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Time to Change
OK, so it's a funny word but what is puberty, anyway?
Puberty (say: PYOO-ber-tee) is the name for the time when your body begins to develop and change as you move from kid
to adult. During puberty, your body will grow faster than at any other time in your life, except for when you were a baby.
It helps to know about the changes that puberty causes before they happen. That way, you know what to expect. It's also
important to remember that everybody goes through these changes. No matter where you live, whether you're a boy or a girl,
whether you like vanilla or double-fudge-chunk ice cream, you will experience them. No two people are exactly alike, but one
thing everyone has in common is that we all go through puberty.
Usually, puberty starts between ages 8 and 13 in girls and ages 9 and 15 in boys. This wide range in ages may help explain
why some of your friends still look like young kids whereas others look more like adults.
When your body is ready to begin puberty, your pituitary (say: pih-TOO-uh-ter-ee) gland (a pea-shaped gland located at
the bottom of your brain) releases special hormones. Depending on whether you're a boy or a girl, these hormones go to work
on different parts of the body.
Changes for Boys and Girls
For boys, the hormones travel through the blood to begin making testosterone (say: tess-TAHS-tuh-rone). Testosterone is
the hormone that causes most of the changes in a boy's body during puberty.
In girls, these hormones target the two ovaries (say: OH-vuh-reez), which contain eggs that have been in the girl's body
since she was born. The hormones cause the ovaries to start making another hormone, called estrogen. Together, these hormones
prepare a girl's body to start her growth.
Boys and girls both begin to grow hair under their arms and their pubic areas. It starts out looking light and thin. Then,
as kids go through puberty, it becomes longer, thicker, heavier, curlier, and darker. Eventually, boys also start to grow
hair on their faces.
It's Just a Growth Spurt
A spurt is a short burst of activity or something that happens in a hurry. And a growth spurt is just that: Your body
is growing and it's happening really fast!
When you go through puberty, it might seem like your sleeves are always getting shorter and your pants are creeping up
your legs. That's because you're having a growth spurt that lasts for about 2 to 3 years. When that growth spurt is at its
peak, some kids grow 4 or more inches (10 or more centimeters) in a year! At the end of your growth spurt, you'll have reached
your adult height or just about.
But your height isn't the only thing that changes during puberty.
With all this quick growth, it can seem like one part of your body, your feet for instance are growing faster than everything
else. This can make you feel clumsy or awkward. This is normal, too! The rest of your body will eventually fill out and shape
up, and you'll feel less klutzy.
Taking Shape
Your body also fills out and changes shape during puberty. A boy's shoulders will grow wider and his body will become
more muscular.
With all this growing and developing going on, some girls may be uncomfortable with how their bodies are changing, but
it's unhealthy for girls to diet to try to stop any normal weight gain. If you have any questions about puberty or are worried
about your weight, talk to your parent or doctor.
Face Up to Changes
Another thing that may come with puberty is acne (say: AK-nee) or pimples caused by all those hormones at work in the
body.
Skin gets oilier and pimples sometimes start showing up when puberty begins, and you may get them throughout the teenage
years. You might see pimples on your face, your upper back, or your upper chest.
To help control pimples, wash your face twice a day with warm water and a mild soap or cleanser. Don't squeeze, pick,
or pop your pimples. Your doctor can also offer suggestions for clearing up acne. The good news is that acne usually gets
a lot better as you get older.
Putting the P.U. in Puberty
P.U.! A lot of kids notice that they have a new smell under their arms and in other places when they hit puberty and it's
not a pretty one. That smell is body odor (you may have heard people call it B.O.) and everyone gets it.
As you enter puberty, the puberty hormones stimulate the glands in your skin, including the sweat glands under your arms.
When sweat and bacteria on your skin get together, it can smell pretty bad.
So what can you do to feel less stinky? Well, keeping clean can stop you from smelling. You might want to take a shower
every day, either in the morning before school or at night before bed. Wearing clean clothes and showering after you've been
playing sports or exercising is also a good idea.
Another way to cut down on body odor is to use deodorant. If you use a deodorant with antiperspirant, it will cut down
on sweat as well.
Change Can Feel Kind of Strange
Just as those hormones change the way your body looks on the outside, they also create changes on the inside. During puberty,
you might feel confused or have strong emotions that you've never had before. You might feel overly sensitive or become upset
easily.
Some kids lose their tempers more often and get angry with their friends or families. You also may feel anxious about
how your changing body looks.
Sometimes it can be hard to deal with all these new emotions. It's important to know that while your body is adjusting
to the new hormones, so is your mind. Try to remember that people usually aren't trying to hurt your feelings or upset you
on purpose. It might not be your family or friends, it might be your new "puberty brain" trying to adjust.
Developing Differently
People are all a little different from each other, so it makes sense that they don't all develop in the same way. During
puberty, everyone changes at his or her own pace. Maybe you're sick of being the tallest girl in your class or the only boy
who has to shave. It all balances out as we all age.
In a few cases, kids who are developing very early or who are very late in starting have a problem that may need to be
checked or treated. If you are concerned about that possibility, talk with your parents and schedule a visit with your doctor.
Your doctor knows all about puberty and can help determine if you are developing normally.
But just about everyone catches up eventually, and most differences between you and your friends will even out. Until
then, hang in there. Puberty can be quite a wild ride!
Am I normal?
Since your last birthday, a lot of things have changed. For one, you're much smarter than you were last year. That's obvious.
But there might have been some other changes, ones that you weren't ready for. Perhaps you've sprouted several inches
above everyone else in class. Or maybe they all did the sprouting and you feel too short.
Maybe you haven't gained a pound and you feel like a feather on the seesaw, or maybe you can't fit into your favorite
pair of jeans. And now you're looking in the mirror, thinking only one thing: Am I normal?
Everybody's Different
First of all, what's normal? There's no one type of normal. Otherwise, the world would be full of a lot of abnormal people!
The next time you go to the mall, take a look around. You'll see tall people, short people, and people with broad shoulders,
little feet, big stomachs, long fingers, stubby legs, and skinny arms ... you get the idea.
You can change your hairstyle or put on a new hat, but the way you look isn't entirely under your control. Your looks
were largely determined by your parents. When your parents created you, they passed on their genes, a kind of special code
and those genes helped to decide your size and shape, your eye color and hair texture, even whether you have freckles.
Small or Tall
Height is just one of the thousands of features your genes decide. In fact, because you have two parents, your genes act
like a referee, giving you a height that usually lands somewhere between the height of each parent. If both your parents are
tall, then most likely you will be tall, too, but if you have questions about how tall you're going to be, ask your doctor
if he or she can help you figure it out.
But genes don't decide everything. For example, eating an unhealthy diet can keep you from growing to your full potential.
Getting plenty of sleep, enough exercise, and nutrients will help you grow just like you should.
No doubt you're wondering how fast you should grow. It depends. There's no perfect or right amount. On average, kids grow
about 2 inches (6 centimeters) a year between age 3 and when they start puberty (when your body starts changing and becoming
more grown up).
Your doctor will know how your growth has been going over the years. Two centimeters here and 2 inches there are not nearly
as important as the height you're at now, how you've been growing up to this point, and what other changes your body may be
going through.
Growth Spurts
Don't be scared if you seem to have grown a lot in a very short time. Everyone has a growth spurt during puberty. The
average age for starting puberty is about 10 for girls and about 11 for boys. But it can be earlier or later, between 7 and
13 for girls and 9 and 15 for boys.
You'll usually begin to notice that you're growing faster about a year or so after your body starts to show the first
changes of puberty.
Weight can vary a lot, too, from kid to kid. It's tempting to compare yourself with your friends. But kids often weigh
more or less than their friends and are still considered normal. TV and magazines might make us think our bodies should weigh
and look a certain way, but in real life, there are a lot of differences.
Some kids worry so much about their weight that they try unhealthy and dangerous things to change it. The best way to
have a healthy weight is to eat right and get a lot of playtime (exercise).
Hair is confusing. When it's on top of the head it's fine, but when it's on other body parts, sometimes people shave it
off. Young kids don't usually do this, but older girls might shave their underarms and their legs. And older boys might shave
the hair on their faces.
Honk! Squeak! What the heck is that? A goose playing the trumpet? If you're going through puberty (say: PYOO-bur-tee),
it could be your voice. Both boys and girls experience voice changes as they grow older, but girls' voices get only a little
deeper. A boy's voice, on the other hand, may change quite a bit from sounding like a little kid to sounding like somebody's
dad!
Your Leapin' Larynx
How does this happen? The larynx (say: LAIR-inks), also known as your voice box, actually gets bigger during puberty.
The larynx, located in your throat, is a tube-shaped piece of cartilage, the same stuff your ears and your nose are made from.
One of its jobs is to let you talk, sing, hum, yell, laugh, and make all sorts of noises.
When a boy reaches puberty, his body begins making lots of testosterone (say: tes-TOSS-tuh-rone). The testosterone causes
his larynx to grow and his vocal cords to get longer and thicker. Vocal cords are thin muscles that stretch across the larynx
like rubber bands.
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