Adolescence Developmental Milestone

Physical developmental milestone

Boys:
Height spurt begins
Pubic hair appears
Facial hair begins
Girls:
Height spurt begins
Breast begins to bud
Pubic hair appears
During this stage of development, children begin to experience many physical changes within
their bodies. Both boys and girls develop pubic hair and experience height spurt. According to
Seifert & Hoffnung, growth in height and weight during adolescence is generally accompanied
by significant increases in the amount of food that is consumed (p. 437). At this stage of
development, children are more focused on their appearance as they develop into adulthood.

Language Developmental Milestone

According to Berk, adolescence brings dramatic gains in capacity to adapt language style to
social context, in part because teenagers enter many situations than did at younger ages (p. 393).
Children have the ability to communicate effectively with their peers and learn to accept and
appreciate cultural differences.

Cognitive Developmental Milestone

Piaget refers to this stage of development as formal operational. Children can use reason, logic,
abstract thinking as they become more social and intellectual. At this stage of development,
children are making their own identity. According to Berk, semantic memory expands further
and becomes more intricately organized and autobiographical memory becomes more focused on
personal meaning (p. 306).

Social emotional development

At this stage of development, children have the ability to communicate with family and friends
with the use of technology. Most children have the use of cell phones and computers. Children
are socially active with their peers and they spend more time away from home. This stage of
development is considered a turning point and a great transition in both promises and
problems are potential outcomes; depending on the care and opportunities adults afford to young
people at home, school, and out-of-school hours (Roeser, Eccles & Sameroff, 2000, p. 446).

Moral reasoning/self-regulation

According to Berk (2013) When young people negotiate and compromise, they realize that
social life can be based on cooperation between equals rather than on authority relations (p.
505). Children at this stage may exhibit the following: Berk (2013)
Increasingly emphasizes ideal reciprocity as the basis for interpersonal relationships and
societal laws.
Becomes increasingly aware of the moral implications of social conventions and matters
of personal choice.
Highly reflective moral judgments that grapple with existential issues appear among a
few individuals, usually with advanced education.
Relationship between moral reasoning and behavior strengthens.

Atypical Development

One atypical development during the stage of adolescence is that sometimes a child may have
difficulty in making the transition from middle childhood to adulthood. Some may struggle with
staying focused on classroom assignments and activities and some may even display behavioral
problems at home and at school.

Social Factor

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (2014) states, Providing safe and
nurturing environments for our nations youth can help ensure that adolescents will be healthy
and productive members of society (CDC, 2014). At this stage of development, children gain
confident and they enjoy being with their peers and meeting new people. The following is a very
interesting video on developing self-esteem.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pz7NDJA1oU#t=72

Cultural Factor

At this stage of development, children have no problems accepting differences. They meet
people all over the world through the use of technology. According to Berk (2013) states, In
one study, both male and female Japanese adolescents, who almost always integrate care-and

justice-based reasoning, placed greater weight on caring which they regarded as a communal
responsibility (pgs. 505-506).

Family Influence

Parents should encourage children to talk to them with any concerns they may have and ensure
them that they will not judged or made to feel ashamed. When parents create a warm, safe, and
nurturing environment, children feel safe enough to share their thoughts, ideas and concerns
because they feel loved and valued. According to Berk, when parents are warm, encourage
emotional expressiveness, and show sensitive, empathetic concern for their youngsters feelings,
their children are likely to react in a concerned way to the distress of others-relationships that
persist into adolescence and early adulthood (p. 418).

Two play-based Strategies

Two play-based strategies that families can use to influence their childrens learning and
development would consist of walking or bike riding together and having family night when
everyone could pitch in and fix a fun recipe and play lots of games or create their own game
together.

References
Berk, L. E. (2013). Child development. (9th ed). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
Roeser, R. W., Eccles, J. S., & Sameroff, A. J. (2000). School as a context of early adolescents'
academic and social-emotional development: A summary of research findings. The
Elementary School Journal, 443-471.
Seifert, K. L., & Hoffnug, R. J., (2000). Child and Adolescent Development. (5th ed.). Boston,
MA: Houghton Mifflin Company