Infancy

Infancy is the period of time that begins with the organism’s emergence into the world as a
separate being and ends with the organism’s achieving a measure of independence.

Because the organism is immature and environmental stimulation is new, infancy is the simplest
and clearest arena in which the controversy of nature and nurture has been waged.

Two infants born at the same time may be very different. Some infants are very quiet and sleep a
lot. Other infants are very active. Accepting these differences will make it easier to take care of
infants and help them grow and develop.

A child that walks or talks at a younger age than another child is not necessarily "better" or more
advanced.

The following guide has characteristics of most infants. These characteristics are divided into
three main areas:

 physical (body)
 social-emotional (getting along with others)
 intellectual (thinking and language) development.

Remember that infants are human. They have needs and feelings. Infants look and act
differently. Let each infant be himself or herself. Adapt to each infant's behavior instead of
pushing the infant to be more like other infants.

Birth to Six Months

Physical Development - At birth, infants cannot control their body movements. Most of their
movements are reflexes. Their nervous system is not fully developed. During the first months,
infants can see clearly objects that are about 10 inches away from their faces. By six months,
their vision is more fully developed. By four months, most babies have some control of their
muscles and nervous system. They can sit with support, hold their head up for short periods of
time, and can roll from their side to their stomach. By five months, most babies can roll over.

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Social and Emotional Development - They begin to develop trust as their parents meet their
needs such as changing their diapers when needed, feeding them when they are hungry, and
holding them when they cry. When frightened, infants cry and look surprised and afraid. They
cry to express anger, pain and hunger. It is their way of communicating. They are easily excited
or upset. They need to be cradled and comforted. It seems as if they cannot tell where their
bodies end and someone else's begins. Infants smile in response to a pleasant sound or a full
stomach. By four months, they smile broadly, laugh when pleased, and learn to recognize faces
and voices of parents.

Intellectual Development - Infants babble, coo and gurgle. They study their hands and feet. They
turn to locate the source of sounds. Infants can focus on and follow moving objects with their
eyes. They explore things with their mouths. They put anything they can hold into their mouths.
They cry in different ways to express hunger, anger and pain. They forget about objects that they
cannot see.

Six to Twelve Months

Physical Development - Infants still take a nap in the morning and afternoon. They start to eat
and sleep at regular times. They eat three meals a day and drink from bottles at various times.
They start using a cup and a spoon to feed themselves. Infants can sit alone. They crawl with
their stomach touching the floor, and they creep on their hands and knees. By eight months, they
can reach for and hold objects. They can pick up objects with their thumb and forefinger and let
objects go (drop things). They start to throw things. They pull up to stand, they stand holding
onto furniture, and they can walk when led. By the time they are 12 months old, most babies can
weigh three times what they weighed at birth and gain about an inch per month in length. The
average infant at one year may be between 26–30 inches long.

Social and Emotional Development - Infants respond when you say their name. They begin to
fear strangers. They begin to fear being left by their parents. They get angry and frustrated when
their needs are not met in a reasonable amount of time. Infants will talk to themselves in front of
a mirror. They begin to learn what is and is not allowed. Eye contact begins to replace some of
the physical contact that younger infants seek.

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Intellectual Development - Infants wave bye-bye. They respond to simple directions. They look
for things not in sight. Infants make sounds like "baba" and "mama." They begin to pretend by
acting out familiar activities. They make sounds that can be understood by people who know
them well. They repeat actions that cause a response such as when given a rattle, they will shake
it and laugh. By 12 months, many infants speak their first understandable words.

Toddler
A toddler is a child between the ages of one and three. The toddler years are a time of great
cognitive, emotional and social development.

Developmental milestones - Toddler development can be broken into a number of interrelated

areas. There is reasonable consensus about what these include:

Physical: Refers to growth or an increase in size.

Gross motor: Refers to the control of large muscles, which enable walking, running, jumping
and climbing.

Fine motor: Refers to the ability to control small muscles, enabling the toddler to feed
themselves, draw and manipulate objects.

Vision: Refers to the ability to see near and far and interpret what is seen.

Hearing and speech: Hearing is the ability to hear and receive information and listen (interpret).
Speech is the ability to understand and learn language and use it to communicate effectively.

Social: Refers to the ability to interact with the world through playing with others, taking turns
and fantasy play.

Although it is useful to chart defined periods of development, it is also necessary to recognize

that development exists on a continuum, with considerable individual differences between
children. There is a wide range of what may be considered 'normal' development.

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Early childhood

Early childhood is a stage in human development. It generally includes toddlerhood and some
time afterwards. Play age is an unspecific designation approximately within the scope of early
childhood.

In psychology, the term early childhood is usually defined as the time period from the age of two
until the age of six or seven years. There are three simultaneous development stages:

Physical growth and development

In this phase there is a significant growth of the brain - in a two year old the brain is already at
75% the size of a full grown adult, and in a five year old, the brain is 90% of the adult's brain
size. The growth of the brain is followed by a surge in cognitive abilities. Around the age of five,
children start speaking properly and master their hand to eye coordination.
Cognitive growth and development
Called the preoperational stage by Jean Piaget, this is the stage during which the child
repeatedly asks ‘Why’, and is used to build relationships with the child. The child can't yet
perform the abstract thinking operations. The child has to be able to see what is being talked
about, because they do not understand the concepts of logic, betrayal, contemplation, etcThey
also exhibit egocentrism; not to be confused with egoism; that being said, they do not
comprehend that the other person has beliefs and the children at this age think that what they
think, everybody thinks. There is also a matter of perceptive centration, which causes the
children to primarily see what is visually most prominent on someone/something, e.g. if a man
has long hair, the child will think he's a woman.
Social-emotional growth and development
Children manifest fear of dark and monsters and around the age of three notices whether they are
a boy or a girl and start acting that way. Boys are usually more aggressive, whilst girls are more
caring. However, aggression is manifested in two different ways: boys are more physically
aggressive, while the girls are more socially aggressive (name-calling and ignoring). In this stage
the individual differences become more prominent.

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Education
Infants and toddlers experience life more holistically than any other age group. Social,
emotional, cognitive, language, and physical lessons are not learned separately by very young
children. Adults who are most helpful to young children interact in ways that understand that the
child is learning from the whole experience, not just that part of the experience to which the adult
gives attention.

The most information learned occurs between birth and the age of three, during this time humans
develop more quickly and rapidly than they would at any other point in their life. Love,
affection, encouragement and mental stimulation from the parents or guardians of these young
children aid in development. At this time in life, the brain is growing rapidly and it is easier for
information to be absorbed; parts of the brain can nearly double in a year. During this stage,
children need vital nutrients and personal interaction for their brain to grow properly. Children's
brains will expand and become more developed in these early years. Although adults play a huge
part in early childhood development, the most important way children develop is interaction with
other children.

Middle Childhood (6-8 years) Developmental Milestones

Middle childhood brings many changes in a child’s life. They attend school, learn rapidly and
enjoy mastering lots of new physical skills. The opinions of their classmates matter more than
ever before, and they begin to feel the effects of peer pressure.
By this time, children can dress themselves, catch a ball more easily using only their hands, and
tie their shoes. Having independence from family becomes more important now. Events such as
starting school bring children this age into regular contact with the larger world. Friendships
become more and more important. Physical, social, and mental skills develop quickly at this
time. This is a critical time for children to develop confidence in all areas of life, such as through
friends, schoolwork, and sports. Review the rules and limits with the children. Let them help set
the limits and rules. Change them when necessary. Let them help plan some activities. They can
help solve their own problems.
Seven and eight-year-old children need adults who care about them and will talk and play with
them. These can be exciting years for the children and you. You can help them prepare to be
healthy teens and adults. Remember that two children of the same age may be at different stages

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of development. Every child is an individual with different strengths and weaknesses. Each child
needs to feel special and cared about.

Understanding this stage in a child's development will help you:

 plan activities to help children be more independent and have fun,

 feel good about what you do as a provider, and
 help children be successful and to feel good about themselves.

This fact sheet lists some characteristics of seven and eight-year-old children. These
characteristics are listed in 4 main areas:
Physical (body)
social (getting along with others)
emotional (feelings), and
intellectual (thinking and language) development.

PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

 Large muscles in arms and legs are more developed than small muscles. Children can
bounce a ball and run, but it is difficult to do both at the same time.
 There may be quite a difference in the size and abilities of children. This will affect the
way they get along with others, how they feel about
themselves, and what they do. Seven to nine-year-old children are learning to use their
small muscle skills (printing with a pencil) and their large muscle skills (catching a fly
ball).
 Even though children are tired, they may not want to rest. You will need to plan time for
them to rest.

SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT

 Children want to do things by and for themselves, yet they need adults who will help
when asked or when needed.

 Seven to nine-year-old children of the same age and sex help each other:
o have fun and excitement by playing together,
o learn by watching and talking to each other,

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 o in time of trouble by banning together,
o by giving support in time of stress, and
o understand how they feel about themselves.
 Children need guidance, rules, and limits.
 They need help in solving problems.
 They are beginning to see things from another child's point of view, but they still have
trouble understanding the feelings and needs of other people.
 Many children need help to express their feelings in appropriate ways when they are
upset or worried.
 They need more love, attention, and approval from parents and you than criticism.

INTELLECTUAL DEVELOPMENT
 With an increased ability to remember and pay attention, their ability to speak and
express ideas can grow rapidly.
 Things tend to be black or white, right or wrong, great or disgusting, fun or boring to
them. There is very little middle ground.
 They are learning to plan ahead and evaluate what they do.
 With increased ability to think and reason, they enjoy different types of activities, such as
clubs, games with rules, and collecting things.
 When you suggest something, they may say, "That's dumb," or, "I don't want to do it."
 They are still very self-centered although they are beginning to think of others.
 They often say, "That's not fair!" Often, they do not accept rules that they did not help
make.

ACTIVITIES TO DO WITH CHILDREN

 Children learn best by doing. Try to demonstrate instructions for activities or projects.
 Do projects, games, crafts, or activities in which children use large and small muscles
together. Use craft projects that beginners can complete. Do not expect perfection from
the children.

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  Encourage cooperative rather than competitive games. Children like to play both
cooperative and competitive games. They both help children prepare of the adult world.
Help all children feel like winners.
 Encourage children to collect things like shells, stamps, or flowers.
 Encourage pretend play because it is still an important learning experience.
 Make time for running, hopping, skipping, jumping, and climbing.
 Encourage children to dance or skip to music.
 Encourage children to talk about their feelings while working or playing together.

Positive Parenting Tips

Following are some things you, as a parent, can do to help your child during this time:
 Show affection for your child. Recognize her accomplishments.
 Help your child develop a sense of responsibility—ask him to help with household tasks,
such as setting the table.
 Talk with your child about school, friends, and things she looks forward to in the future.
 Talk with your child about respecting others. Encourage him to help people in need.
 Help your child set her own achievable goals—she’ll learn to take pride in herself and
rely less on approval or reward from others.
 Help your child learn patience by letting others go first or by finishing a task before going
out to play. Encourage him to think about possible consequences before acting.
 Make clear rules and stick to them, such as how long your child can watch TV or when
she has to go to bed. Be clear about what behavior is okay and what is not okay.
 Do fun things together as a family, such as playing games, reading, and going to events in
your community.
 Get involved with your child’s school. Meet the teachers and staff and get to understand
their learning goals and how you and the school can work together to help your child do
well.
 Continue reading to your child. As your child learns to read, take turns reading to each
other.

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  Use discipline to guide and protect your child, rather than punishment to make him feel
bad about himself. Follow up any discussion about what not to do with a discussion of
what to do instead.
 Praise your child for good behavior. It’s best to focus praise more on what your child
does ("you worked hard to figure this out") than on traits she can’t change ("you are
smart").
 Support your child in taking on new challenges. Encourage her to solve problems, such as
a disagreement with another child, on her own.
 Encourage your child to join school and community groups, such as a team sports, or to
take advantage of volunteer opportunities.

Middle and Late Childhood development

Changes in physical / body shape - The period of the mid and late childhood include slow
growth and consistent. This period is a quiet period before a fairly rapid growth was a
teenager. Some important aspects body changes in this period are the height, weight and motor
skills.

Weight and height development - During elementary school years, children grow very fast so that
at the end of 11 years, average height of girls is 147 cm high while boys reach 144
cm. Children's feet become longer and the body becomes thinner. During the years of the mid
and late childhood, children's weight on average increase by 2.3 to 3.2 kg per year. Weight
increase was mainly due to increase in size of skeletal and muscular systems, as well as the size
of several organs. Mass and muscle strength gradually increased at the same baby fat is
reduced. Knee movements are flexible in the early days, children improve muscle
strength. Increasing muscle strength due to hereditary factors and sport. Their power capabilities
doubled during these years. Due to the large amount of their muscle cells, boys are generally
stronger than girls.

Motor skills - During their stay in the middle and end of the childhood, motoric development
becomes more subtle and more coordinated than in the early childhood. At the age of 10 or 11
years, most children can learn to play sports, running, climbing, jumping rope, swimming,
cycling. It is a bit of a lot of physical skills which can be mastered by children of elementary

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 school. These physical skills are a source of pleasure and a great achievement for the children. In
rough motoric skills that include large muscle activities, boys are usually more nimble than
girls.

When children enter elementary school years, they gain greater control over their body and can
sit or stand in a longer time. But elementary school children is far away from physical maturity,
and they must be active. They become more saturated because of sitting too long rather than
because of running, jumping, or cycling. The physical act is important for these children to refine
their skills are being developed such as hitting a ball, jump rope, or make a movement on the
balance beam. Therefore, in principle, elementary school children should be actively involved
rather than passive in these activities.
The increase in myelin-(a veil of nerves that helps nerve impulses to move faster) in the central
nervous system. This is reflected in the improvement of motor skills that is rough during mid and
late childhood. Children aged six are able to hit, punch, tie shoelaces, and button a shirt. At the
age of seven years children become more powerful. At this age, children like pencils instead of
crayons to paint, and more rarely write letters upside down. Writing becomes smaller and finer.
From age 8 to 10, the hand can be used freely with ease and precise. Developing fine motor
coordination in which the children had to write and not just write letters one by one. Font size
becomes smaller and more evenly.
At age 10 to 12, children begin to demonstrate manipulative skills, resemble adult abilities. They
begin to assert complex movements, complex and fast that it takes to produce good-quality crafts
or play a difficult song with a musical instrument. The girls usually surpass boys in these skills.

Cognitive Development (Piaget's Theory and Operational Thought) - Piaget believes that preschool
children are preoperational thinkers. Preoperational thinking involves the formation of concepts
that remain, mental reasoning, highlighting the attitude of egocentrism, and the formation of
supernatural belief systems. Thinking during the preschool years is still not perfect and not
organized well. Piaget believed operational concrete thinking does not appear until the age of 7
years. Concrete operational thinking described imperfections preschool children in thinking
about concrete operational skills sort of conservation and classification. The characteristics of

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 concrete operational thinking emphasizes the competencies of elementary school children.
Concrete Operational Thought
Piaget explained that concrete operational thinking consists of the operations of mental actions
that allow the child to do mentally what has been done before physically. Concrete operations is
also the mental actions that are contrary. Among test ever conducted by Piaget is the
conservation of materials.
Memory Development - Large increases occur in the memory span of short-term memory in the
early childhood, but at age 7, the increase was not as in previous times. While Long Term
Memory is relatively fixed and unlimited. This increases with age during the mid and late
children. Two aspects memory associated with increased long-term memory is the process
control (control processes) and student characteristics (learner characteristic).
Long-term memory depends on the activities of individual learning when studying and
remembering information. Control processes are cognitive processes that do not happen
automatically, but requires effort. This process is under the control consciousness of students and
can be used to improve memory. This process is also referred to as strategies.

Repetition is a process control that improve memory. Repetition occurs, for example when a
child hears a number phone then repeats the number several times to improve their memory
about the number.

Another control process that develops when children are in middle and late childhood is
comparison. Strategy powerful comparison is the keyword method has been used in a practical
way to teach elementary school children how to master the new information fast crate vocabulary
words of foreign languages, state parts and state capitals.
Another thing that affects the memory is the properties of the child. Many properties that
determine the effectiveness of their memory is attitude, motivation and health.

Development of critical thinking (cognitive) - Knowledge has been acquired by the child when
the educational lessons filtered off -like grains of sand that washed through the sieve. Children
need to do more than just passively absorb new information. They must learn how to think
critically. In general, the definition of critical thinking is to understand the deeper meaning of the

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 problem, keep the mind stay open to all approaches and different views and think reflectively
and not just accept the claims and do procedures without understanding and significant
evaluation. Critical thinking must be used not only inside e classroom but also outside the
classroom.
To think critically or solve every problem, or learn any new knowledge, the children must take
an active role in learning. It means that children need to develop various processes active
thinking as below:
- Listen carefully
- Identify or formulate questions
- Organize their thoughts
- Shows similarities and differences
- Perform deduction (reasoning from general to specific)
- Differentiate between conclusions that logically valid and invalid

In summary critical thinking refers to the understanding of the meaning of the problems in more
depth, keeping an open mind on the various approaches and different views, and think more
reflectively and not accept the claims and implementing procedures without significant
understanding and evaluation. To cultivate critical thinking in children, we must teach them to
use the correct thinking process, develop problem-solving strategies, improve their mental
image, to expand the foundations of knowledge and to motivate them using thinking skills newly
developed.

Creativity development - Creativity is the ability to think of something new and unusual and to
produce a unique solution to the problems. When creative people like artists and scientists asked
what made them to solve problems by the new way, they say that the ability to find the
similarities among the elements with a curious look, plays an important role.
How big is the relevance of creativity and intelligence? Although most people are quite
intelligent, but the opposite is not necessarily true. Many people who have a high IQ but not
creative.
Creativity is a different matter from intelligence. The difference is what experts refer to as
convergent Thinking that produce one correct answer and characterize the kind of thinking based

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on standard intelligence tests and the divergent thinking that is producing a lot of answers to the
same question and more characterized by creativity.
Language Development - The children experience changes in vocabulary and grammar. This is
influenced by the activity of reading. Reading has a very important role for their language
repertoire.
During the mid and late childhood, there is a change of mind with words. Children tend to be less
bound by the actions and perceptual dimensions associated with words, and they become more
analytical in their approach to words, such as when they were asked to say the first thing that
entered their thoughts when they hear a word like dog. Preschool children often answered with a
word related to the context which is close to a dog. A child may connect dog and said with a
word that shows the appearance (black, large) or with an act relating to dogs (barking,
sitting). Children older dog replied by linking words with an appropriate category (animals) or
with incorrect information escalate intellectual concepts such as cats, the vet.
Children's ability to analyze these words help them to add the abstract words into their
vocabulary. At the end of primary school children usually can apply a lot of grammar rules as
appropriate.

Adolescence
Adolescence describes the teenage years between 13 and 19 and can be considered
the transitional stage from childhood to adulthood. However, the physical and psychological
changes that occur in adolescence can start earlier, during the preteen years (ages 9-12).
Adolescence is a time of many transitions for both teens and their families. To ensure that teens
and adults navigate these transitions successfully, it is important for both to understand what is
happening to the teen physically, cognitively, and socially; how these transitions affect teens;
what adults can do; and what support resources are available. It is important to note that while all
teens develop, they don’t all follow the same timeline.

Adolescence can be a time of both disorientation and discovery. The transitional period can bring
up issues of independence and self-identity. Sometimes adolescents may be experimenting with
drugs and alcohol or sexuality. During this time, peer groups and external appearance tend to
increase in importance.

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Physical Development
During the teen years, adolescents experience changes in their physical development at a rate of
speed unparalleled since infancy. Physical development includes:

 Rapid gains in height and weight. During a one-year growth spurt, boys and girls can
gain an average of 4.1 inches and 3.5 inches in height respectively. (Steinberg, 2007)
This spurt typically occurs two years earlier for girls than for boys. Weight gain results
from increased muscle development in boys and body fat in girls.
 Development of secondary sex characteristics. During puberty, changing hormonal
levels play a role in activating the development of secondary sex characteristics. These
include: (1) growth of pubic hair; (2) menarche (first menstrual period for girls) or penis
growth (for boys); (3) voice changes (for boys); (4) growth of underarm hair; (5) facial
hair growth (for boys); and (6) the increased production of oil, increased sweat gland
activity, and the beginning of acne.
 Continued brain development. Recent research suggests that teens' brains are not
completely developed until late in adolescence. Specifically, studies suggest that the
connections between neurons affecting emotional, physical and mental abilities are
incomplete (Strauch, 2003). This could explain why some teens seem to be inconsistent
in controlling their emotions, impulses, and judgments.

Effects
 Teens frequently sleep longer. Research suggests that teens actually need more sleep to
allow their bodies to conduct the internal work required for such rapid growth. On
average, teens need about nine and a half hours of sleep a night (Strauch, 2003).
 Teens may be more clumsy because of growth spurts. If it seems to you that teens'
bodies are all arms and legs then your perception is correct. During this phase of
development, body parts don't all grow at the same rate. This can lead to clumsiness as
the teen tries to cope with limbs that seem to have grown overnight. Teens can appear
gangly and uncoordinated.
 Teenage girls may become overly sensitive about their weight. This concern arises
because of the rapid weight gain associated with puberty. Sixty-two percent of adolescent
girls report that they are trying to lose weight. (Centers for Disease Control, 2005) A

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 small percentage of adolescent girls (1 percent to 3 percent) become so obsessed with
their weight that they develop severe eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa or
bulimia. (Alonso, et al., 2005) Anorexia nervosa refers to starvation; bulimia refers to
binge eating and vomiting.
 Teens may be concerned because they are not physically developing at the same rate as
their peers. Teens may be more developed than their peers (‘early-maturers’) or less
developed than their peers (‘late-maturers’). Being out of developmental ‘step’ with peers
is a concern to adolescents because most just want to fit in. Early maturation affects boys
and girls differently. Research suggests that early maturing boys tend to be more popular
with peers and hold more leadership positions. Adults often assume that early maturing
boys are cognitively mature as well. This assumption can lead to false expectations about
a young person's ability to take on increased responsibility. Because of their physical
appearance, early maturing girls are more likely to experience pressure to become
involved in dating relationships with older boys before they are emotionally ready. Early
maturing girls tend to suffer more from depression, eating disorders, and anxiety. (Ge, et
al., 2001)
 Teens may feel awkward about demonstrating affection to the opposite sex parent. As
they develop physically, teens are beginning to rethink their interactions with the
opposite sex. An adolescent girl who used to hug and kiss her dad when he returned
home from work may now shy away. A boy who used to kiss his mother good night may
now wave to her on his way up the stairs.
 Teens may ask more direct questions about sex. At this stage, adolescents are trying to
figure out their values around sex. Teens often equate intimacy and sex. Rather than
exploring a deep emotional attachment first, teens tend to assume that if they engage in
the physical act, the emotional attachment will follow. They may ask questions about
how to abstain without becoming embarrassed or about how they will know when the
time is right. They may also have specific questions about methods of birth control and
protection from sexually transmitted diseases.

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Remedies
Knowledge about what changes and behaviors during adolescence are normal can go a long way
in helping both teens and adults manage the transition successfully. There are also some specific
things adults can do to be supportive:

 Don't criticize or compare the teens to others. Teens are already acutely self-conscious
about the way they look. They don't need you to point it out to them.
 Encourage teens to get enough sleep. Realize they may need an extra boost in getting
out of bed for school. Try to be understanding when teens want to sleep until noon on
Saturday.
 Encourage and model healthy eating habits. Keep plenty of nutritious foods in the
house. Remember that teens need to take in more calories to fuel their growth. Monitor
eating habits accordingly.
 Encourage and model physical activity. Exercise will help teens to burn excess energy,
strengthen developing muscles, and sleep better at night. It may also help teens become
more comfortable in their changing bodies.
 Provide honest answers to teens about sex. Teens are in search of knowledge on this
subject. If adults do not provide accurate information, teens are forced to rely on their
peers or other potentially inaccurate sources. Unfortunately, such erroneous information
is often to blame when teens make poor decisions.
 Be understanding of their need for physical space. Do not take it personally if your teen
is not as physically affectionate as he or she was in the past. Do not force your teen to
hug or kiss relatives or family friends. Maintain communication, but respect teens' need
to withdraw.
 Be patient with excessive grooming habits. Teens often spend large amounts of time
grooming themselves and obsessing over skin care products. Often, this behavior merely
reflects teens' attempts to maintain some sense of control over their rapidly changing
bodies.

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Cognitive Development characteristics

Most adults recognize that teens have better thinking skills than younger youth. These advances
in thinking can be divided into several areas:

 Developing advanced reasoning skills. Advanced reasoning skills include the ability to
think about multiple options and possibilities. It includes a more logical thought process
and the ability to think about things hypothetically. It involves asking and answering the
question, "what if...?".
 Developing abstract thinking skills. Abstract thinking means thinking about things that
cannot be seen, heard, or touched. Examples include things like faith, trust, beliefs and
spirituality.
 Developing the ability to think about thinking in a process known as "meta-cognition."
Meta-cognition allows individuals to think about how they feel and what they are
thinking. It involves being able to think about how one is perceived by others. It can also
be used to develop strategies, also known as mnemonic devices, for improving learning.
Remembering the notes on the lines of a music staff (e, g, b, d, and f) through the phrase
"every good boy does fine" is an example of such a mnemonic device.

Effects
 Teens demonstrate a heightened level of self-consciousness. Teens tend to believe that
everyone is as concerned with their thoughts and behaviors as they are. This leads teens
to believe that they have an "imaginary audience" of people who are always watching
them.
 Teens tend to believe that no one else has ever experienced similar feelings and
emotions. They may become overly dramatic in describing things that are upsetting to
them. They may say things like "You'll never understand," or "My life is ruined!"
 Teens tend to exhibit the "it can't happen to me" syndrome also known as a "personal
fable." This belief causes teens to take unnecessary risks like drinking and driving ("I
won't crash this car"), having unprotected sex ("I can't possibly get pregnant"), or
smoking ("I can't possibly get cancer").

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  Teens tend to become very cause-oriented. Their activism is related to the ability to think
about abstract concepts. After reading about cruelty to animals a teen may become a
vegetarian and a member of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).
Another teen may become active in Green Peace or Save the Whales campaigns.
 Teens tend to exhibit a "justice" orientation. They are quick to point out inconsistencies
between adults' words and their actions. They have difficulty seeing shades of gray. They
see little room for error.

Remedies
 Don't take it personally when teens discount your experience. Try to empathize with
and listen to their concerns. Enlist the help of a slightly older sibling or friend to give
good advice to the teen if needed.
 Get teens involved in discussing their behavioral rules and consequences. Teens should
take a more active role in determining how they should behave. Their advanced reasoning
skills make it easier for them to generate realistic consequences for their actions. Listen
to their ideas!
 Provide opportunities for teens to participate in controlled risky behavior. Get teens
involved in properly supervised extreme sports, such as parachuting, or rock climbing.
Such activities will allow teens opportunities to play out their "it can't happen to me"
mentality in an environment that won't be deadly if they fail.
 Provide opportunities for teens to get involved in community service. Teens want to
become active in things that have deeper meaning. Suggest they volunteer at a homeless
shelter, walk dogs for the animal shelter, or take meals to the elderly. Talk with them
about their experiences.
 Talk to teens about their views and be open to discussing your own. Find out what they
think about news stories on television or in the paper; ask them about their political and
spiritual beliefs. Teens are already thinking about these things so give them a non-
threatening forum for discussing them
 Try to build a genuine relationship with teens. Let them know what you were like as a
teen. Talk to them about your mistakes and vulnerabilities. Try to understand their
feelings and express yours so you can be understood.

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Psycho-Social Development characteristics
There are five recognized psychosocial issues that teens deal with during their adolescent years.
These include:

 Establishing an identity. This has been called one of the most important tasks of
adolescents. The question of "who am I?" is not one that teens think about at a conscious
level. Instead, over the course of the adolescent years, teens begin to integrate the
opinions of influential others (e.g. parents, other caring adults, friends, etc.) into their
own likes and dislikes. The eventual outcome is people who have a clear sense of their
values and beliefs, occupational goals, and relationship expectations. People with secure
identities know where they fit (or where they don't want to fit) in their world.
 Establishing autonomy. Some people assume that autonomy refers to becoming
completely independent from others. They equate it with teen "rebellion." Rather than
severing relationships, however, establishing autonomy during the teen years really
means becoming an independent and self-governing person within relationships.
Autonomous teens have gained the ability to make and follow through with their own
decisions, live by their own set of principles of right and wrong and have become less
emotionally dependent on parents. Autonomy is a necessary achievement if the teen is to
become self-sufficient in society.
 Establishing intimacy. Many people, including teens, equate intimacy with sex. In fact,
intimacy and sex are not the same. Intimacy is usually first learned within the context of
same-sex friendships, then utilized in romantic relationships. Intimacy refers to close
relationships in which people are open, honest, caring and trusting. Friendships provide
the first setting in which young people can practice their social skills with those who are
their equals. It is with friends that teens learn how to begin, maintain, and terminate
relationships; practice social skills; and become intimate.
 Becoming comfortable with one's sexuality. The teen years mark the first time that
young people are both physically mature enough to reproduce and cognitively advanced
enough to think about it. Given this, the teen years are the prime time for the
development of sexuality. How teens are educated about and exposed to sexuality will
largely determine whether or not they develop a healthy sexual identity. Many experts

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 agree that the mixed messages teens receive about sexuality contribute to problems such
as teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.
 Achievement. Our society tends to foster and value attitudes of competition and success.
Because of cognitive advances, the teen years are a time when young people can begin to
see the relationship between their current abilities and plans and their future vocational
aspirations. They need to figure out what their achievement preferences are - what they
are currently good at and areas in which they are willing to strive for success.

Effects.
 Teens begin to spend more time with their friends than their families. It is within
friendship groups that teens can develop and practice social skills. Teens are quick to
point out to each other which behaviors are acceptable and which are not. It is important
to remember that even though teens are spending increased amounts of time with their
friends, they still tend to conform to parental ideals when it comes to decisions about
values, education, and long-term plans.

 Teens may have more questions about sexuality. They may ask about adults' values and
beliefs. They may ask how you knew it was time to have sex or why you waited.
 Teens may begin to keep a journal. Part of achieving identity is thinking about one's
thoughts and feelings. Teens often begin journaling as a way of working through how
they feel.
 When they are in their rooms, teens may begin to lock their bedroom doors. Locking
doors is a way to establish privacy. As long as teens continue to interact with the family,
locked doors are usually nothing to worry about.
 Teens may become involved in multiple hobbies or clubs. In an attempt to find out what
they are good at, teens may try many activities. Teens' interests also change quickly.
Today they are into yoga, and tomorrow they are into soccer.
 Teens may become elusive about where they are going or with whom. When asked what
they'll be doing for the evening, teens typically reply with "nothing" or "hanging out."
When asked whom they'll be with, teens reply, "just some friends."
 Teens may become more argumentative. Teens may question adults' values and
judgments. When teens don't get their way, they may say, "You just don't understand."
 Teens may not want to be seen with parents in public. They may make parents drop
them off a block from their friends' houses or from school.
 Teens may begin to interact with parents as people. Even though they may not want to
be seen with parents in public, teens may begin to view parents more as people. They
may ask more questions about how a parent was when he or she was a teen. They may
attempt to interact with adults more as equals.

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 Remedies
 Encourage involvement in multiple groups or activities both within school and after-
school. Realize that teens are trying to gain a sense of achievement - a sense of being
uniquely good at something. Don't get frustrated if they frequently change their minds. At
the same time, encourage them to stick with a project or activity long enough to establish
some skills.
 Praise teens for their efforts as well as their abilities. This will help teens to stick with
ac activities instead of giving up if they are not immediately successful.
 Help teens explore career goals and options. Take teens to work so they can see what
adults do. Set up opportunities for them to "job shadow" others. Ask them questions
about their future career goals. Remember that figuring out what they don't want to do is
just as important as figuring out what they like!
 Give teens an opportunity to establish their behavioral guidelines and consequences.
Allow teens to have input into curfew and other family rules. Their advanced cognitive
skills coupled with their need for autonomy makes this a perfect time for them to provide
suggestions and to demonstrate responsibility for their own behavior.
 Establish rituals to mark significant passages. Few rituals in our modern society mark
the passage of teens to adulthood. Have a mother-daughter luncheon when the daughter
gets her first period. Have a father-son outing when the son begins to shave. Have a
family celebration when the teen moves from junior high to high school. Celebrate the
teen's first driver's license and his or her ability to vote.
 Be aware of who your teens' friends are and what they are doing. Such parental
monitoring should not end when youth enter their teen years. Despite teens' objections,
make sure you know who their friends are and where they are going. Meet the parents of
teens' friends. Provide fun things to do at home to encourage teens to "hang out" at your
house so you'll know where they are and what they are doing.
 Continue to provide a structured environment. Teens should be allowed to have more
independence, but not enough to place them in jeopardy. Despite their complaints, teens
rely on adults to provide them with the sense of safety and structure they need to deal
effectively with all the psychosocial tasks of adolescents.

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