KARACHI, March 27: Counselling of parents, particularly mothers and teachers, is needed for proper guidance of teenagers regarding their psychological and physiological developments.

Speakers at an awareness programme for postgraduate doctors at the Sobraj Maternity Hospital highlighted that while the foundations of any individual’s personality took shape during the adolescent period, there was no official policy for that age group.

The speakers deplored early motherhood and early fatherhood for their adverse effects on parents who themselves were in their development age.

MS of the hospital, Dr Shabeen Naz, highlighted the need for counselling and imparting necessary knowledge in reproductive health to youths who are considered as individuals falling in age group of 10 to 24 years of age, which constitute about 42% of the total population in the country.

Dr Jabeen of PAVNAH highlighted some of the cases mainly in tribal and rural areas of the country where boys and girls as young as eleven years of age are married.—PPI