Kids & Teens
The topic kids and teens covers a larger area for exploration and discussion.
By simple definition, a human boy or girl child is between the time of birth and
puberty. A child is also defined as a minor or a person of an age less that the
maority. The biological thought is that a child is an individual in the developmental
childhood stage occuring between infancy and adulthood. In the U.S., a child is also
considered a human being below the age of 18.
The social attitude towards children vary from location to location around the
world. These attitudes change over time. Children in the U.S. tend to be overprotected
or coddled. In Italy, according to a study, children tended to be central to parents.
In Holland, on the other hand, there tends to be a less child-centric relationship.
Most European countries tend to be in the middle in their feelings about their
attitudes towards children.
Adolescence occurs between childhood and adulthood and is a stage of transistion
in mental and physical development. The transistion of biological, psychologoical and
social changes is noted during this time. Puberty is a biological change and is most
often associated with teenage and adolescent development. The end of adolescence
(or start of adulthood) depends on the country as to when an individual is considered
an adult. Adulthood is usually when an individual is considered mature enough to have
sexual relations, drive a vehicle, vote, marry or serve in the armed forces.
In general, kids and teenagers enter puberty when they develop secondary sex
characteristics such as boys developing a deeper voice and girls developing breasts and
curved body features. This biological change is due to the pituitary gland secreting
a testosterone in boys or estrogen and progesterone in girls into the blood stream.
The onset of puberty results in maturation of the boy's testicles and the girl's ovaries.
