ADOLESCENT PSYCHOLOGY: NUTRITION AND COMMUNICATION

Adolescent Psychology: Nutrition and Communication Children and adolescents have a need to eat three nutritious meals a day. Breakfast is an important part of the physical requirements of a young person's physical development, as well as his or her mental state. Some children and young people might skip breakfast regularly, and sometimes lunch as well, unbeknownst to the parents, who might assume that he, (usually she), is eating at school, when in fact they are not. This can affect the mood of the young person, and her mental state. There are many girls who skip breakfast when it is served at school and there are some whose first meal is at 7:00 PM when their parents return home from work. This can have a strong influence on the mental health of an adolescent or child and has been observed in the public school setting with children from fourth grade to middle school years and is probably true of some high school students as well. Keep Communication Lines Open Parents have a large role in contributing to the emotional, spiritual and physical health of a child and adolescent, as well as a responsibility to provide direction, guidance and firmness, proper boundaries, in family life with appropriate and reasonable limits for youths. Additionally, successful parents keep the communication lines with their adolescents open. They are reasonable and loving in dealing with the mistakes and failures of their children and teenagers. If they learn not to overreact when their teenagers "mess up," even if it is as serious as a pregnancy or getting suspended for cutting, drug use, or some other serious reason, then the teenager will be less likely to lie, less likely to have an abortion without the parents knowledge, and more likely to talk to the parent about their problems. By the time an adolescent reaches 15 to 18 years, they are already establishing patterns of self-determination, that is, they are learning to make their own decisions. The role of the parent during these years is delicate. Firmness is necessary to protect the teen from unwholesome influences but, which firmness can't be taken to the point of being oppressive or overbearing. Additionally, parents should be aware that drugs are a real part of teen sub-culture, that close to 50% of teenagers have tried marijuana by the time they are 18, and approximately 20% may be regular users (at least once a month). Parents should realize that drugs such as Ecstasy are taken by teenagers at teen dance clubs. Some adolescents who have anger management issues, or who are violent or unstable may be using marijuana fairly regularly unbeknownst to their parents or to the child study team who may be involved. All of these ties into the subject of adolescent psychology, and even child study teams need to be more aware of the destabilizing influence that covert use of drugs, such as marijuana and Ecstasy can have on adolescents, even if it is not daily or weekly. http://softwareentertainmentprotection.blogspot.com/
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