Adolescence has always been troubled, but for reasons that are somewhat mysterious, puberty is now kicking in at an earlier and earlier age. A leading theory points to changes in energy balance as children eat more and move less.Share
At the same time, first with the industrial revolution and then even more dramatically with the information revolution, children have come to take on adult roles later and later. Five hundred years ago, Shakespeare knew that the emotionally intense combination of teenage sexuality and peer-induced risk could be tragic—witness "Romeo and Juliet." But, on the other hand, if not for fate, 13-year-old Juliet would have become a wife and mother within a year or two.
Our Juliets (as parents longing for grandchildren will recognize with a sigh) may experience the tumult of love for 20 years before they settle down into motherhood. And our Romeos may be poetic lunatics under the influence of Queen Mab until they are well into graduate school.
What happens when children reach puberty earlier and adulthood later? The answer is: a good deal of teenage weirdness. Fortunately, developmental psychologists and neuroscientists are starting to explain the foundations of that weirdness. (Read entire article.)
The Last Judgment
4 days ago
3 comments:
Great article!
It's always surprised me how early people got into adulthood in the past, and made decisions like getting married and having children, or conversely, went into religious life. I think back on where I was even in my early 20s, and I was a wreck (probably still em at almost 30 :)) - I cannot imagine that now.
The article makes sense of a lot of that - basically that we aren't "learning adulthood" until relatively late, which is not something that can be dealt with easily, short of putting children back to work in factories!
And it also seems to counter a trend I've noticed among some Catholics, this idea of getting their children married off at young ages - 18, 19, 20 ... I know my grandmother was 19, but still I work with people of this age every day (I teach at a university) and I can tell you I have not met anyone who can handle such a momentous decision at that age.
Yes, I understand that "traditionally" people did get married and have children much earlier (as early as 11 or 12 in Napoleon's time!), but that doesn't mean it's what we need to do now, and I think it's a bit reckless. Then again, one wonder how in he world such young people made such decisions fully and consciously in those days!
One big downside is that sexual maturity comes much earlier than anyone reaches the mental and spiritual maturity that is required of marriage, leaving people in a stage where hormones are running wild but they are not even ready to start seeking a spouse. I was a lot less than chaste when I was young, so it's hard to even imagine the difficulties faced by someone trying hard to live rightly.
As an adolescent myself, I probably shouldn't be stating my opinions so freely, but I've often thought about this "teenager phenomenon". I think that perhaps if teens didn't think of themselves as a special group, privileged by their reputation to behave however they want, they might just behave better. If someone is expected to act a certain way, they often unconsciously conform to this preconceived idea. Perhaps if they were re-divided into simply children and adults, things might go better. The same goes for the disturbing trend of eleven- and ten-year-old "teens". They're just children, but they (and many of the adults around them) see it as okay to imitate adolescents by wearing makeup and high heels, dating, etc. Very few people have rules about when it's all right for a girl to begin wearing makeup, when she can start dating, WHO she can date, and the like. It's quite sad.
Well, those are just some of my thoughts on the matter. It's quite an interesting subject to one who attempting to not be a stereotypical teenager!
I was not a stereotypical teenager and I always observed other teenagers with interest since they seemed to be going through a stage quite alien to anything in my experience. I had no desire to rebel or hide things from my parents. My parents were my best friends. I always discussed everything with them and there was no need for them to have any rules at all. I guess I was a real odd ball. Now my brother and sister were a different story....
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