anley Hall, noted the American psychologist, first defined adolescence as a distanced stage in human development. Puberty is defined as the age or period at which a person is first capable of sexual reproduction, in other eras of history, a rite or celebration event was a part of the culture. This is true of tribal societies that exist today, but for most of us , puberty as a specific event is part of a much more complicated piece of our lives called adolescence. Puberty rites signal acknowledgment of a young woman or young man has reached the age of responsibility, virility and community productivity, and these rites make an impression on the teenager or adolescent. Puberty rites are an attempt to mold and educate the teenagers and prepare them for their new role in life. Today, in our western culture part of the world, we have no clearly defined rites; however our rites are randomly scattered throughout the mid-teen years. For teenagers, getting your driver's license, entering college, turning legal age, traveling across America or to Europe are all social rites. To further complicate matters, the period of adolescence has probably doubled in length since Mr. Hall first identified it, our children mature younger and younger and take longer and longer to prepare for fully engaged membership into adulthood. Through all of the readings on child and adolescent development, it is clear that children from birth through teen years all develop according to many factors; society, peers, education, family life, finances, fetal development, pre dispositions, and basically anything or anyone that the child may come in contact with....
