Childhood defines
as the time for a boy or girl from birth until he or she is an adult. It is
more circumscribed period of time from infancy to the onset of puberty. The Convention
of the Rights of the Child defines a child as “every human being below the age
of 18 years unless under the law applicable to the child, majority is attained
earlier”.
Adolescence -
According to Stuart Judge, a noted educator and psychologist, adolescence is
the period of transition from childhood to adulthood. Although sometimes
described as beginning in parallel with fertility or puberty and ending with
maturity and independence, adolescence has a very variable and imprecise
duration
The onset of adolescence
cannot be pointed in physiological term, although it is influenced by the same
sex hormones and refers to the same general period as physical sexual
development. It represents a complex and sometimes disturbing psychological
transition, accompanying the requirement for the accepted social behavior of
the particular adult and culture.