 Adolescence- state of life between childhood and adulthood, between ages  You will experience physical, mental, emotional, and social changes  During teen years your body will grow and change, as do your interests.

 Puberty- the time when you develop physical characteristics of adults of your own gender.  Everyone goes through puberty at different rates.  Females start between ages 8-13  Males between ages 9-14  Teens differ in size in shape due to this  Accept who you are because it is possible you are developing at either a faster or slower rate.

MALESFEMALES  Hormone production increases  Rapid growth  Acne  Underarm hair  Muscles  Perspiration increases  Facial Hair  Genitals grow  Pubic hair appears  Voice deepens  Sperm Productions starts  Hormone production increases  Acne  Underarm hair  Pubic Hair  Uterus and ovaries enlarge  Breasts develop  Hips become wider  Body fat increases  Ovulation occurs

 As your brain grows, you increase your complex reasoning and problem solving  Become more responsible  More decisions are made on your own  You realize consequences  You can work independently  You start to understand questions that have complex answers  Also you can tell that other people have different opinions than you.  Like the physical changes, mental changes happen at different rates too.

 Lots of emotional changes happen too  You might start feeling differently about your friends, parents, and other adults.  Eventually you will start to feel an attraction to someone else.  All these feeling are hard to control, but as you mature you will learn to manage your emotions.

 Emotions change from day to day  You can feel angry, sad, happy, scared, and excited all in the same day.  Mood swings are normal  It can be hard keeping your feelings hidden.  Some teens will try to be funny in school (even though most think they are not), get in trouble (to get attention), mean to classmates (especially to opposite genders who they like) because they do not know how to handle their emotions.  Here are healthy ways to deal with your emotions:  Write in a journal, draw, play music, exercise, talk with friends or someone close to you.

 Remember your interests have changed since you were a child  Maybe you loved sports and now you don’t care for them as much  Social growth as a teen will help you find out where you belong in society.  This is the time where you will develop your friendships  During this time you will spend more time with friends  Friends will influence many of your decisions  It is important to choose your friends wisely.