1. What is adolescence

Growing up is a natural phenomenon that occurs in all living organisms. All living organisms grow, become mature to the point where they can respond to their environment.

 

Maturity, along with experience, produces a series of changes that take place in an organism.

There are different phases in the development of humans.

The human developmental stages include infancy, childhood, adolescence, adulthood, middle age, and old age.

 

Growth starts from the day a baby is born. First, the baby grows and transforms into a child.

The child then grows and develops into an adult. Among all the stages, adolescence is the most crucial part of an individual's life. Adolescence is the period of transition that takes place from childhood to adulthood.

 

When a child crosses the age of \(10\) or \(11\), there is a sudden spurt in their body growth that becomes visible. Changes which take place in the body are part of growth and development.

 

The term adolescence is derived from the Latin word "adolescere", that means "to grow" or "grow to maturity".

It can also be defined as:

The human body undergoes several changes during the adolescence period. During adolescence period, there are changes in height, weight, sex organs, brain structure and function, and muscle mass.

Adolescence begins at the age of \(10\) to \(13\) and lasts up to the age of \(19\). The adolescence period ranges and varies from person to person. In girls, it may start earlier than in boys.

 

This period covers the teenage (\(13\) to \(18\) or \(19\) \(years\)). Adolescents are also called  teenagers. Biologically, it is a transition marked by the start of puberty and termination of physical growth in an individual.