How often have we heard people suggest that someone we know is just going through a phase? It is usually employed as a pejorative term, a not-so-subtle critique followed by an expression of hope that behaviors will return to an acceptable norm. Some, for example, view the terrible twos as a phase that young children (and their families) inevitably experience. Older school children are also subject to scrutiny in that regard as they frequently hear about each phase that they characterize in the moment. Teenagers are easy targets because we parents like to tell our children where they sta...