Your daughter at 12
You
know what awaits them: youth and all the ups and downs they are famous for. If
you feel relieved that 13 candles aren't on your daughter's cake yet - one more
year - you might want to think again. Some of these changes may already be
implemented.
Puberty
If it
hasn't started yet, puberty is fast approaching. First, your daughter will have
a growth spurt. She will become taller, her hips may widen, and her waist may
shrink. Her breasts will begin to grow, and she will begin to grow hair in
places that she never had before - in the pubic area, under her arms and on her
legs. Hormones change everything.
Your
daughter's emotions may surprise you. For a moment, she thinks she can do
anything. The next day she feels like a failure. She is happy, then sad, then
happy again. She wants to cuddle and then rejects any form of affection from
you. Be positive and supportive. Like all children, she needs to know that you
are with her.
Her
brain is physically as big as it can be, but it will continue to develop until
she is twenty. The prefrontal cortex, responsible for impulse control and
organizational skills (planning, reasoning, and problem solving), is still in
full development. But now she can express her feelings and think in abstract
terms such as justice, equality, politics and civil law. She is also better at
problem solving and logic. Planning and thinking about the consequences can
still be a challenge
Get more social
This
is because her social conscience is at full capacity. This is a period of
transitions and contradictions. She is the center of her own universe, but
prefers to spend time with her friends. She develops her personality but is
desperate to fit in.
Use
this to your advantage to help her learn how to make the right decisions.
Emphasize the right decision she made at school or in some social activity,
such as sports. Ask questions about her thought process and how she thinks it
happened. This gives her much-needed self-esteem when he has to make tougher
decisions. And, as a bonus, it sets you up like a solid deck.
Increased
social activity also means intense exposure to peer pressure. She makes
decisions about the use of social media, tobacco, alcohol, drugs and sex. You
may have talked to her about these topics in the past, but it's time to come
back because she sees them with new eyes. Ask her what she sees and what she
thinks about it. Act out several situations in which she may have to make a
difficult decision. Remind her where you are with limits and consequences.
She
can be sensitive and sullen, but that's okay. Depression is different. If she
has lost interest in activities she normally enjoys, seems restless or
restless, or neglects her appearance, it may be time to talk to a doctor or
mental health professional.
Depression
can take the form of drug abuse, an eating disorder, or self-harm. Changes in her
brain chemistry can also cause mental illnesses such as anxiety disorders.
Internet and social networks
What she experiences online matters just as much as what she experiences in real life. Teenagers are cunning and know a lot of ways to bypass parental controls, so it's important to keep the conversation going about online safety. Talk to her about how she presents herself online and how it could affect college admissions, future jobs, and more. Ask about the forms of social media she uses: check her accounts and talk to her about what she shares and why.