GoodLifeFamilyMag.com JULY | AUGUST 2019 57 HORMONES AND HOT FLASHES TWEEN EARLYADOLESCENCE(AGES10TO13) Jack, at age 12, sounds a lot like I did at the same age. He is slow- ly realizing that his parents aren’t “perfect,” and that lost idealization is leading to slightly more confrontation with his parents, less ac- ceptance of parental criticism, and more parental separation. “He’s moody all the time,” his mom says. “She’s the moody one,” he snaps back, using his words more readily (and rudely). He’s self-conscious now too, his cracking voice and (slowly) chang- ing body causing him more stress. “When am I gonna get taller?” he asks at the beginning of every visit to see me. He’s obsessed with his height. Other boys seem bigger and faster. Some of those boys are his close friends. He doesn’t want to hear that they have different parents with different genes. He wants to play professional basketball. He’s currently 4’10”. Mom brings us back quickly to her primary concerns—his im- pulse control, his boundary pushing. I reassure his mother that this is normal for his developmental stage. I give her advice on how to set boundaries on his out-of-control video gaming. When I ask her to leave the room for confidential doctor time, Jack tells me that some kids vape in his school bathroom, and he thought about trying it, but hasn’t. He’s interested in girls but has never dated. He’s looked at porn a couple of times at home but got caught. We discuss high-risk behavior and end the appointment on a high note. I tell him that, based on his sexual maturation rating, that he’s going to have a growth spurt in the summer. He’s psyched! What I want you, the reader, to understand is that adolescent males DESERVE special care. They’ve got similar, yet different, issues to their female counterparts.