The important topic of relationships is very common with my teenage patients, especially as they see their friends starting to date. Let's consider some of the typical issues we discuss.
During adolescence, teenagers often develop romantic relationships through which they learn more about the nature of infatuation, love, sexual desire, interacting with others, and about themselves. Teenage romance can help prepare people to decide better when, where, and how to engage in a life-long relationship that can lead to much happiness.
Keys to a good relationship include:
Situations wherein one or both members of a relationship are seeking someone to help them with their problems typically end up with a broken relationship. Reasons for this include:
Adolescence is a time of self-discovery, and when teenagers develop an increased intellectual, emotional, and spiritual understanding of the nature of the world and their potential role in it. When teens embark on a meaningful romantic relationship, their attention is diverted toward their partner. Thus, they take away focus from their development as individuals.
Emotionally-charged issues should only be discussed in person. Texting to communicate important thoughts can lead to misunderstandings and does not permit the partners to benefit from the observation of non-verbal cues between them.
Relationships that start at a young age often end in the short term and sometimes with a lot of associated heartache. Reasons for this include:
Keeping these common pitfalls in mind can help teenagers navigate their desire to enter relationships with elevated awareness. The key is to remember teenage relationships offer practice for future serious relationships. They should encourage both partners to grow as individuals. For this reason, teenagers in relationships and those who care about them should consistently monitor whether the relationship is holding back either partner.
How and when teenagers should express their sexuality is another common topic of conversation.
There are several points we cover in this regard:
In some ways, online relationships are easier to establish as people do not get a full sense of each other as compared to when they are physically in each other's presence. Thus, it makes it easier to imagine that some of the online partner's personal characteristics are more compatible than they really are. Also, for shy individuals, an online interaction may be easier to initiate and maintain. Given such factors, when people with an online relationship meet in person, they are often disappointed.
Other major disadvantages of online relationships include that some people misrepresent themselves, scams can occur more frequently, and people can be ghosted more easily.
For all of those reasons, I strongly discourage teens from pursuing romantic relationships online.
I suggest that teenagers carefully consider the different factors that may be involved before embarking on a romantic relationship. Usually, the best choice for teenagers is to hold off on a close relationship for at least several months to ensure that they can become and remain good friends and then to consider whether moving forward is the best choice for both partners.
Factors Teens Should Consider About a Romantic Relationship
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27.01.2024
The important topic of relationships is very common with my teenage patients, especially as they see their friends starting to date. Let's consider some of the typical issues we discuss.
During adolescence, teenagers often develop romantic relationships through which they learn more about the nature of infatuation, love, sexual desire, interacting with others, and about themselves. Teenage romance can help prepare people to decide better when, where, and how to engage in a life-long relationship that can lead to much happiness.
Keys to a good relationship include:
Situations wherein one or both members of a relationship are seeking someone to help them with their problems typically end up with a broken relationship. Reasons for this include:
Adolescence is a time of........
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