The development of a 13 year old child, is it appropriate?

If you have reached the age of 13, it is possible that your child will also experience some changes and developments. Still in the adolescent phase, it is possible if the child is still worried and confused. Therefore, as a parent it is necessary to know what the development of children at the age of 13 is as follows.

Various aspects of the development of a 13 year old child

After going through the developmental period at age 12, at this age your child may still feel the fluctuations of puberty.

So, it is not unusual when in this adolescent development period he experiences mood swings to physical changes.

Not only that, you also need to know about cognitive development, psychology, and language which can also change in adolescence or 13 years of age.

Physical development at age 13

Quoted from Stanford Children Health, adolescent development is marked by growth and sexual maturation. This is also commonly referred to as puberty.

Therefore, what parents will immediately notice is physical changes such as increasing height and weight.

However, it should also be remembered that changes in each child will be different due to other factors that influence it. Here are some of the physical developments that can occur in a 13 year old child.

1. Weight and height increase

At the age of 13 this year, height and weight gain due to hormones that are also working well. However, it is different from male adolescents because height growth has not increased significantly.

Parents do not need to worry because there will be a certain phase for this.

2. Other hormonal physical changes

Not only height and weight, there are other things to do with physical changes due to hormones.

In women, these changes include growing breasts, fine hair in the armpits and vagina, as well as menstruation.

In fact, some teenage girls have experienced menstrual periods that are getting more regular because their periods are coming faster.

Meanwhile, for boys, the changes that occur are hair growth on the face and penis, as well as voices that have begun to crack and sound heavy.

In women and men, they can also experience excess oil production, causing body odor if they do not maintain proper hygiene.

Give understanding to children to use soap, deodorant, or special powder.

Then, don't panic when your child's face appears pimples because it is a normal thing to happen.

Your child may feel stressed when this happens. But as a parent, give him the understanding that this is normal and will pass.

Cognitive development

If you pay attention, adolescence is a time when your child will have his own thoughts. This is where the cognitive role affects the actions that will be carried out later.

Not only thinking about yourself, he will also be more mature to think about family and peers. Here are some of the cognitive developments of children aged 13 that may occur:

• Hone his debating skills.
• Applying the concept according to reason or what he believes.
• Studying and understanding things from concrete to abstract.
• Think of a different point of view.

At this age, his insight into general matters outside of school also increases. When their insight increases, the child will train himself not to be careless in making decisions.

As parents, often talk to children about various things, not just about lessons at school.

Have your child talk about their friends or maybe their attraction to the opposite sex.

Tell him that he can tell you anything. This is so that the child trusts you so that he can tell you whatever he is going through.

Psychological development at the age of 13

Psychological development can include the emotional as well as social side of adolescent life. When there is a change in the physical, what can happen is the child's thinking that he has become a complete adult.

This is a syndrome in the early days of puberty which certainly needs to be known by parents. Here are some psychological developments that can occur when a child is 13 years old:

• The feeling of the heart is erratic and quite sensitive.
• Want to socialize with peers but also want to enjoy time alone.
• Feeling valued by everyone.
• Not confident with physical changes.
• It's starting to be able to choose anyone who can become close friends.

Emotional development

It has been discussed a little above that in the development of a 13 year old child, it is normal for mood swings to occur.

This happens because of peer pressure, quite a lot of activities and tasks, and so on.

When it gets tough, as a parent you have to be patient with these mood swings. In addition, you can also talk to him to feel relieved so that feelings of annoyance don't build up.

Also make sure that he also has the right peers to talk to. Even though at this age the child seems indifferent and indifferent, he still really needs advice from you as a parent.

Social development

In this phase too, your child will be more happy to meet peers. Likely, this can increase the self-confidence and developmental independence of 13 year olds.

Moreover, if he feels that he has found the same friend in terms of mindset or just has the same idol.

As parents, give them the opportunity if they want to spend time with their closest friends.

However, don't let your guard down if your child feels stressed in his social life. This can lead to rebellious behavior or intentions in adolescents.

Then, in this phase there is also the possibility that your child will begin to feel attraction to the opposite sex. There is nothing wrong for parents to start providing sex education from an early age.

Language development

What about language development that occurs in children at the age of 13? At this age, children often imitate how to speak to make them look like adults.

He has also learned about proper meaning, context, punctuation, and sentence structure.

However, this communication will be different when he is with peers or family.

Tips to help the development of children aged 13 years

During the development of this 13 year old child, the role of parents is very much needed as friends. Here are some things that you as a parent can do:

1. Keep providing privacy as well as support

Provide privacy or time alone when your child doesn't want to be spoken to. Ask back when he is in a better mood.

Don't force him to tell you right away when he says he doesn't want to.

Do not forget, as a parent give encouragement if the child wants to do something new and has never been done.

Fully support your child so that his confidence grows and increases.

2. Give trust and responsibility

When giving trust to children, you must also discuss responsibility.

This is done to train children not to abuse the freedom given.

For example, if you let your child play with a friend, tell him that he also needs to remember when to go home without being asked.

That way, children will learn not to abuse their parents' trust and take responsibility for it

3. Invite a discussion

Invite children to discuss any matter, including the rules you make.

Negotiate the necessary rules to keep your child disciplined. If involved, he will not have any objections because the regulations made are fair enough and with his consent.

You can also invite children to discuss current issues and children's social life.

Next, let's also look at the development of a 14 year old child.

x