Chapter 16- Teenager and Sex

Teenagers and Sexual Behavior

Many years ago dating was considered a form of courtship that would eventually lead to marriage. Now a day’s dating or hooking up means a totally different thing. It can “cover everything from kissing to sexual intercourse” (Feldman, 2007). Teenagers are having sexual intercourse by the age of 15. But it is hard not to put the blame on social norms and the media. There is a double standard for men and women, in favor of more leniencies towards men (Feldman, 2007). I also feel that culture has a lot to do with dating and sexual activity with the young people. For example my parents were very old fashion and raised us the same way. They were strict on the dating and we had to go everywhere with them. The boys had more freedom and the girls had more restrictions. I have two daughters, Alexandrea and Victoria, who are teenagers. I struggle all the time on how much freedom I should give them. I do not want to be an old fashion parent but then I do not want to be the cool parents who have nor control. We have a close relationship and we discuss sexual issues all the time. I have tried to teach them about self respect and not being promiscuous. I hear stories (from them) on what is going on in high school. Kids making out in the hallways or some are having sex in the bathrooms. What was acceptable behavior between two married people, the teenagers are doing in public with no remorse. So as parents we need to be more involved in their lives and explain at their level the consequences of what can happen if they have sex at such an early. Are they ready mentally for something so intimate?

Feldman, R. (2007). Child development (4th edition). Pearson Prentice Hall.

Chapter 15, Moral

According to Feldman (2007) boy’s and girls view moral differently. Girls see “it in terms of responsibility” (Feldman, 2007). They also will display more compassion and will self sacrifice to help someone else. On the other hand boy’s view moral in terms of fairness and justice (Feldman, 2007). Fittro feels children need to development certain characteristics to form moral. Some of things they should learn are to be honest, loyal, responsible, loving, helpful, and good manners. Fittro also feels that moral is taught or learned in stages and parents play a big role in teaching their children this. They can begin by what Fitrro calls teaching by example. How can parents expect to be treated with respect if they do not treat their children with respect? Also parents are the children’s first teachers and they need to lead by example. For instance, if a parent lie’s and then turns around and tells the children lying is wrong. Then what mixed messages are they sending. Another example is when some parent’s burn copies of music and then preaches to their children that stealing is wrong. But wait isn’t that what they are doing? So maybe we need to teach moral to parents then teach the children.

Feldman, R. (2007). Child development (4th edition). Pearson Prentice Hall

Fittro, J. K. (n.d.). Rearing Moral Children. Retrieved July 30, 2008, from The Ohio State University Fact Sheet: http://ohioline.osu.edu/flm97/fs03.html

Chapter 14- Body Image

During the teenage year’s physical appearance is important to them. They are still self-conscious about their body and how they are developing. And some studies have shown that an adolescent will have a higher self esteem as they get older if they view themselves attractive during that stage of their life (Teen Development, 2008). According to Feldman (2007), girls will be become anxious as their body begins to change. The girls will have more communication with their mothers during their puberty time only because they need certain feminine products that their mother can provide. “Girls, in particular, are often unhappy with their new bodies” (Feldman, 2007). Some have formed an image from the media on how they should look. My daughter Victoria for example has a hard time accepting her body type and feels life is not fair because she does not look like some of her friends or people in the media. Some days she hates the way she looks and other day’s she is more accepting. I tell her how beautiful she is and I always mention her good qualities but she feels I am only saying that because I am her mother. So only if her friends tell her that she looks good then she will believe. I feel society put’s a lot of pressure on young people about their body image. Movie star’s are shown wearing the best and altering their looks everyday that young people feel they have to look the same way. If they had better role models than maybe it would not be such an issue.

Feldman, R. (2007). Child development (4th edition). Pearson Prentice Hall.
Teen Development. (2008). Retrieved July 21, 2008, from iVillage.com: http://parenting.ivillage.com/teen/tdevelopment/topics/0,,4rsr,00.html

Chapter 10- T.V. & Violence

According to the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry television is influencing and shaping the behavior of children. Studies have shown how children are becoming immune to violence they view on television. They imitate what they see and they demonstrate more aggressive behavior. This behavior can be corrected with the help of parents. They can begin by monitoring what their children are viewing and limit the time they spend watching television.
Explain to the child why behavior like that is not acceptable. They can use that free time instead to bond with their child by reading or playing (Children And TV Violence, 2002).
Other evidence reveals that media violence can lead to bullying. And media is not limited to television but to video games as well. But children can be taught that the real world does not consist of violent behavior (Feldman, 2007).
I have seen this aggressive behavior on my 5 year old nephew. He loves to watch Power Rangers, Spider Man and Ninja Turtles. He loves to reenact what he see’s on television. He plays with guns, swords and pokes people for the fun of it. His behavior was cute at first but when he started hurting other children that is when it became a problem. He could not understand why he could not act like his hero’s.

Children And TV Violence. (2002, November). Retrieved July 16, 2008, from American Academy of Child Adolescent Psychiatry: http://www.aacap.org/cs/root/facts_for_families/children_and_tv_violence

Feldman, R. (2007). Child development (4th edition). Pearson Prentice Hall.

Chapter 12- Homeschool

Home school

According to our text book “Child Development 4th ed.” there are about 1 million children being home schooled. Plus they are doing just as well on standardized tests as those who have received a more traditional education (p.337). Some of the reasons parents gave for home schooling were; children receive individual attention, dissatisfied with public school, and for religious reasons. According to Neal (2006) flexibility is one of the keys for this program to work. Some children take music lessons during the day and have the advantage of exercising early before the crowds arrive at YMCA (Neal, 2006). However some of the draw backs are these children are not being taught to interact with peers of their own age. It requires a lot of structure and discipline and some parents are not providing this. Some teachers are skeptic and suggest parents should leave subjects like math, science, history, and geography to individuals who trained and knowledgeable on those subjects (Neal, 2006).

I feel home schooling is not for everyone. It takes alot of commitment from the parent staying at home. It is a full time job plus more and that parent will lose any personal time they had before. Parents need to be trained and well discipline. I had a friend who was home schooling her child when she was in middle school. All the parent did was buy her a computer software and the teenager just sat at the computer all day. She expected her daughter to do everything on her own. She was not very successful after two years of this. In her case mom re-enrolled her in public school so she could get caught up. Obviously the examples we read about say how well the children are doing and how they exceed children who are in public school.

References :

Feldman, R. (2007). Child development (4th edition). Pearson Prentice Hall.

Neal, A. (2006, September). HOMESCHOOLERS: INTO THE MAINSTREAM. Saturday Evening Post, 278(5), 54-104. Retrieved July 6, 2008, from Academic Search Complete database.

chapter 9- Head Start or Pre-K

Aside from many controversies on the Head Start or a pre-school program studies have shown how effective it is. The children learn social and developmental skills but they also become readily prepared for kindergarten. Head Start is federally funded and is for low income families. Pre-k Schools are part of the school district and the qualifications are based on low income or if a child speaks another language besides English. They would fall under the bilingual or ESL (English as a second language) program. Both programs are very similar and are designed to help the children be successful. In Pre-K they learn their colors, shapes, letters, and some learn to read at the end of the program. The Head Start offers many services for the parents as well as the child.

After working in a pre-k facility I can see first hand the benefit of this program. The children are 4 years of age and they are only there for half a day. For some of them this is their first year at school and they have a hard time adapting. They are offered lunch or breakfast, music, PE, and library services. They are taught nutrition and simple hygiene (washing of hands) and how to follow rules. It is a wonderful experience watching these little one’s grow and learn through out the year.

Feldman, R. (2007). Child development (4th edition). Pearson Prentice Hall.
http://www.headstartinfo.org/recruitment/child_hs.
http://www.garlandisd.net/

Chapter 11- ADHD

According to Feldman (2007), Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder also known as ADHD is sometimes confused with children who have a “high level of activity” (p.311). And some of the most common symptoms are: fidgeting, difficult in following instructions, easily distracted, disorganized room, loses things, forgets things and can not stay seated. This disorder is a chemical imbalance in the brain and studies have shown that a child who has a relative with this disorder they might inherit it. I know first hand what it is like to have a child with ADHD. My daughter was diagnosed in 4th grade. She would become easily distracted in class and could not seat still. Homework became a nightmare because we would lock ourselves in her room until 11:00 at night. It was not that it was hard, she just could not focus. We have tried several medications and I thought we had found the best one for her, but now she wants to change because she does not like the way it makes her feel. She is funny and very energetic and with the medication her personality is gone. We have struggled to make her take the medication and she realizes she does better in school when she is taking it. But with therapy, lot’s of patience, and love we will help her come to terms to this disorder.

thinghttp://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/children/parents/behavior/118.htmls

Feldman, R. (2007). Child development (4th edition). Pearson Prentice Hall.