In the society we live in, childhood is getting shorter and adolescence lasts longer . So much so that the World Health Organization (WHO) has adapted to new social realities and, over time, has extended puberty to a period of youth that has traditionally reached the age of 19 and now reaches the age of 19. 25 .
The age of adolescence
Until recently, experts considered them “late teens.” Now the World Health Organization (WHO) defines it directly as puberty and extends this period to 25 years .
And although this international body has historically limited this stage from 11 to 19 years, stating that early adolescence included 12 to 14 years and late adolescence from 15 to 19 years, now many of its specialists affirm that this stage of life lasts up to 25 years. And there are even many experts for whom adolescence can exceed 30 years .
Adolescence is a relatively new period
Adolescence is a relatively new period. Our grandparents went from children to men and women with nothing in between, they had the need to survive. Today, at the age of 25, many still do not dare to become independent.
No wonder they think they are in no rush to grow up and take on adult responsibilities. According to a youth report in Spain, 29.8% of women and 41.1% of men between the ages of 25 and 34 still live with their parents. And only 25.8% of young foreigners between the ages of 25 and 29 live with their parents.
Why is independence difficult to achieve?
What if there are young people 30 and over who still live with their parents? Except in justified cases, for example, when they have to take care of their parents due to illness or aging and the need for help.
Some young people who are going through adolescence are afraid of “flying” from their parental nest and becoming independent, that is, maturing and taking responsibility for their age (the so-called Peter Pan syndrome ). There are also external factors that also intervene: such as an economic crisis in the country .
It also affects the training required to pursue a profession that requires more time and knowledge to achieve. Adolescence is a stage of change , and each change in our lives means a minimal emotional imbalance, to which we must adapt to overcome the new situation.
Young people want changes to be rapid, they need short-term responses to their demands, and new technologies can affect adolescence because they offer immediate responses.
Parents and puberty
Although it happens around the same age, puberty in adolescence can have different rhythms . But there are parental attitudes that affect the delay of puberty, such as overprotection, permissiveness instead of restrictions, they are behaviors that delay the transition from puberty to maturity.
From an early age, it is important for children to be autonomous and responsible for small tasks , although older children must also dialogue and negotiate with them to carry out actions and behavioral positions.
Parents have to be models for the transfer of values different from those offered by today’s consumer society, which influence it to value, among others, comfort and not the renunciation of the standard of living with parents . The best thing is to promote a healthy and positive self-esteem during adolescence, based on “being”, doing, sharing with other people and not “owning” (personal image, material goods, etc.)