Things Young Girls Should Keep in Mind

Adolescence is the term given to teen aged girls between 13-19 yrs. It is an extremely vulnerable phase of life and also the founder of adulthood. So it is necessary to maintain and nurture the complete physical, social, emotional and mental development of a teenager. This wonderful phase of life comes with a lot of problem too and small matters seem really big in this phase. Understanding the problems of teenagers will help in support the little lady better.

• Appearance- Teenagers are very anxious about their looks as this is the time when the teenage body is constantly changing due to development of sexual characteristic features. Maintenance of an ideal body weight is necessary. The aspect of BMI and diet fads should be discussed with her. There should be a close watch on her eating habit.
• Menstruation- Adolescent is the time when menarche is attained – which is beginning of the first menstrual cycle. She might develop a lot of misconceptions and queries too regarding her menstrual cycles. She should be given proper education about it, letting her know that this is entirely a natural process. She should be taught how to use sterile sanitary pads and how to handle emergency situations. Premenstrual symptoms should be properly explained so that it does not disturb her routine life.
• Immunization– Appropriate and timely immunization is necessary to promote good health. Girls post the age of 12 yrs should be given cervical and hepatitis vaccination.
• Depression- When things don’t go their way or they don’t meet the standards that their peers have maintained teenagers feel pressurized and go into depression. Feeling devalued, humiliation, break ups, high parental expectations, weight gain, substance use are the trigger factors for developing mental health problems. Signs of depression in teenager girls should be observed such a losing interest in surroundings, excessive desire to sleep or total sleep deprivation, always feeling unhappy, etc. Building life skills in adolescent and providing them with psychosocial support helps them to promote good mental.
• Having healthy sexual practices and illegal abortion- In this modern era unsafe sexual practices and illegal abortion cases are increasing day by day. Proper sex education should be given. Birth control counselling and HIV counselling should be done. Unplanned pregnancy should have access to safe abortion.

 Every mother should listen to her daughter and try and have an open door policy for discussing health issues.