“…the youth becomes more beautiful when beard comes to him…” thus discussed Socrates, the great Greek philosopher, with the friends gathered to make speeches on the topic of ‘Love’ in Athens some 400 BC.

Yes, the adolescent or the youth becomes more beautiful when he or she comes of the age, but he or she also becomes more ‘unstable’ when reaching this age group. Generally speaking, persons in the 10-19 age groups are referred to as adolescents.

However, adolescence is a phase of life rather than a particular age. It is the second decade in a person’s life when important changes occur in different dimensions of life — physical, biological, mental and emotional. These changes may occur at different paces in different socio-cultural settings and for different individuals.

The sequence and manner of these changes can be different for males and females. Furthermore, some of these changes due to adolescence can be perceived and handled differently in different cultures. That is why it is difficult to pinpoint an age at which adolescence begins or ends.

For practical purposes, adolescence can be defined as a developmental period during which a person is ‘no longer a child, but not yet an adult’. In other words adolescence is the period of ‘identity crises’, when the person has already left the childhood but has not yet attained the adulthood. And it is not only the numerical definition and aspect of the age bracket only, but a ‘crises’ of thoughts, of beliefs, atti-tudes and ultimately behaviour.

So it is a period or phase searching for oneself, of exploring the identity of self, of making efforts to establish one’s own separate, new and unique identity. And it is this very moment of mental state of mind that the adolescent makes him or her more vulnerable.

In an effort and curiosity to explore new avenues, which happens to be very exciting at every step, the adolescent embarks upon the un-trodden paths of life. Being in ecstasy and elation, he is at the high risk to stumble down in the unawareness and get perilously exposed to the buried ‘landmines’ of unhealthy behaviours.

This is the time when parents should be more concerned and careful to them. Though it is always like walking on the tight rope for the parents, but they have to make a humble balance in their behaviour to try to keep intact the relationship with their young generation. They must realise that this is the period which is crucial for the adolescent.

You should talk, share, discuss and negotiate with them. Any harsh, stern or unyielding attitude of parents at this stage may run the risk of developing an unhealthy and even hazardous attitudes and behaviour in the adolescents. The behaviours formed during adolescence or young adulthood are known to have profound implications for the rest of the person’s natural life.

For example, smoking or drinking habit initiated during this period is several times more likely to lead to chronic conditions or result in worse scenarios (such as chain smoking or alcoholism) than habits picked up during later stages in life.

Conversely, good habits or positive behaviours formed during adolescence and young adulthood can be expected to have salubrious effect on a person’s psychosexual and psychosocial health during adulthood.

The adolescents and youth are also more prone to accept and yield to the ‘peer’ pressure. And that may lead them to positive as well as negative perceptions and practices. The already altered emotional state of mind and the changed hormonal levels in their blood and body makes them more open to adapt to any fascinating and enthralling action-packed activity.

In these already ‘charged’ circumstances, the adamant and obstinate stance and approach of parents is sure to lead to a volatile relationship with your youths. The pragmatic approach and the practical tips for parents to acclimatise themselves are to try to establish and sustain a live, lively and friendly relationship. They should try to lessen the generation gap to give room to the views and visions of the younger generation and solve amicably any conflicting scenario.

It is not only that the youths and adolescents present challenges and bring about difficulties for the family, they also bear huge potentials that need to be carefully cultivated and fully realised. The adolescents and youths of today are the parents and responsible citizens of tomorrow and the most important resource for community- or nation-building.

The family, the government, the private sector and the international community each has very important roles to play in meeting the challenges and harnessing the potentials inherent in the adolescents and youths.

While talking about health in particular, it is important to bear in mind that sometimes and in some countries the healthcare services are conventionally structured to cater to child and adult health needs, thereby skipping the focus on the special needs of the adolescents.

The first question is, therefore, how to add efficient and effective adolescent services to the existing healthcare system, such that the services properly relate to the transition states from childhood to adolescence to adulthood. Once this prerequisite is met, several components would need to be in place to make the services friendly to adolescents and youths.

These components should include supportive policies, community involvement, healthcare facility and professionals that respect the need for privacy and confidentiality, and healthcare providers who are cognisant of and sensitive to the needs of this particular population.

It is also important to recognize that there is neither silver bullet nor any one-size-fits-all approach available for addressing the needs of the adolescents and youths. Adolescents are a heterogeneous group; naturally, their needs are varied. This poses a challenge as regards the scope or type of services.

Furthermore, not all adolescents and youths are equally needy or vulnerable. Although the majority of them may be in good health and will likely remain so, they will need services. On the other hand, those in poor physical or psychological health will need more substantial services and support. These are two distinct types of service needs.

Finally, the concerns and needs of the adolescents and youths often go beyond reproductive/sexual health. How to address these con-cerns and needs in a holistic man-ner? That remains a big challenge.

Let us not presume that this challenge is exclusive to underdeveloped countries by any means. Let us not forget that smoking, teenage pregnancy and abortion are presently the greatest challenges to the Western societies. And these issues must be viewed with a ‘holistic’ frame of reference of health and society.

Above all it is the global village nowadays in which we live, only a click away on the keyboard of a computer. The ‘youth becomes more beautiful when he comes of age’ is not only found in the streets of Athens around 500 BC, and the unsafe sexual practices are not only the  problem of Asia or Africa  but a predicament which may start from any door step and  spread over time and space across the political borders.