The Typical Development of a

Child age 15

By Jeffery Urbina
Edu 220 - 1001
Physical Development
● Rapid Growth

Recommendations: Provide Plenty of food

● Changes to the body such as hair growth, acne, and sexual maturity

Recommendations: Tell the child what is happening. Providing positive reinforcement.

● “ Many adolescents become sexually active” - Snowman ( ED PSYCH, Snowman & McCown Pg. 65)

Recommendations: Talk to the adolescents about safety when having sex.

● Become more concerned with appearance

Recommendations: comment positive things about your adolescents looks.

Emotional Development
● Adolescents can have many emotional outburst.

Recommendations: influence them to express their feeling in a respectful way.

● A lot of low self esteem when it comes to school, looks, and popularity.

Recommendations: Listen to your adolescents and don't dismiss their problems. Instead offer helpful tips.

● “ Many psychiatric disorders either appear or become prominent during adolescence”. - Snowman (ED
PSYCH, Snowman & McCown Pg. 67)

Recommendations: Pay attention to your adolescents day to day behavior.

 Cognitive/Intellectual Development
● Has the need to feel important in the world.

Recommendation: Encourage adolescents to be a part of groups and clubs

● Wants to have conversations and arguments

Recommendations: Don't discourage their ideas or turn every conversation into an argument.

● Memory will improve, will think more deeply with new ideas and come up with realistic goals

Recommendations: provide things for them to read and come up with their own conclusions

● According to Piaget adolescents focus more on possibilities than realities. ( ED PSYCH- Snowman &
McCown Pg. 29)

Recommendations: Allow them to explore their thoughts.

Psychosocial/Social Development
● According to Erikson adolescents are at the stage of role confusion where they have no clear conceptions
on what is appropriate behavior . (ED PSYCH- Snowman & McCown Pg. 19 )

Recommendations: Respect their space and allow them to express themselves.

● Needs less affection from parents

Recommendations: Allow them to do more independent activities. Set rules be a little flexible from time to time.

● Adolescents will have deeper connections with their friends.

Do not pressure adolescents to have a certain type of friends.

Moral/Character Development
● Has an idea of right and wrong and the ability to determine the best choices by weighing the options.

Recommendations: Make choices easier for adolescents

● Has compassion for other people and if they are being treated fairly.

Recommendations: Give your adolescent respect as an up and coming adult.

● According to Kohlberg moral reasoning goes through certain fixed stages and development of these stages
can be accelerated through instructions given. (ED PSYCH- Snowman & McCown Pg. 41)
References
Center for Disease Control and Prevention. (2017). Child development. Retrieved from

https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/childdevelopment/facts.html (Links to an external site.)

Child Development Institute (2015). The ages and stages of child development. Retrieved from

https://childdevelopmentinfo.com/ages-stages/#.WR3Id_QrLrc (Links to an external site.)

University of Washington. (1993). Child development: Using the child development guide.

Retrieved from http://depts.washington.edu/allcwe2/fosterparents/training/chidev/cd06.htm

Snowman, J. & McCown, R. (2013). ED PSYCH. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage

Learning.