by Ted Sherman

Created on: February 11, 2007   Last Updated: May 02, 2007

Statistics show that at least ten out of ten teenagers have crushes on teachers. It is perfectly normal for a child experiencing the first pangs of sexuality to bestow them on a sympathetic teacher. It grows from a sense of gratitude for the attention the teacher pays to the child to a personal connection, and then on to what is usually called puppy love. Suddenly kids of the same age seem immature and bothersome, while the adored adult takes on ... in the adoring teen's mind ... superior physical and mental qualities. As the attraction grows, the teacher becomes "hot", a cliche teen term for sexually desirable, usually in a favorable comparison with a currently "hot" rock star or movie actor.

For parents who worry about this phases of a teenager's growth, there is usually no need for counseling, psychiatry or punishment. The only cure, and it comes blessedly quickly, is time. While parents are still struggling with the situation, the teenager invariably transfers the passionate addiction to another teenager. Then, if the parents were worried before about the child's attraction to the teacher, the teen-teen love connection will give them much, much more to worry about.

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