Adolescence: A Period of Storm and Stress

Adolescence is the stage where there is neither the childhood nor the thinking/understanding maturity exists. In this situation it is very difficult job for the parents to handle adolescents carefully. In this context a slight mistake can give birth to an unpleasant event. Then how will adolescence get a right path?

Often people talk about children and adults. Those adolescents are generally left behind those who does not counted with children and not in adults. Means, the teenagers of thirteen to nineteen years of age, who are passing through physical and mental change, and those whose problem keeps on complicating. Sometimes they became ‘problem child’ for school and family.

Their problems are also strange, such as, “I am a student of 18 years. I am in an inter-cast love. He also likes me, but now days he is attracted towards a girl. I can’t live without him. I think of suicide.” Or “I am a thirteen years student of class eighth. Nobody likes me at home. Parents always scold me. I could not concentrate on studies. This year I got failed. Often I think of escaping house.” In the same way beauty and sex-related questions, problem of not spending time with parents, description of getting in bad company.

They are the children of that age group, who get rebuked at their suggestions that ‘’there is no need to speak between elders…..” or “a child should behave like a child.” They are scolded on mistakes by saying “you have grown up without any intelligence.” Or “When I was of your age. I managed whole household”. Teenagers are forced to walk on the edge of sword. Caught between two stools. Adolescence is that phase of the age where childhood is passing away and maturity is knocking to enter. At this stages he afraid of physical changes. Girls get tensed about menstrual cycle. And boys feel same due to the growing beard, moustache. Due to armonal changes they are tensed.They are attracted toward opposite sex. At this age most of the children get fall in love, which is actually not love. They believe the attraction towards different sex and behave according it. Lack of concentration in studies is obvious in this stage.

Disinterest shown by teachers in school and the physical punishment affects deeply. Attraction or enmity for a special-teacher is very obvious. Children of this age require special attention, love, co-ordination, then only they maintain their self-confidence. Adolescent reacts differently for a punishment or insult that he tolerated in childhood. Extrovert children come to give instant reaction while introvert Children suffocate. Tension between parents, social-economic business, intolerant towards child and lack of dialog creates anger in child. They get tired with home environment. As a result they wants to spend most of the time out of the house. For that they start pretending, laying and wants to accomplish their objectives.

They treat the points of their parents as verbal communication. They do not agree with the points their parents. Sometimes they react against parents intensely. In most of the cases, they do that to get attention of parents. It a psychological problem, its solution can be find with intelligence. Strict steps enforce adolescents to take wrong decision such as escaping from house.

At the stage of adolescence children behave emotionally. It is their negative as well as positive point. Creative/reconstructive values can be developed by directing this sensitivity appropriately, also this emotional attitude push them into the world of dreams and made them escaping, lazy and useless. It is good to be fabricating, but the adolescents living in world of imagination get disappointed when the dream comes to an end. In this situation whether it’s a girl or a boy it is good to made them busy with their favorite activities. They can be taught painting, signing, dance, writing etc. according their interest. Adolescents interested in sports can get coaching of specific sport, swimming which will help them in physical exercise. As they are busy their mind will stable. According to the time children can be specialist of their field. These interests of adolescence can be their occupation.

Other than personal problems of adolescence question regarding their carrier also arises at this stage of adolescence. Ambitious parents are more aware about the bright future of their child it influences the yielding mind of an adolescent. Selection of subjects in class according career, restlessness of getting desirable subject, selection of school and expectations of parents psychologically put child under pressure.

School environment terrorize adolescents. Selfish teacher emphasizes over private coaching rather than class studies. Insult children again and again in class. They also warn about failing student in the case of not getting coaching. Aware parents do not take interest in getting coaching from school teachers. In this situation what should be done by child? An adverse impact of the conflict of school and house is that student stop going school. He returns home after spending his school time in a park or cinema hall with friend(s) rather than going school. As a result he get failed in class. Ones he get last in studies then this process keeps on moving. Then parents get worried about.

Adolescent learn very much through various television channels. An adverse aspect of the advertisement telecasted for the precaution from AIDS is that, adolescent starts understanding something about sex-relationship and homosexuality at small age. This little information proved injurious. For the solution of curiosity they start learning adult contents and get misled. At this time attraction towards elder man or women also increases, the excitement of getting experience of sex with so called uncle-aunty finally becomes the reason for aversion, complex, guilty feeling and psychological disorder.

Indian society is not appropriate for the free minded discussion on sex. Date problem, kiss, hug, discussion about male or female friend between father and daughter, telecasted on foreign television channels are not in trend in our middle class society. Sex-education is only in process of thinking. Girls wants to wear shot dress like as on television, wants to make boyfriend, but are often unable to maintain the purity of this relationship. Pregnancy before marriage is a common think in foreign but our society is unable to identify these values right now.

Western countries are experiencing the result of care free sex-relationship. Our country is also now grip in the form of AIDS, but the western countries are now influencing with our beliefs and values. Now they are inclining towards behavioral….. yoga, Dhyan and worship.

It’s a psychological truth that at the stage of adolescence children considers them as intelligent and believes parents are comparatively fool. It is the reason that’s why they start lying parents, as a result often fall into trouble. Bragging became their habit. Some children do not show their result to their parents till the end, increase numbers by editing and making duplicate signature of parents became obvious things for them. Children make such innocent faces that their teachers and principle also get cheated by them, then cheating parents is not a difficult task.

The offence of violent, theft, robbing also found in this period. Though the number of girls in this area is comparatively very low but the incident of murdering a girl by two girls was breaking news two year ago around the country. Therefore it should also be considered.

Stress and depression can also be seen at the stage of adolescence. Mostly the reason behind it is higher ambition, enmity and expectation more than capacity. Parents expects very much from their children. For them they are horse of the race who has to come first. Children are also hopeful and at in case of failure take impatience decision like escaping from home or suicide.

Now a day’s society is passing through Solstice period. Older trends are now breaking, new are in the process of constructing. Older values are breaking down, new are still not formed. In a society where, there is a difference between doing and saying, on doing the same thing results different, it is obvious for the adolescents to get misled.

In this situation a feeling for security should be developed by both the sides i.e. school and family. Child should be trusted so that he can also trust you and himself as well. There should be provision for punishment on mistake it should be reformative and in optimistic manner.

Adolescents are emotional, sensitive and they are full of energy. This energy should be used for noble cause. Education should be purposeful and occupational, which can guarantee for a secure future.

Role of the Teacher

Enthusiasm of adolescents can be usually arises in the form of ego, arrogance and breaking trends. Sometimes this deformation reaches to the vulgar provoking. It is the duty of the teachers to have an eye of love and an eye of reforms towards the children of this age group. Eye of love because the sweet relationship can be developing with them and the situation of conflict could not arise and the cross eye of reforms to control their bad habits and drawbacks. The said matter is important because it is not possible to get him or right track without strict attitude. Only by saying with soft attitude they treat it as a joke and cannot understand the seriousness of the mistake and sometimes comment adversely. It is intellectual to get the middle way and the objective of reform can be fulfilled without increasing arrogance.

The situation for the moral education at adolescence is very critical. It cannot be solved by teacher or parents alone. Both of them are afraid of clash. On explaining they show rudeness and come to opposing. A punishment cannot to be given that can harm their future and became a reason for insult. In this situation both the parents are teachers should find a way with together. There should be inter communication among them and a way should be fined so that children do not be rebel. They should be explained and should provide leadership of some work. Generally the feeling of rudeness arises from the will of leadership and children do something wrong to prove themselves better than others. Such children should be introduced with the great people who compromised their ability and life for others and finally became comparatively special than others and achieved glory. Talent should be understood as a double edged sword, who misused it he became culpable, defame and suffered sentence. On the contrary who had used their talent carefully moved ahead, became great. If the talents of such adolescent get right direction then he may do some valuable things in his life which may prove valuable not only for him to the entire society also. Talent is a double edged sword, if it gets the wrong way then it destroys itself and others also, but if it is used for noble causes then it does such things which makes it incredible and to the person glorious. It is really a tuff job to handle such people but, if parents and teachers strive together then it is not so difficult. 

Summary

• Adolescence enters after childhood. This stage starts from 12 years and continuous to the age of 19 year. Psychologists called it as a stage of problem. Specially from the view of sex, various changes took place during this period due to which life of and adolescence is surrounded by tension, worry, struggle etc. Therefore it is essential to guide adolescents. Western scholars called it ‘teen age’ also. It is considered as the most difficult stage of development. 

• Two types of physical changes occur during adolescence: internal and external. Personality of an adolescent develops in a certain way only because of these changes. 

• Fickleness ends and the ability to concentration develop and memory power increases. Adolescents move in the world of imagination more and get victim of it. Imagination develops comparatively more within boys rather than girls. Logical power increases and various interests arise. 

• From the view point of social development now the interest of adolescent moves towards outer world by neglecting family. He can adopt rigid behavior towards parents but cannot abandon friends. He only see his insult in the advice of parents. He does not compromise with their thinking and do challenge them. From the view of self-respect, in the family or in group wherever he lives want respect for himself. 

• The feeling of insecurity worries poor adolescents every time. As a result they became the victim of feeling of enmity. 

• At this stage adolescent expects more happiness and pleasure. He like watching cinema, go to hotels, reading or writing story-novel, listening song, acting etc. His most powerful will is to do friendship with opposite sex. He requires money to be self-dependent. Therefore he wants to the self-dependent. Some adolescents are deeply affected by this feeling and it can be seen in their behavior. Adolescents of big cities are more excited towards their objectives. 

• Adolescent treat moral and social values as restriction. He has to deal with various values at a single time. Therefore he tries to satisfy all at a single point of time and get problematic in that. Therefore it is the responsibility of the teachers, parents and society to understand his behavior and respect him.

• The feeling of Hero-worship arises within adolescents. They starts following ideal person. Try to make themselves like their ideal person. Sometimes the effect of this hero-worship can be seen in the form of love. 

• With increase in age interests also changes. There are some similar interests of girls and boys and some are different. Boys are more interested in sports, exercise and future occupation but, girls are often interested in music, art, acting, framing activities. 

• Important symptom of adolescence is sexual-development. During this period their reproductive parts get the power of reproduction as they got complete development. Sex-feelings get blast during this period. 

• To utilize the energy of adolescence, proper structure should be emphasized; this can be helpful in fulfillment of their needs.

• At the stage of adolescence physic develops with a high speed. His height get more increment. It is important to have arrangement for exercise in schools for healthy development of the body. 

• Adolescent remains at a situation of psychological conflict. Therefore it is important to provide them moral education. Moral education should be practical rather than theoretical.

• Generally adolescents are worried about their future. It is the responsibility of the school to guide them to choose a right occupation for them.

• Psychologists believe that adolescents are more interest towards studies. In this situation children should be inspired to read the biography of great people and quality novels. 

• From the view of participating in the formation of society, social values should be develop within adolescent. Adolescent also includes of group feeling. In schools teachers should emphasize group studies.

• Reason behind various problems of adolescents is tendency of sex. This causes instability in his momentum, behavior, interest etc. scholars believes that there should be arrangements for sex-education for adolescents. An attempt should be made for developing a positive point of view towards sex. 

• Adolescents are emotional, sensitive and they are owner of boundless energy. This energy should be properly used. Education should be full of objective and occupational that can guarantee a secure life.