Declan+McDermott+and+Jacob+Ticehurst

===__Adolescence __ === In every person’s life there is a time where you change from a child into an adult, this is called adolescence. The aim of this document is to help people who are going through these stages and are having troubles or issues that are troubling them.The one thing about puberty is that nobody is ever the same; people will start to develop faster than others or start developing later. But no matter what time it starts, you will still go through puberty.

__**Boys**__

usually start puberty from the ages of 9-14, some signs that you may have started puberty is you may start getting pimples and itchy skin, you will also get hair under your arms, on your face, and in other regions, your voice starts to drop, you start to grow taller faster, your hormones will start to get a bit out of control, but this is all normal. If you are worried that you are not normal or are different. There are many sites that can help you; a good site that many people find useful is [|www.puberty101.com]. This sight is extremely useful and you can ask questions if you have any worries. Puberty 101 is made for the only purpose of helping people.

__**Girls**__ Girls usually start puberty a bit earlier. They could even start from 6 or 7 years old but the usual years are 8-11. Some signs that you are starting puberty is that your nipples become sore and swollen, you get pimples and itchy skin, the growth of breasts, the start of your menstrual cycle (periods) the growth of new hair. Periods is the cycle of eggs being replenished every month or so. A good way to avoid this from being embarrassing or annoying is to wear either a tampon or a pad. They both work just as well, but some people prefer one from the other.

__**Emotional Changes**__ Many emotional changes happen when you are going through puberty, people seem to change or your friends may not seem like your friends anymore, you may start to mature and not find things that used to be fun fairly child like. There is nothing wrong with you; it is all part of growing up. One other thing that can happen to you, depression is a disease/illness that is like an extreme version of sadness, it is not always caused by being sad or something happening, sometimes it is caused by a chemical imbalance of the brain, there are way to get rid of it but if you are feeling depressed to a high level extent, you should see your doctor or psychiatrist. a good way to help with depression is to think of something good that happened every day, put it in a box, and every time you feel sad, open the box and relive those happy memories. Your friends and family can help too. If you know someone that has depression, there are things not to say and things to say, a bad thing to say is that life isn’t fair. A good thing to say to someone with depression is that your there for them if anything happens to them.

__**Social Changes**__ As you become older, you become more independent, this means you will not “need” or rely on your parents as much as you used to. You may start to go out with your friends more often and not stay at home as much. Facebook and texting may become your main ways of communication. Although facebook may seem harmless, it has in fact caused a number of deaths, if you do use facebook. Go to the privacy settings and make sure there is no information that will let anyone find where you live, what your phone number is, or any other details that are private. Another thing that could happen in social changes is arguments with your parents. You may think that they are being unfair because they are not letting you go somewhere or do something, but it’s only because they want the best for you. If you are having these issues, the right way to settle them is to talk about it with your parents and come up with a reasonable solution, if matters get out of hand, you should speak to a teacher or the school psychiatrist.

strategies to cope with these changes.

there are many changes that go on through puberty, wether they be social, emotional or physical. the one thing that puberty brings along is pimples. there are ways to get rid of them, but to stay away from them, wash your face in the shower, and not usually with soap because the chemicals in soap cause more oily skin. another thing that many teens are concerned about is that they have not yet started puberty. this is fairly common. but you will start puberty when your body is ready to, there are no dafe ways to try to start puberty earlier, another thing that people usually worry about is there height, people grow at different rates, some at slow rates some at fast. but everybody grows to there full height. a good way to measure your height is to double the age you were at two, that is usually the height you will be when you stop growing, that or taller. height predictors can work but sometimes do not. they are not good ways of predicting how tall you will be. all sorts of worries can cause all sorts of problems, for an instance, your first day of highschool might be your dreading day or it could be a good day if you think of it. starting highschool will be a great thing for someone. there are also many illnesses that occour during puberty,