from your High School teenager

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• What to expect from your High School teenager
• Jen Kenny-Baum
• Wellness Coordinator

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Becoming Independent

• Struggling with developing own identity
• Feeling awkward or strange about self and body
• Focus on self, alternating between high
  expectations and poor self-esteem
• Interests and clothing influenced by friends
• Moodiness
• More able to express self with words
• Realization that parents are not perfect
  identify their faults
• Less obvious affection shown to parents, with
  occasional rudeness
• Complaints that parents interfere with
  independence
• Tendency to return to childish or immature
  behavior, especially when overwhelmed or stressed
  

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Thought Process

• Interests focus on the present, with limited
  thoughts of the future
• Intellectual interests grow and become more
  important
• Greater ability to do work (physical, mental,
  emotional)

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Relationships Sexuality

• May display shyness, blushing, and modesty
• Girls develop physically sooner than boys
• Increased interest in sex
• Begin exploring issues and questions about their
  sexuality and sexual orientation
• Concerned about being attractive to others
• Frequently changing relationships
• Worries about being normal

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Morals, Values, Behavior

• Greater testing of rules and limits
• Brain develops abstract thinking
• Develops ideals and role models
• Develops a conscience learning how to make
  choices.
• May experiment with sex and/or drugs and alcohol

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What can you do?

• What you do MATTERS!
• You cant be too loving
• Really Listen
• Stay Involved
• Adapt your parenting
• SET LIMITS
• Foster Independence
• Explain your decisions

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When to Worry?

• How often is the behavior happening?
• How does the behavior affect your childs life?
• How does the behavior affect others?

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Signs to look for

• Noticeable change in school performance.
• Inability to cope with problems and daily
  activities.
• Noticeable changes in sleeping and/or eating
  habits.
• Frequent physical complaints.
• Sexual acting out.
• Abuse of alcohol and/or drugs.
• Intense fear of becoming fat thats not related
  to actual body weight, throwing up food or
  restricting eating.
• Persistent nightmares.
• Threats of wanting to hurt themselves or others.
• Self-injury or self destructive behavior.
• Frequent outbursts of anger and aggression.
• Threats to run away.
• Violating the rights of others skipping school,
  stealing, or vandalism.

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Where to get support

• Friends (and other parents)
• Family
• School
• Community (Church, agencies, after-school
  programs)
• Professional (Medical Doctor or Counselor)