Puberty: Our topic in October
Puberty is," writes philosopher Barbara Bleisch in her wonderful book «Mitte des Lebens», «when the «sorting errors» in the shared household become more frequent: Items of laundry, T-shirts and jumpers can no longer be clearly assigned and increasingly end up in the wrong wardrobe. The child's world begins to converge more and more with the parental world, at least in everyday matters - food portions, shoe sizes, sleep requirements - before the shared realities drift apart again.»
On the path to independence, those involved sometimes struggle to adapt. «Young people who are not yet fully grown up fall back into childish behaviour. Or the parents forget that handing over responsibility also means giving up control,» says paediatrician Oskar Jenni. The child is often not responsible for the conflicts that arise. Puberty is a time of constant overload - the brain and body are in a state of emergency.
The search for one's own self challenges and sometimes overwhelms those around them, especially the parents. They have to come to terms with the fact that their child is becoming more emotionally independent. And they are demystified in their role - heroes become ordinary people with strengths and weaknesses. Finally, children's puberty confronts parents with a brutal fact: you grow old and have to make way for a new generation. And will soon be less needed.
The «Puberty» dossier by Virginia Nolan aims to help mothers and fathers categorise and better understand typical puberty phenomena. Our author shows why the relationship between parents and children changes so fundamentally during puberty. And explains what adolescents particularly need from their parents in this phase of life. For example, sentences like these: «Even when everything changes, when everything is stressful, I'm there! I'm always there for you and support you through all the confusion. I love you no matter what happens.»
Yours sincerely,
Yours, Nik Niethammer
