Page 212 - (DK) Help Your Kids with Growing Up: A No-Nonsense Guide to Puberty and Adolescence

210 SEXU ALIT Y

Attraction SEE ALSO
‹
‹ 194–195 Dating
196–197 Rejection
Attraction is about wanting to be closer to someone else. It might ‹ 198–199 Healthy relationships
be emotional, intellectual, romantic, or sexual, and can evoke ‹ 208–209 Different sexual identities
passionate feelings that are both exciting and confusing.

Different kinds of attraction
When people talk about attraction, they’re usually referring
to romantic and sexual attraction, but there are many ways
in which a person can feel attracted to another. Emotional
and intellectual attraction is based on feeling supported, or
having things in common, and provides the basis for most
friendships. Loving relationships between partners are built
upon romantic attraction, while sexual attraction involves
feeling physically drawn to somebody.

◁ Attraction
Sometimes
people may not
be able to tell
what type of
attraction
they’re feeling.

Crushes
Crushes are similar to the romantic love that
couples feel for each other. They allow people
to process feelings of attraction, and to discover
what features they find attractive in a person.
When a teen starts to have a crush on someone,
it can be hard to know what to do with those
feelings. Teens might find they think about their
crush all the time, or feel excited or nervous
when they see them.
Sometimes telling a crush is the right thing to
do, but there are times when it isn’t appropriate.
It can be difficult to tell if the other person feels
the same way. If the other person isn’t
interested, it’s important to respect their
wishes and try to move on.

◁ Overwhelming feelings
Crushes can feel like they are taking
over a person’s life, but they tend to
last only for a few months.

210-211_Attraction.indd 210 24/03/2017 17:20