Recent Event Highlights: Changes During Puberty , Hormones During Puberty , Hormones on Physical Growth , Fine Motor Skills, Gross Motor Skills, and 8 more...
As children enter puberty they are faced with changes they might not be expecting. This can lead to negative and positive feelings of change. Children are faced with media images that can cause low self-esteem. Having support from family and friends during these changes can make a big different in self-esteem.
Primary sexual characteristics, reproductive organs, and secondary sexual characteristics, visible on the outside of the body, begin to change and develop. Menarche can occur in girls and spermarche can occur in boys during middle childhood.
Synaptic pruning eliminates the synapses that are not being used. This means neurons are freed up for future development making stimulation vital during this time.
In boys androgen and some estrogen tell the body to start making changes during puberty. In girls estrogen and adrenal androgens stimulate the beginning of puberty.
Children refine their running, jumping, hopping, and ball skills. They are using more of the body to perform skills. Boys tend to be stronger and have an edge at batting, kicking, dribbling, and catching. Girls are better at gross motor skills like hopping and skipping that require more balance and agility. Much of these differences might be based on social rather than physical differences.
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