Week Five-Card-Life Span Development Chapter 8

Chapter 8 is a tough pill to swallow, as it informs readers of all the awkward changes adolescents (ages 12-17) experience on their way to becoming adults. In this stage of life there is so much that is going on and one could only imagine how hard it is on an adolescent in today's time with technology and social media to add to the list. During the adolescence, children are going through puberty, mental and physical development, sexual identity (identifying gender as well as physical attraction for others of the same and or opposite gender), and mental health issues are likely prevalent but can be overlooked.
I once heard from parents of older children how I will miss the younger ages of my children once they become adolescents. I would always reply with something like, "I'll let you know, because right now it's not looking good; I'm sleep deprived and my husband and I are really tag-team parents, and  roommates!" My hypothesis is that at each stage of development it is very hard on both children and their parents. Having helpful insights like education through sources such as doctor office visits (prenatal, family practice, and pediatrician visits), schools, and social groups may be the key to raising the most healthy children possible at any developmental phase. Erik Erickson refers to adolescence by using "the term identity crisis" (Fiore p. 194).  He determined that "adolescents experiment with a variety of identities, yet experience no responsibility for the consequences...indecision-and tolerance of it-and idealism are essential in the identity-seeking process" (Fiore p. 194). I feel his description of adolescence is spot on, and many people are not aware of how experimentation is normal behavior of adolescence. As a result of unaware behavior of the adolescent, "Adolescent suicide represents the third leading cause of death among teenagers" (Shaffer & Pfeffer, 2001). Yes, there are some experiments we all wish children never think to do, but it's actually how we all learned some important life lessons; we have all experienced an instance of something we were taught was very dangerous or bad for us, we did it anyway, it resulted in some kind of horrible experience, and we kept those memories close so that we were/are deterred from doing it again.  It's sort of like the old saying, "A hard head makes a soft a$$!" Parents can't be with their children all the time, and they have to rely on examples, morals, rules that are instilled, and life lessons, hoping that they will serve as the best decision making compasses thereafter. But shouldn't there be some basic knowledge available for parents along the way?
All in all, education is the key. I agree with Shelby Knox in the short film, Education of Shelby Knox, where Shelby Knox is a teen who is part of a youth group that bring awareness to the plights of adolescents in a small, Christian, and conservative part of Texas. The school system and parents were against sex education and gay rights despite the high percentage of teen sexual activity, pregnancy, and sexually transmitted disease (STD) rates. Parents are not being educated or held accountable for their children's ignorance, and negative acts. Yes, there are many instances that parents are not educated about, and I know that parenting does not come with a manual, however, in my mind, I think there should be a fool-proof system set in place. Every year it is recommended for our children to be seen by their pediatricians at some time around their birthday, but why isn't it mandatory? This is where the parent can be thoroughly educated and reminded yearly about each phase of their child/ren's development. Nutritionist, counselors, and social workers should be a normal part of the healthcare team to monitor the child and their family's overall health status (physical, mental, emotional, social, and economical) as they are all relative to each other. Instead of schools requiring health screens only at kindergarten, sixth grade, entrance of high school and college, to verify immunizations, there should be a mandatory health screen yearly to promote education and screening of normal and abnormal behavior at each stage of development. This system of checks and balances could cut down on teenage pregnancy, sexual and substance abuse, mental health issues, stress, and criminal behavior. Even though we will not see a total eradication of the problems that adolescents face, with a system set in place for education, they can be all dealt with sooner rather than later. Having awareness of development at all stages can result in more positive and healthier outcomes. I am not experienced with this age group, as none of my children have yet approached this age or the onset of puberty, but I am happy to have learned more through this class, and see how I can use this information to educate my patients and hopefully develop a system to prevent the reoccurring high rates of the aforementioned unfavorable circumstances of adolescents.