Adolescence
Adolescence: growth and change
Place adolescence among the stages of life, name the changes it brings and what drives them, and say what looks after health at this age.
A cousin comes home after a summer away and everyone remarks on it: taller, a different voice, a face that has changed. Nothing unusual has happened. A human life runs through infancy, childhood, adolescence, adulthood and old age, and adolescence is the stretch where the body does most of its rebuilding at once.
What adolescence is
It is the period of change from childhood to adulthood, generally beginning around the age of 10 and usually lasting until 19. Height rises faster than before. In boys the voice box grows, the voice sounds hoarse and a bump may show at the throat — the Adam's apple. In girls the voice box grows too, but less, so the voice changes less. Hair appears in new places, and oily skin can clog pores and bring the pimples of acne.
The most important sentence in the chapter
The timing, the nature and the extent of these changes differ from person to person, and that variation is normal. Two friends of the same age can be at quite different points and both be exactly as they should be. Nobody is behind.
Have a play
Slide along this line of ages and see where the chapter puts adolescence.
Tap anywhere on the line.
Worked example
Two classmates turn 12 in the same month. One has grown noticeably taller and their voice has begun to change; the other looks much as they did a year ago. Is something wrong with the second?
Check what the chapter actually claims about ages. It gives adolescence as generally starting around 10 and usually running to 19 — a span of years, not a date.
A range that wide is the chapter telling you in advance that people arrive at different times.
Try it together
Work out what is behind the changes of adolescence.
Three steps, each answered with a word or a short phrase.
1.The changes of adolescence are driven mainly by certain chemicals the body makes. What are those chemicals called?
Have a go
Have a go on your own. Vitamin B12 is unlike most of what the body needs, in that the body cannot make it. Where does a person have to get it from?
Ready to practise?
Eight questions on what you have just read. Nothing is timed, and you can play as many times as you like.