During adolescence, children develop the ability to:

• Comprehend abstract content, such as higher mathematic concepts

• Develop moral philosophies, including rights and privileges

• Question old values without a sense of dread or loss of identity

• Move gradually towards a more mature sense of identity and purpose

• Establish and maintain satisfying personal relationships by learning to share
  intimacy without inhibition or dread

Adolescents typically demonstrate behaviors consistent with several myths of adolescence:

• The first myth is that they are "on stage" with the attention of others constantly centered upon their appearance or actions. This preoccupation stems from the fact that adolescents spend so much time thinking about and looking at themselves, it is only natural to assume that everyone else is also thinking and looking at them as well. In reality, this doesn't occur because "everyone else" (usually peers) is too preoccupied with their own issues. This normal self-centeredness may appear (especially to adults) to border on paranoia, narcissism, or even hysteria.

• Another myth of adolescence is that of the indestructible self. This belief feeds into ideation of "it will never happen to me, only the other person". In this sense, "it" may represent becoming pregnant or incurring a sexually-transmitted disease after having unprotected intercourse, causing an car crash while driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, developing oral cancer as a result of chewing tobacco, or any of the numerous adverse effects of a wide range of risk-taking behaviors.

The above information is provided courtesy of the National Institute of Health and the National Library of Medicine.

Parenting Tips:

1) Adolescents usually require privacy in which to contemplate changes taking place within their own bodies. Ideally, the youth should be allowed to have a bedroom. If this is not possible, some private space should be allotted.

2) Teasing an adolescent child about physical changes is inappropriate, because it may cause
self-consciousness and embarrassment.

3) Parents need to remember that the adolescent's interest in body changes and sexual topics is natural, normal development and does not necessarily indicate movement into sexual activity.

4) Parents must take care not to label emerging instinct and behaviors as wrong, "sick", or immoral. Adolescents may experiment with or consider a wide range of sexual orientations or behaviors prior to feeling comfortable with their own sexual identity.

5) The teenager's quest for independence is normal development and need not be looked upon by the parent as rejection or a loss of control. To be of most benefit to the growing adolescent, a parent needs to be a constant and consistent figure, available as a sounding board for the youth's ideas without dominating or overtaking the emerging, independent identity of the young person.

6) Despite adolescents constantly challenging authority figures, they need or want limit-setting, as it provides a safe boundary in which to grow and function. Limit-setting refers to predetermined and negotiated rules and regulations regarding behavior.

7) Parents can anticipate their authority to be repeatedly challenged, as children enter and move through their adolescent years. Maintaining open lines of communication and clear, yet negotiable, limits or boundaries may prove useful in minimizing major conflicts.

The information above was provided courtesy of the National Institute of Health.