Quoted in Mid-day on 17 th Aug, 2020 on
Parenting tips to help adolescents cope with the current changes.
Dr Nahid Dave, a psychiatrist at Insight Clinic adds that peer relationships fulfil multiple purposes during this age. "Children's self-esteem is related to their position in the peer group. On the other hand, being excluded from the peer group teaches them resilience. Children experience dopamine highs when they are appreciated by their peers. Peer relationships lay the foundation for several situations that children will encounter in their later lives."
Many parents struggle to adjust to their children's new-found sense of identity and independence — they still try to discipline their child in the same ways as they did when the child was younger. The child perceives this as nagging and this results in rebelliousness or 'acting out'. Without the buffer of social interactions, this can lead to friction in a family, she says. Add to this the fact that many parents are under huge stress and are struggling to balance their professional and domestic expectations with their parenting duties, and it's easy to see why parents also have a much lower threshold from frustration tolerance. This can negatively impact their relationship with their adolescents.
Encourage autonomy: Instead of trying to enforce a schedule, give your child responsibilities and the freedom to choose when they want to address these, says Dr Dave. Be realistic and reasonable about deadlines.
Dr Dave adds that parents shouldn't force their child to communicate or try to emotionally blackmail them into opening up, as it could backfire.
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