Adolescence: Pubertal Impulses, Sexual Orientation Guidance, and Voice Change
40. Why are adolescent males prone to impulsiveness?
Impulsiveness is common among boys and is closely related to the physical and mental characteristics of adolescence. Physiologically, adolescents experience hormonal instability, leading to frequent irritability and anger. Psychologically, adolescent boys are competitive, lack experience and methods for coping with setbacks, and have poor self-control, making them prone to extreme measures when things don't go their way. As a result, they not only fail to solve problems but also cause greater trouble, even leading to irreversible consequences. Most violent crimes committed by teenagers are caused by momentary impulses. Therefore, learning to manage one's impulsive emotions is a crucial lesson for adolescent boys.
First, boys need to have a correct understanding of "victory." Many boys believe that in a conflict, only by knocking the other person down can one claim victory. In reality, true victory comes not only from external forces but, more importantly, from within. Some people, without distinguishing right from wrong, resort to violence without restraint, often demonstrating a breakdown of their moral compass and a loss of reason. True victors, however, consider the issue comprehensively and handle conflict with calmness and wisdom. Therefore, a true man must possess not only courage but also wisdom.
Secondly, once you realize you're being controlled by "impulse," find ways to step back and extricate yourself. Adjusting your physical distance is a good way to control anger; when you feel you can't control yourself, leave the environment as soon as possible.
Secondly, when you're in a bad mood, find healthy ways to release it. For example, when you can't control your impulses, run a few laps around the track or kick a ball hard. You'll find that the impulse seems to turn into sweat and be expelled from your body. After sweating profusely, you'll definitely gain a calm state of mind.
**41. How to properly guide male sexual orientation?**
"Sexual orientation," also known as "sexual preference," "sexual orientation," or "sexual tendency," describes a person's sexual desires, fantasies, and feelings. Sexual orientation is formed during childhood or early adolescence. During this period, children often spontaneously form small groups, and within these groups, abnormal sexual orientations are more likely to emerge, thus requiring proper guidance from parents and teachers.
Adolescents crave emotional connection, but due to unfamiliarity with the opposite sex, they easily project their affections onto the same sex. This same-sex attachment phenomenon objectively exists, but teachers and parents should guide these students to be mindful of their image in public to avoid serious misunderstandings. At the same time, it's important to strengthen communication with children, helping them understand their social roles, but avoid excessive nagging or coercion, as this could backfire.
Adolescents are in a stage of confusion about love, experiencing physiological changes and yearning for romance. However, they are prone to setbacks in relationships, and without proper guidance, they may lose faith in heterosexuality and turn towards homosexuality. Furthermore, during this stage, some parents, fearing it will affect their children's studies, interfere excessively, strictly forbidding them from interacting with the opposite sex. This can lead children into a misconception of avoiding contact with the opposite sex, potentially altering their sexual orientation. Parents should encourage normal interactions with the opposite sex and help them establish a healthy sexual orientation. A harmonious relationship between parents also significantly impacts children. Parental discord and frequent arguments can easily foster aversion towards the opposite sex in children.
When parents discover that their child has homosexual tendencies, they should not be overly surprised, let alone scold them, so as not to damage their self-esteem. They should tell them the difference between love and friendship, encourage more physical exercise to divert their attention, and subtly encourage two people with the same-sex attraction to keep their distance.
42. When do boys start going through puberty?
The physiological change from a child's voice to an adult's voice is called "physiological voice change," and the medical term for the time it takes for physiological voice change is "the voice change period."
Boys typically go through puberty between the ages of 12 and 14. The most important thing is to observe their voice. If a boy is in puberty and his voice is hoarse when speaking, he cannot reach high notes when singing, and an examination of his vocal cords reveals congestion, this indicates that he has entered puberty.
From the perspective of the physiological structure of the human larynx, the male larynx gradually widens, the vocal cords lengthen, the Adam's apple becomes more prominent, and the voice gradually becomes deeper and more resonant. During puberty, a boy's voice is usually about 8 degrees lower than before puberty. During this period, symptoms such as hoarseness, dry throat, itchy throat, and a foreign body sensation in the throat may also occur.
The voice change period can be roughly divided into three stages: In the early stage, the voice does not change much, and you still speak and sing in a child's voice. However, you may sometimes feel that you have lost control of your voice, and it is difficult to produce high notes. You cannot sustain your voice, and sometimes you may sing off-key or produce strange sounds. In the middle stage, the voice changes more obviously. The tone of your voice becomes lower and coarser. Although the voice still retains a child's voice, the child's voice component decreases and the adult voice component gradually increases. In the later stage, the voice has completely become an adult voice, but there is still a period of time when the voice is unstable and not easily controlled.