Tora Sudiro Navigates Teenage Daughter's First Crush

Actor Tora Sudiro has shared his experience as a father now facing a new phase in the development of his youngest child, Jenaka Mahila (14). For Tora, supervising a teenage daughter is quite challenging, especially as Jenaka appears to have developed a crush on someone.

“It seems my child has started to fancy a boy. So as a father, I need to monitor my child,” Tora said during a media discussion in South Jakarta on Tuesday.

According to Tora, his worries increased after learning Jenaka had begun frequently having sleep calls with someone at night. Therefore, as a father, he always tries to keep an eye on his daughter.

“We don’t know, do we? She says she’s going to PIM, but we don’t know if it’s actually the boy’s house. So I need something that can monitor that sort of thing. Because Jenaka is now constantly on sleep calls at night,” Tora said with a laugh.

The father of five admitted his anxiety is greater because all his children are girls. Moreover, Jenaka is the youngest, which heightens his concern.

“It’s just part of being a parent, especially since all five of my children are girls. But this is the youngest, and as the youngest child, the nervousness is definitely amplified,” he said.

So what is a wise way to support a child who has a crush? Family psychologist Pritta Tyas explained that having a crush is a normal part of adolescent development.

“Actually, a crush in teenagers is a natural stage. They are beginning to distinguish which friends have advantages over others,” she said.

According to Pritta, the definition of a crush in the early adolescent phase is usually interpreted as ordinary liking. For instance, when there is a classmate who excels at sports, is proficient in English, is tall, or is a good listener, feelings of admiration or a crush begin to emerge.