What I Wish I Would Have Known

Understanding a child's growth and development is an important part of parenting. These not only include the physical changes that occur but some emotions, behaviors, personality speech, and thinking. Therefore, I chose to interview a mother of four children who is also a mother of teenagers to know what are some of the challenges they undergo when raising their children since they are the ones who spend more time with their children. 

What are 5 things you wish you would have known about childbirth or raising teenagers? 

I wish I could have established a strong relationship with my child to know the people they associate with them, has knowledge about drugs and substance abuse, knows what they wanted to achieve in life, knowledge about sex education, health checkups, and recommending them for guidance and counseling programs. Inspect their room to find out how they are organized, what they are interested in, and if there are things that they are hiding. I wish I could get to know what kind of friends they associate with and how they influence their behavior. Interact with them by asking them questions. Access their devices and get to know what kind of games, social media platforms, and apps they interact with. Encourage them when they feel discouraged due to their physical appearance when undergoing adolescence stage. 

How does your current knowledge of these things influence your reproductive choice? 

The knowledge I have acquired would have helped me to understand the change of behaviors and health problems my teenager underwent, such as stress and depression. 

My thoughts about the response 

The response shows that the teenager experienced some physiological problems that were a result of social media influence and peer pressure. It shows that parents lack basic education concerning raising their children and health education needed. This, therefore, causes some of the health issues that their children undergo in life that would be preventable at the early stages.