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1 CE
Milestone 1 - Physical Development
Physical development in the teens starts with puberty. Reproductive organs mature, boys experience first ejaculation and girls the first menstrual period. Gender differences become more apparent as boys develop facial hair muscle mass and females develop breasts and wider hips. Teens height increases rapidly, girls usually begin earlier and boy about a year later. The prefrontal cortex grows rapidly and teens can struggle with wise judgement and impulse control, and often take more risks. -
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Milestone 2 - Cognitive Development
Teens move from concrete thinking to more abstract and hypothetical thinking, and can manipulate scenarios mentally and consider different possibilities and outcomes. Increases in the dopaminergic system lead to more risk taking and sensation seeking. As the prefrontal cortex develops, teens experience an increase in self regulation and planning skills. Teens develop cognitive empathy are better able to navigate social conflicts. -
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Milestone 3 - Psychosocial Development
The biggest struggle teens face is finding their identity. They shift their focus from parents and family to their peers, strive for more independence. Peer pressure can have positive and negative outcomes. Teens also start to focus on romantic relationships, and much of their identity is rooted in who they are with. Teens work to find their identity and purpose, and explore many options. They wrestle with emotional outbursts and strive for academic achievement. -
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Milestone 4 - Language Development
According to sltforkids.co.uk, teens should be able to follow complex spoken instructions containing new information, understand common sayings and phrases in context, develop and understanding of sarcasm, figurative language and ask for clarification when they don't understand. They can learn as much as 7 to 10 words per day and understand double meanings, switch language styles to suit the situation, and engage in stories.
