Protect teen girls, look out for danger signs

ALL PARENTS worry about the safety of their children.

When a young girl is in her teens, she often makes new friends and comes under peer pressure from this new “family”.

It is at this point that a lack of life experience and judgement can get them into serious trouble.

Parents need to watch out for the following warning signs:

She changes friends suddenly. She discards old friends and starts hanging out with friends you’ve never met.

She avoids bringing her new group of friends over to meet and hang out with the family.

This could be a dangerous sign. As a parent you have to know who she is with, who her friends are and what influence they have on your child’s life.

Her school performance declines steadily.

She used to get good marks in tests, but now there has been a sudden drop.

You have to find out why. Perhaps she is being bullied or there may be some other problem.

Whatever the case, there’s bound to be a reason. Keep observing and checking on her until you find out why.

She isolates herself from the family. This is especially pertinent if she is locking herself in her room and prefers to be away from the rest of the family.

Again, she is doing this for a reason and it’s important to find out why. It’s your job as a parent to find out what’s behind this change.

Is she secretive, telling lies and openly rebellious?

Does she disregard family values and expectations?

Is your daughter refusing to play by the rules? Is she ignoring clearly defined rules on curfews and chores? Is she viewing inappropriate TV shows or movies?

Troubled teens will often lie about their whereabouts and who they’ve been with. This is another red flag. Is she acting out by yelling, throwing tantrums, or giving you the silent treatment?

Is she showing signs of depression? You might notice that she is sleeping more than usual or often crying. Or has she lost interest in the activities that she once enjoyed?

Maybe she has started abusing drugs and/or alcohol.

These are all signs to be concerned about. They should alert you to take remedial action before too much damage is done.

Don’t be in denial about what’s going on. If you think that these things happen only to other people’s children, you could well be mistaken.

Know what’s going on with your child, especially if there’s a history of alcoholism, drug abuse or domestic violence in the family.

Ramphal is an educational psychologist based in Durban.