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Middle Adolescence Physical Development

Ages 10 to 14: Early Adolescence
Physical Growth & Development
• Puberty for many children and pre-teens begins during this stage of adolescence.
• Pre-teens experience both physical growth and sexual development,which can be uncomfortable for pre-teens and teens.
• Body changes during early adolescence may include developing hair under the arms and in the pubic area, testicular enlargement in males,
and breast development in females.
• Changes usually start happening earlier for females than for males. Females may start developing a year or two ahead of boys in most cases.
• Changes can start as early as age 8 in females and age 9 for males but can become more noticeable at the onset of adolescence.
Mental & Emotional Development
• Pre-teens and teens begin to assert more independence as they move through the stages of adolescence.
This means they may rebel, especially when parents reinforce rules and set limits.
• Children of this age group often have an increased need for privacy, another sign of wanting more independence and less supervision.
• They may also require more privacy to deal with the curiosity and anxiety that come with body changes and new feelings.
• It’s common for pre-teens to become more focused on themselves, or a bit egocentric.
Their thoughts and feelings are centered on themselves, making them self-conscious.
• At this point, kids start feeling like they are always being judged by people, especially their peers.
• At this point in adolescence, children have a very “black-and-white” thought process.
Something is either right or wrong, with no room for other interpretation.
They see things as either amazing or awful, rarely ever just “okay.”
Ages 15 to 17: Middle Adolescence
Physical Development
Changes from puberty are still happening in teens during middle adolescence.
• Physical changes in females may have slowed down or finished, but by this age most will start having regular menstrual periods.
• Most males will have started their pubescent growth spurt
• Male’s voices begin to lower and there may be a period where the voice cracks.
• Acne develops in both males and females. Mental & Emotional Development
• As the brain continues to develop, thought processes mature during this time, however, they still do not process things like adults yet.
o The frontal lobes are the last parts of the brain to develop and are not fully mature by this stage. The frontal lobes are responsible for complex decision making, judgment, impulse control, and considering the consequences of actions.
• Teens at this age may be able to start thinking in the abstract and start seeing the bigger picture rather than the specifics of one situation.
They can use logic but are still primarily driven by emotion.
• Teens of this age start feeling interested in romantic and sexual relationships.
• Exploration of their sense of identity as well as beliefs and values is common.
Some teens want to fit in with their peers while others want to assert their individuality.
Ages 18 to 24: Late Adolescence
Physical Development
During late adolescence, physical development has been completed for most young people.
Most people have grown to their full adult heights. Mental & Emotional Development
The brain is completing its development during late adolescence.
However, the frontal lobe will not fully develop until around age 25.
That’s why some people consider late adolescence to be ages 18 to 24.
• Young people in this age range usually have better impulse control and decision-making skills than in middle adolescence.
Risks and rewards are more accurately evaluated.
• There is a stronger sense of identity in older adolescents.
• Values and beliefs are often solidified during this stage.
• Independence increases as many young adults separate from their parents to live outside their childhood homes.
• Established relationships with parents, siblings, and other family members may change in nature now that adulthood has nearly been reached.
• Thoughts may turn to the future and decisions may be based on their beliefs, desires, and hopes.

5 Symptoms of Depression in Teens

May 6, 2022

In case you didn’t know, 𝐌𝐚𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐌𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐡! And we want our Yunion parents to be well educated on mental health especially when it comes to their kids as well as for themselves. So let’s keep the conversation going! ⁣ ⁣ Teen…

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Trauma Informed Parenting Training Series And Mental Health Awareness Training Series

May 4, 2022

𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴! 𝘋𝘪𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴…? 🤔⁣ ⁣ May is Mental Health Awareness month! And we have 𝘈 𝘓𝘖𝘛 planned! ⁣ ⁣ Join us for our Trauma Informed Parenting Training series and our Mental Health Awareness Training series where we empower and equip parents with tips,…

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CR3’s Self-Care Experience!

May 3, 2022

Here are some highlights from our partnership with CR3’s Self-Care experience! 🎉⁣ ⁣ This past weekend, for 𝘛𝘞𝘖 𝘍𝘜𝘓𝘓 days, @dinahmsw facilitated a healing experience for some of our employees, parents, and community members connected to The Yunion. ⁣ ⁣ They started with a Self-Care…

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4 Different Parenting Styles

April 29, 2022

🔹𝟺 𝘋𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘚𝘵𝘺𝘭𝘦𝘴🔹⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ Several days ago, we discussed the difference between parenting styles and parenting practices. Today, we are digging into those parenting styles a bit deeper! ⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ There are 4 main dominant parenting styles. Let’s discuss! ⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ 1️⃣. 𝘈𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘯 –…

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Mental Health Awareness Training

April 28, 2022

The Brain Effect – How to Recognize and Respond to Signs of Distress

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College Readiness Bootcamp

April 26, 2022

Calling all Workforce Development Teen and Parents! 🗣⁣ ⁣ Our College Readiness Bootcamp will be this Saturday, April 30th from 10:00am – 4:00pm. ⁣ ⁣ 𝘛𝘦𝘦𝘯𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘦 𝘢𝘥𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘫𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘴, 𝘸𝘪𝘯 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘻𝘦𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮…

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Parenting Styles vs. Parenting Practices

April 25, 2022

🔹Parenting Styles vs. Parenting Practices🔹⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ 𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘚𝘵𝘺𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘤𝘭𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘯. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘵𝘺𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘯 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱, 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘺.⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ While some of your child’s personality and behavior…

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More Than Construction

April 21, 2022

We just ended the 𝘚𝘗𝘙𝘐𝘕𝘎 𝘊𝘠𝘊𝘓𝘌 of our Work Force Development “More Than Construction” program in partnership with Rockford Construction! 🎉⁣ ⁣ Our students and participants learned the business side of construction work. They were able to get a tour or Rockford Construction’s facility, and…

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More Than Code

April 12, 2022

This past weekend, we wrapped up our first 𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐂𝐨𝐝𝐞 program in the House of Technology! Huge thanks to @ourjourni for partnering with us and @scommpartners for sponsoring our students and hanging out with us for the last several weeks. 🙌⁣ ⁣ 𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧…

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How It Was During Puberty For Us

April 11, 2022

Parents, we often hear you say “𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰. 𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘺?” 🤔⁣ ⁣ The first thing we try to remember is, how it was during puberty for us. Remember what you needed and desired from your parents during…

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Meet the Team that Makes All the Magic Happen

April 7, 2022

Meet the team that makes all the magic happen! ✨⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ 𝘈𝘵 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘠𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘰: 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘯𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘭𝘶𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘥𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘩 𝘣𝘺 𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘦𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵, 𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨. ⁣⁣…

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The Danger Of Too Much Screen Time For Kids

April 5, 2022

🚫𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘛𝘰𝘰 𝘔𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘚𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘛𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘒𝘪𝘥𝘴 🚫⁣ ⁣ Parents, though we may not want to, it is our job to regulate the amount of time our kids spend online each day. We need to make sure our children have time for other…

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Societal Definition of “Being A Man”

April 4, 2022

Listen to this 𝘎𝘙𝘌𝘈𝘛 convo of our CEO and Founder @mrjasonowilson with some of his students in this episode of The Cave Podcast. ⁣ ⁣ He sat down with @Cave313 students Elisha Nunn and Josiah Humphrey to discuss what happened at the Oscars, the societal…

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Parents, Here’s A Little Secret

March 31, 2022

Parents, here’s a little secret…👀⁣ ⁣ 𝘋𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥’𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘥𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘳.⁣ ⁣ Listen, we know all know it’s easier said than done, 𝘉𝘜𝘛, if you can get these two things down you’ll save yourself a lot…

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Today’s Tip

March 30, 2022

Parents, if we are being honest with ourselves, we can’t control our children. 𝘖𝘶𝘳 𝘨𝘰𝘢𝘭 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘢 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘭𝘶𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮.⁣ ⁣ When we try to control our kids, we take away their autonomy. When they are away…

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3 Great Ways You Can Engage As A Parent

March 29, 2022

𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬! 𝐃𝐢𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰…? 🤔⁣ ⁣ Parental engagement makes it far more likely that our children will avoid unhealthy behaviors, such as sexual risk and substance use. ⁣ ⁣ You might be asking, how do I effectively engage with my teens? We got you covered!…

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