What Can Parents Do When A Child Is In Love?

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JAKARTA - falling in love is one of the phases that a person will go through, including, of course, the little one. Children generally will start to be interested in the opposite sex when entering puberty and start looking at the opposite sex in different ways, roughly this happens around the age of 10-11 years. Children who are in love will usually show some changes such as, for example, paying more attention to appearance and maintaining privacy, playing more often with friends, and of course talking about the same person many times.

Meanwhile, parents who know their little ones have grown up will certainly feel mixed emotions, between not believing that children have grown up but on the other hand also experience anxiety about how to discuss love topics with their children. The reason is, some parents may still feel reluctant to talk about this because they think that children are too small or not deserve to be discussed.

So what exactly is it, if the child has started to fall in love with the opposite sex, what do you think parents should do?

Your child may be open to telling stories that they are in love with their peers. But parents will tend to rule this out. According to Amy Lang, parenting and sexuality educators, at this stage the presence of parents is very important to provide context and ensure children know how they feel.

Communication related to this love topic will actually build trust and closeness with children. So that in this stage, parents can provide understanding about values that do not violate religious and social norms when they fall in love with the opposite sex.

So when chatting about the topic of love with your little one, try to start asking why they like the child they are interested in, what things they want to do with the person they like. Lang also reminded not to underestimate the child's feelings or even laugh at him. Because if that happens in the future they will be reluctant to express their feelings. One other important thing is to talk to your little one in a relaxed manner, so they don't feel like they are being interrogated.

Being in love makes a child experience an unprecedented emotional experience, for example being obsessed with the person he likes. One example is a child who has a crush on someone will monitor and follow him all the time.

It's not uncommon for us to hear or maybe have experienced that incident on our own, right? Well, helping children understand that some behaviors may make other people uncomfortable. So give understanding how they should respect the people they like by having boundaries of behavior that are not too late.

In addition, instead of forbidding him to like the opposite sex, it's better if you make an agreement so that it doesn't interfere with his main obligations at school to study. Prohibiting him can actually encourage children to be dishonest and become rebels. But remember to keep an eye on them.

There are always consequences for falling in love, which is what else if not heartbreak. So also give understanding that not everything the child wants he will get. In this case, talk about what will happen if it turns out that the person he likes doesn't feel the same way or is one-sided.

Remembering that heartbreak is not a bad thing but a process and a life lesson to rise and move on. Each child will certainly need a different time to move on, but still be accompanied and there for them.