Thursday, April 25, 2019

Marla Ahlgrimm | Your Teen is Changing, too

Marla Ahlgrimm

Women who are coming up on menopause often have children who are getting ready to enter puberty, says Marla Ahlgrimm. With all the hormones flying around, it’s important to understand not only what you’re going through, but what your teenager is experiencing as well. And although we’ve all gone through puberty, it’s easy to forget how the emergence of hormones can make you feel.

According to Marla Ahlgrimm, boys and girls alike have hormones that start to kick into high gear as they enter the early teen years. If you have a child anywhere between ages 11 and 14, you may begin to notice physical and emotional changes. Girls, for example, may develop breasts while boys can and will grow seemingly overnight. The growth that takes place during puberty signals both physical maturity and also the last time the body will grow before adulthood. It is not uncommon for children to experience growth spurts of more than 4 inches in a single year.

As Marla Ahlgrimm explains, however, what you can see on the outside is far from everything going on underneath your teen’s ever-changing physical appearance. The hormones that trigger all of this expansion also change the body. One example is apparent, and less-than-welcome -- body odor. As a parent, this is a great time to stock up on body wash, fabric refresher, and laundry detergent.

Boys tend to get through puberty with relative ease after a few awkward years. Girls, on the other hand, have many changes of an intimate nature. Marla Ahlgrimm explains that within two years after breast development, girls will begin menstruating and have their first period. The hormones running to your teenage daughter’s body during this time can cause confusion, emotional exhaustion, moodiness, anxiety, fear, and a long laundry list of other unpleasant feelings.

The best advice Marla Ahlgrimm can give is to help your teen, and yourself, stay as healthy as possible while your bodies change. Get plenty of exercise and insist on a healthy diet. Soon, your bodies will settle down, and it will no longer feel as though your hormones are controlling your every thought and action.