Girls Fighting at Puberty

7 July 2014 08:24 am   Apsara was nervous. She was new to the class and she was unsure what kind of welcome she would get. Just then a tall girl walked up to her and began to interrogate her. Apsara was thirteen and she had just attained puberty. The ceremonies associated with Menarche had made her feel shy and now this interrogation scared her. Body change How many Apsaras do you know? From the pre-teen age to about sixteen years, girls’ bodies change and they may run the gamut of being shy, frightened, ashamed to becoming bold and aggressive.“Girls in their pre-teen years may face Menarche differently. It is a huge change and their outlook means that some start fighting . There is a lot of bullying and competition up to the age of sixteen. Some girls feel jealous that others have done better and they try to put down or even trample the girls who have done well,” explained Anne, a psychologist. “If you are new to the school or to the class, the other girls may ostracise you and not allow you to join a clique. They may even say that you have joined the class because your marks are not good,” she added. Jealousy Jealousy is a major problem among these girls. “I know this girl Naomi who always tries to be goody goody two shoes but she is up to all the mischief. But even the teachers and the Principal think highly of her while she makes sure that other girls like me carry the burden for the wicked things she does,” complained Jilska.Jilska says that most girls want to put up a good front, especially when it comes to boys. They are unable to cope with the changes happening in their bodies and minds along with the monitoring by teachers and parents. Hormones are raging and natural reactions like attraction to boys are often looked down upon,particularly with strictures by elders.“I saw Jenny talking to a boy after class,” reported Manel. What is wrong with that? Isn’t it natural for a teenaged girl to talk to a boy? Not with everyone else watching and reporting the matter with their own additions and exaggerations. As a result, a girl may become inhibited and feel shy and backward in the presence of the opposite sex. Bullying Bullying is common among girls in this age group and usually,the older ones or the ones who are bigger in size pick on the younger or smaller girls. The victims are cowed and usually don’t report the matter, preferring to suffer in silence. But they may be smarting inside if they are pulled up by the Principal who has been hoodwinked by a girl who pretends to be ‘holier than thou’. It all depends on who takes the blame for a misdemeanor.It is time that parents and teachers became aware of the problems faced by girls from their pre-teen years to about sixteen. They should not be heavy-handed and try their best to give a listening and sympathetic ear to every girl, especially the quiet ones who may be victims of the aggressive ones.