Adolescents are the backbone of a nation. In India, they constitute nearly 22 per cent of the population and are important trendsetters in the society. Their interests are at the centre of planning (economic, socio-cultural, health, education) and the democratic polity. They are powerful consumers— promoting the economy, agents of socio-cultural changes, mainstay of educational systems, and important pillars of democracy. Their voices are important in all domains. They embody a tremendous amount of untapped positive energy and resourcefulness that gets released and set in motion in the process of growing up supported by adults. Adolescents’ strengths and orientations need to be fully comprehended and reinforced in all domains with programmes of education, training, health, counseling and research, adopting a proactive approach.
The book Budding Teens: Enjoying with Adolescents unveils in today’s context, the importance of large reservoir of potential that the adolescents hold and the challenges they encounter during the process of growing up and schooling. Their important concerns are related to body image, sexuality, identity, school achievement, net technology, communication, behaviour and choice of a career. These sensitive and complex concerns have been taken up in the book and presented in a simple manner as developmental features. Cases are cited to help parents and teachers to understand and appreciate the concerns of teenagers. Tips are provided for parents and teachers to help them build on teenagers’ capabilities, enable them to resolve their issues in a proactive manner, and equip them to ensure smooth transition into healthy young adults.
The book deals with different prominent issues touching the lives of adolescents. Since some of the issues are quite sensitive and complex, an attempt has been made to present them in a very lucid, concise and complete form using simple language and illustrations. It is hoped that parents, teachers, counselors and adolescents will find the book useful.
Sushila Singhal is a retired professor of Psychology. She has nearly three decades of experience in teaching at premier institutions like the University of Delhi and Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. She also worked as Professor at Shri Ram Centre for Industrial Relations and Human Resources, Delhi. Professor Singhal has published extensively in numerous international and national journals. She has to her credit six books. She remains active with numerous schools and NGOs in her work with adolescents.
Pratibha Dua worked as a counselor at various schools in Delhi for 25 years and has retired recently. She has conducted several workshops for teachers to sensitize them and help them develop skills to deal with adolescent issues. She continues to be active in counseling the adolescents.
