Bright kids belong to a generation of young people that has been bombarded with sexual images. At times it seems as if we are witnessing the disappearance of late childhood as it races into adolescence. We live in a society that often treats childhood as an ailment to be remedied as quickly as possible - and if you can medicate kids along the way, that's even better.
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| Sexual Behavior Amongst The Adolescence |
Parents of bright kids need to be vigilant to preserve the time of childhood. Bright kids are often interested in foregoing childhood interests, and instead want to rush into adolescence.
It does no one any favors to have bright kids grow up before their time. Parents need to keep bright kids strongly attached to the family through family-based activities, and need to be prepared to say "No" to the viewing of some movies or the playing of some computer games. The world will place enough pressure on your child to become a sex god or goddess before his or her time. For bright kids, early initiation into this world often leads to risk taking in many ways.
Alternative sexuality
The process of discovering their sexual orientation is difficult enough for every teenager, and it can be especially so for young people who suspect that they are gay, lesbian, or bisexual. The early discovery of these feelings often creates confusion in young people and their parents.
Part of this confusion is that people try to sort out whether these feelings represent a phase the young person is going through or whether they are part of an ongoing orientation. Some young gay people say that they knew of their orientation from their early teens or even before, whereas others struggle to understand their feelings of attraction and desire for most of their lives. Generally, trying to categorize young people into the "passing phase" or the "ongoing orientation category" is not particularly helpful.
Try to understand that young people may initially feel isolated and confused as well as unsure about their own feelings. This process may affect their self-esteem as they try to determine where they belong. Parents often deal with this by restating their love for their child and their trust that the child will eventually find what is right for her. It is not useful to say, "Don't worry dear, I'll love you anyway," as young people sometimes hear this as, "Despite this awful disappointment, I'll put up with you and put on a happy face." Instead, simply tell them that you love them and home is where they belong.
Some young people, as they explore their alternative sexuality, go though a process of checking out people's responses and being very sensitive to these responses. This is a roller-coaster time, with some great highs and some dreadful lows. For a time, their sexual orientation can become the biggest thing in their lives, which can create conflict in families.
One young man recollected that he'd been a pain to his family when he discovered his homosexuality: "It was like I was on a crusade. They would have their friends over and I'd start up a discussion about homosexuality just to watch them squirm. I guess I didn't want them to ignore or gloss over what was happening to me."
For most gay, lesbian, and bisexual young people, relationships eventually become more important than sexual orientation. Then they have just got to deal with the usual issues of finding the right person, falling in love, falling out of love, trying to find the next right person, and so on. Simple, isn't it?
For the parents of young people going through tough times, life can be incredibly stressful and distressing. Ensuring that you get the help that you need to maintain your own ability to cope and to lead the way is essential. To find out more, you can check out Sexual Behavior Amongst The Adolescence.