Adolescents are at a point in their lives where everything is (or simply feels like) it’s changing all around them. They’re gaining new skills as they learn and grow; they’re taking on new responsibilities as they gain more independence; and they’re navigating new social challenges — within their families, at school, and among friends as their peer group members also mature and grow. Meanwhile, their bodies are undergoing rapid physical, mental, and emotional development.
When you put it all together, this can often lead to that feeling of uncertainty that most of us experienced growing up. This adolescent uncertainty leads to three core questions that almost every teenager goes to bed wondering:
- “Who am I?”
- “Do I fit in?”
- “Am I loved?”
These questions are fundamental to an adolescent’s development and health, which is why there are differences in pediatric and adolescent medicine. Pediatrician checkups begin to change to include more questions about mental, emotional, and social well-being. Our goal is to provide a private, judgment-free space where teens can voice their thoughts around these questions, and so that we may understand and better gauge the true state of their overall health.
The Importance of Private Conversations
Requesting an opportunity to speak with a teen on their own, without a caregiver in the room, is not a strategy for hiding information. It’s also not meant to exclude family, friends, and other loved ones from conversations about the child’s health. Rather, it’s a strategy for empowering adolescents to take ownership of their health and health information.
It’s also a strategy to give youth the space to talk about issues they fear may disappoint, offend, or worry their families — those that matter to them the most. It’s a way to facilitate a more honest, open conversation around the teen’s health when they don’t necessarily have the words to do so, but still very much need the support of their loved ones.
Assessing Risk and Ensuring Safety
The reason for these conversations — and keeping it part of a well-child visit schedule — is because, occasionally, a lack of balance between those three core questions can lead a teen into dangerous territory. That’s when the private interview can become a strategy for accurately assessing a patient’s risk of immediate, serious physical harm. In these instances, when we have any reason to worry about the safety of an adolescent, it becomes essential to bring family and loved ones back into the conversation.
As pediatric and adolescent medicine experts, we can help your child communicate what’s happening in their lives, how it has affected them, and how they’re coping. But when it comes to creating a plan to keep a teen safe and healthy, it’s vital to involve the people who care for the child most, who know the child best, and who will fight hardest to keep the child safe. Anyone the adolescent can rely on should be part of the team, including family, friends, relatives, teachers, neighbors, coaches, and counselors.
Supporting Healthy Development
In other instances, the balance of those three core questions can lead adolescents to do some of the most amazing things. It drives teens to form meaningful relationships, discover their passions, and contribute to their communities as artists, athletes, and more.
In every visit, our approach is centered on the whole child, acknowledging that physical health is intertwined with mental, emotional, and social well-being. By providing a safe and personalized environment, we help teens share their experiences and aspirations, empowering them to make informed decisions and develop healthy habits for life.
It is our privilege to help care for them during checkups, to learn about them, and to watch them grow. We’re committed to being a constant source of support and guidance as they navigate the challenges and opportunities of adolescence.
Written by: Joseph Leone, MD, a second-year pediatrics resident at Nemours Children’s Hospital, Delaware.
