Children lead very complicated and complex lives today because of the world that we have created and in which they have to live. They all want to grow up and get big and who can blame them?

Being a child isn’t easy in any generation, especially when you are constantly reminded that on the basis of being a child, you have little say in your school life, little say in society and little say in the way your body and emotions are going to change during your teenage years.

The stage of puberty in the life of a human being is one that should be given special attention with respect to our children’s health and academic education. Most educators and health professionals will concur that children’s life experiences outside of the classroom often affect their experiences within it.

The onset of puberty coincides with an important academic stage of children’s lives, that of leaving primary school and entering secondary school. Therefore, they are under enormous pressure emanating from both physiological changes and socially derived ones.

It could be argued in that period of change, children’s health education should be as important an academic subject as perhaps English and Maths. Yet unfortunately, little attention is paid to such issues and children receive little instruction or understanding about the changes that are occurring in their emotions and bodies.

Perhaps it is because we all went through this stage and survived it, we think that somehow our children will manage as well. However, today’s children are bombarded with a mix of mainly unhealthy images of their bodies, of sexual issues without a moral or ethical framework, and of conflicting values concerning the family and society.

Furthermore, it has been suggested that all of these issues have a specific, usually negative effect on pre-teenagers and teenagers’ self-esteem and personal development when they are going through the puberty stage.

We often hear, and may say ourselves, “Children know everything”. But this is not always the case when it comes to their own bodies and emotions. It is for this reason that sex education issues should be separated from puberty education issues.

From about ten to twelve years old, the focus of children’s health education should be firmly placed on their own changing bodies and emotions within the context of general body care. In this way, children learn to accept, understand and respect their bodies and feelings as they go through puberty and eventually become young adults. It is also important not to overload children with too much information, but to inform them from a child-centred perspective.

From my research with children and in respect of puberty issues, children welcomed information that was holistic. They wanted a lot of different information about their changing physical selves – whether chocolate would give them pimples, when or whether to shave their legs or faces, and/or why they got so angry or feel sad sometimes.

They also wanted the information in a format where they didn’t always need to ask their parents or their primary carers, such as information in a book, online or on a CD or DVD.

 It was interesting to note that no matter how positive a relationship between a parent/primary carer and child, when it came to the issue of puberty, children seemed to respond better to having information they could read by themselves, rather than initially having to talk and ask questions of a parent.

As adults, we can participate in children’s general education (in and out of the classroom) by being inclusive and sharing our knowledge on a wide range of issues, and equally, by listening, giving credit and respect to a child’s perspective on issues.

At this crucial time of their lives, children may need us adults to be especially attentive and sympathetic to their physical and emotional needs. And if you don’t know where to start, sometimes simply saying to a child: “Puberty or what you are going through now, these changes, well, this is something that we all went through, each and every one of us”.

This may be enough to initiate and begin to create a positive environment for healthy communication between children and adults, much needed in the area of children’s physical and emotional education.

Dr Cunin, a social anthropologist (specialising in youth and education issues) is the author of The Caribbean Boy’s Book of Body and Self and The Caribbean Girl’s Book of Body and Self