In the first year of high school, the freshman year, your teen will be
developing rapidly, and starting to show some independence. They have
the ability to make decisions on their own, your gentle guidance will
help those decisions to be good ones. Especially during the early years
of high school, they are growing rapidly, and their caloric
requirements may be higher than in the past. Boys between 15 and 18 may
need up to 3,000 calories a day just to maintain.
While you must guard
against obesity, don\'t be alarmed if they seem like a \"bottomless pit.\"
This is also a time when a teen may become extremely interested in one
subject. They may spend all their energy in science, math, reading, or
drama, or they may devote tremendous energy to sports, music, or
something else. This tendency is the early formation of their career
goals and aspirations, and when that interest becomes evident, it
should be encouraged as much as possible. But don\'t be surprised if it
changes directions a time or two.
Special challenges in this stage include experimentation with drugs or
alcohol. However, the more you have been involved in your child\'s life
up until now, the less likely this is to be a problem. The first year
of high school is exciting but a little confusing, since it\'s a whole
new world. The sophomore year brings a little more direction and
self-assuredness, but the junior year is perfect. Not yet a senior but
still on top of the world, the high school junior is one who is settled
into their routine, knows his own likes and dislikes, and has a pretty
solid idea of what he wants his place in the world to be. The senior
year is a little bit of a regression, and this is where there\'ll be a
little confusion and angst about leaving the brief security they had in
high school and going off to a new world at college.
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