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Parent
Workshop:
Puberty and Adolescent Development
The following
learning
activity is for parents. It is designed to help them understand the physical
and emotional changes that occur in adolescents during puberty and to
be comfortable answering questions about puberty. It includes the following
sections:
At the
completion of this workshop, parents will:
- Describe the physical and emotional changes that occur in adolescents
during puberty, and
- Comfortably answer common questions about puberty.
One hour
and 30 minutes
- Gather the materials listed for this session including an appropriate
number of puberty pamphlets.
- Write session learning objectives on flipchart paper.
- Draw an outline of a boy's body and a girl's body on two separate
pieces of flipchart paper or enlarge the Girl's Body Outline and Boy's
Body Outline included in this learning activity.
- Write "Questions about Puberty" guidelines
on flipchart paper.
- Make sufficient copies of:
- "Find Someone Who" icebreaker handout
- "Questions About Puberty" handout
- Diagrams of male and female reproductive systems
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Introduction
(15 minutes)
- Welcome parents to the workshop and introduce yourself.
- Tell the parents that you want to give them an opportunity to get
to know each other. Distribute the "Find Someone Who" handout
and pencils to each parent. Tell parents that they have three minutes
to get signatures or an "X" from others in the room who have
what is represented in each of the nine boxes represented in the handout.
For example, if you find someone who knows how to ride a bicycle, ask
him or her to sign or put an "X" in that box. You may want
to quickly explain what each picture represents for those parents with
limited reading skills.
- After three minutes, ask parents to find their seats. Call out each
representation in each of the boxes. By a show of hands, find out how
many parents received signatures. As you process responses, make sure
each parent tells the group his/her name. Make sure to end this activity
on the box representing a parent talking to his/her child about sexuality/puberty.
- Acknowledge that many parents may have already spoken with their children
about puberty and sexuality. Congratulate them for doing so. Ask parents
to raise their hands if they have had an opportunity to talk with their
children about sexuality. Ask a few parents to talk about their experiences.
- Tell parents that tonight's workshop is designed to support them in
their efforts. Tell them that the workshop is designed in a very participatory
style. Parents' opinions and ideas are extremely important. We are all
here to learn from each other.
Defining Puberty
(5 minutes)
- Remind parents that tonight's workshop will focus on puberty and adolescent
development. Review the learning objectives (written on flipchart paper)
with parents. Tell them that much of tonight's workshop may be a review
for them. However, it has been your experience that many parents have
forgotten what they once knew about puberty and growing up. Write the
word "puberty" on flipchart paper.
- Ask parents to turn to their neighbors and take one minute to share
what comes to mind when they think of the time when they were going
through puberty. You may want to pose some prompting questions like:
- How old were you?
- What changes do you remember?
- How did you feel about those changes?
- After one minute, ask parents to share their thoughts with the rest
of the group. Record their responses on flipchart paper. Be sure that
the group has a good definition for puberty before moving on to the
next step of this activity.
PUBERTY is the time in a human being's life when he or she changes
from boyhood or girlhood to manhood or womanhood. This is the period
of time in a person's life when it becomes physiologically possible
to reproduce. Puberty usually begins between the ages of 9 and 16 years.
Each body will know when it's the right time to begin puberty for him
or her. Generally, boys begin puberty about two years after girls. Puberty
is not a month-long process; it actually takes several years to complete
all the changes.
Puberty can be an exciting time; it can also be confusing, awkward and
scary for young people. Having a parent who is willing to talk about
the changes is one thing that can help make puberty easier for young
people.
Physical and Emotional
Changes
(35 minutes)
- Tell parents that we will explore the physical and emotional changes
that occur during puberty. The purpose of reviewing these changes is
to be better able to explain them to our children. Encourage parents
to ask questions about things that are unclear or new to them.
- Ask parents to think back to the time when they were going through
puberty. Display two body outlines of a boy and a girl on flipchart
paper (or enlarged versions of the outlines included with this learning
activity.) Ask for two parents to volunteer to help you draw on these
diagrams. Ask parents to give you some of the physical and emotional
changes that occur during puberty. Remind them that the physical changes
that occur during puberty can occur inside and outside the body.
- As parents
mention changes, volunteer parents should do their best to draw the
changes with colorful markers on the outlines. At the same time, you
should take the opportunity to explain why these changes occur. (Refer
to "Background Information for the Facilitator.") In some
cases, you may want to explain what should be done about changes. For
example, to deal with an increase in perspiration, take regular showers
or use a mild deodorant.
Refer to "Background Information for the Facilitator" for a list of
physical and emotional changes occurring during puberty.
- Once
the physical changes are reviewed, pass out the reproductive
systems' diagrams and use them to more fully describe the process
of ovulation and menstruation in girls and ejaculation in boys. Refer
to "Background Information for the Facilitator" for information
about these processes.
Answering Questions
About Puberty
(30 minutes)
- Tell the group that given the review they have just had about puberty,
they will now have an opportunity to practice answering some questions
that 11-13 year-olds might ask about puberty.
- Pass out puberty pamphlets to parents.
- Give parents some basic guidelines to answering
questions about puberty. Post these guidelines on flipchart paper. These
guidelines should include:
- Stay calm.
- LISTEN to your child first. Do not interrupt.
- Find out what your child might already know about the issue.
- Give factual information.
- Keep your answers brief.
- If you share your values, explain why you have your values.
- It's okay to say "I don't know," but follow up as soon
as possible.
- Ask parents to divide into smaller groups of two or three. Ask each
group to practice answering two or three of the questions (depending
on time) on the "Questions about Puberty" handout with each
other. Ask parents to first choose the two questions they would like
to practice. Once they have chosen two questions, the group should discuss
together what an appropriate answer would sound like. After this work
is done, they should conduct a role play in their small group with one
parent playing the "child" and another playing the "parent."
Remind them to use the guidelines just discussed. Give parents about
10 minutes to do this task.
- Reconvene the large group and ask each smaller group to read their
questions out loud and give the answers they prepared in their group.
Allow the larger group to comment or ask questions. Correct any misinformation
when appropriate. After all the smaller groups have participated, facilitate
a large group discussion using the following questions:
- How did it feel to answer the questions?
- Were the questions easy or difficult to answer? What made a question
difficult to answer?
- Did your small group have trouble agreeing on the answers?
- How important is knowing your values about sexuality — in
addition to the facts about puberty — when answering questions?
- Were you surprised by any of the answers you heard tonight?
- How will you use what we did tonight with your family?
- Ask for two parents who would be willing to act out in front of the
group a talk between a parent and child using one of the questions on
their handout. Encourage the group to give feedback (positive and constructive)
to the parents acting out the talk.
- You may want to address some of the questions that were not chosen
by parents, especially those questions that parents may have thought
were too sensitive or difficult.
- Ask parents to share one new or interesting thing they learned tonight.
Review with parents that puberty can be an exciting and insecure time
in an adolescent's life. Parents play a very important role in educating
their children about the physical and emotional changes that occur during
puberty. Parental support and understanding during this time is very
important. Parents also play a key role in teaching their children about
their values related to growing up, sexuality and relationships. School,
pamphlets, and health care providers can support parents in teaching
their children, but only parents themselves can teach children their
values.
- Thank the parents for their participation and time.
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