Ready, Set, GROW!
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. We're talking about stuff like girls developing breasts and boys starting to look more like men. 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.
Time to Change
Usually, puberty starts between ages 8 and 13 in girls and ages 10 and 15 in boys. Some kids begin a bit earlier or later than that, and kids can experience puberty-related changes at any point during those years. That may help explain why some of your friends still look like young kids whereas others look more like adults.
One of the first signs of puberty is hair growing where it didn't grow before. Boys and girls both begin to grow hair under their arms and in their pubic areas (on and around the genitals). 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.
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. For boys, the hormones travel through the blood and tell the testes (say: tes-teez), the two egg-shaped glands in the scrotum (the sac that hangs under the penis), to begin making testosterone (say: teh-stass-tuh-rone) and sperm. Testosterone is the hormone that causes most of the changes in a boy's body during puberty, and men need sperm to be able to reproduce (be the father of a baby).
In girls, these hormones target the two ovaries (say: o-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 periods and be able to become pregnant someday.
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 major growth spurt. It usually lasts for about 2 to 3 years, and 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. He may notice a bit of breast growth on his chest. Don't worry, this is normal — and it goes away for most boys by the end of puberty. In addition, boys' voices crack and eventually become deeper, their penises grow longer and wider, and their testes get bigger. All of these changes mean that their bodies are developing as they should during puberty.
Girls' bodies usually become curvier. They gain weight on their hips, and their breasts develop, starting with just a little swelling under the nipples. Sometimes one breast grows more quickly than the other, but most of the time they even out. Girls may start wearing bras around this time, especially if they are involved in sports or exercise classes. With all this growing and developing going on, girls will notice that they have more body fat — and that's normal. Gaining some weight is part of becoming a woman, and it's unhealthy for girls to diet to try to stop this normal weight gain.
One question a girl will have is: When will I get my first period? This usually happens 18 months to 2 years after her breasts start to develop. The menstrual (say: men-strul) period, or monthly cycle, is when blood is released through the vagina. That may sound alarming, but it's normal and it signals that a girl is growing up and her body is preparing so that she can have a baby someday.
Here's what's going on: Each of a girl's two ovaries holds thousands of eggs. During the menstrual cycle, an egg is released from one of the ovaries and begins a trip down the fallopian (say: fuh-lo-pee-un) tube to the uterus, also called the womb. A girl has two fallopian tubes, one connecting each ovary to the uterus. Before the egg even leaves the ovary, though, the uterus builds up its inner lining with extra blood and tissue. If the egg gets to the uterus and is fertilized by a sperm cell, it may plant itself in that lining and grow into a baby. The baby will use that extra blood and tissue to stay healthy and protected as it develops.
But most of the time the egg is only passing through. When the egg doesn't get fertilized, or if the fertilized egg doesn't become planted in the lining, the uterus no longer needs the extra blood and tissue, so the blood leaves the body through the vagina. This blood is known as a girl's period. A period usually lasts from 5 to 7 days. The lining of the uterus then begins to build up again, and about 2weeks after the last period a new egg is released as the cycle repeats itself.
Face Up to Changes
Another thing that comes with puberty is acne (say: ak-nee) — or pimples — caused by all those hormones at work in the body. Pimples usually start showing up when puberty begins, and you may get them throughout adolescence (the teenage years). You might see pimples on your face, your upper back, or your upper chest. To help control pimples, keep your skin clean. The good news is that acne usually gets a lot better or disappears by the end of adolescence.
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 affect glands in your skin, and the glands make chemicals that smell bad. Kids will also sweat more during puberty, and their skin becomes oilier.
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. 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.
There's More?
Boys and girls will also notice other body changes as they enter puberty. Girls sometimes might see and feel white or clear snot-like stuff coming from the vagina. This doesn't mean anything is wrong — it's just another sign of a changing body and hormones.
Boys will begin to get erections (this is when the penis fills with blood and becomes hard). Sometimes erections happen when boys think about sexual things, or they can happen for no reason at all. Boys also may experience something called nocturnal emissions (or wet dreams). This is when the penis becomes erect when a boy is sleeping, and he ejaculates. When a boy ejaculates, semen — the fluid that contains sperm — comes out of the penis. That's why they're called wet dreams — they happen when you're sleeping and your underwear or the bed might be a little wet when you wake up. Wet dreams occur less often as boys move through puberty, and they eventually stop.
EMOTIONS - 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.
You might also have new and confusing feelings that you've never felt before. And you will probably have lots of questions. When you have new adult hormones, it means that you have new responsibilities for what you do with your body. That's why it's important to get all those questions answered.
It's easy to feel embarrassed or nervous when talking about puberty, but you need to be sure you have all the right information. Some kids can talk to their parents about puberty and get all their questions answered. But if you feel funny talking to your parents about puberty, there are many other people you can talk to, like your doctor, a school nurse, a teacher, a school counselor, or some other adult you feel comfortable talking with.
WRAPPING IT UP!
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 some of your friends are getting curves, and you don't have any yet. Maybe your best friend's voice has changed, and you think you still sound like a kid. Or maybe you're sick of being the tallest girl in your class or the only boy who has to shave.
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!
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Changes in Adolescence
PHYSICAL
The process of rapid physical changes in adolescence is called puberty. It starts gradually, from around eleven years for girls and thirteen for boys. The age at which puberty starts has been dropping in most countries, probably due to better nutrition. So, your children may hit puberty earlier than you did. The hormone changes responsible actually begin some years earlier and may produce periods of moodiness and restlessness. Girls start these changes before boys and will, for the first three or four years, appear to be maturing much faster. After this, boys catch up.
These changes include: For girls: menstrual periods, growth of under-arm, body and pubic hair. For boys: voice breaks (becomes deeper), growth of body and pubic hair, facial hair, erections and wet dreams. For both: Rapid physical growth.
By the age of 17, they'll be young men and women who may be bigger than their parents and capable of having children themselves. In spite of this, they often still need support from you.
It is not surprising that, with the speed of these changes, some adolescents become very concerned about their appearance. They may need a lot of reassurance, especially if they are not growing or maturing as quickly as their friends.
They and their parents may worry less if they remember that there's a lot of difference in the ages at which these changes occur.
Growth and development uses a lot of energy, and this may be why teenagers often seem to need so much sleep. Their getting-up late may be irritating, but it may well not be just laziness.
Psychological
As well as growing taller, starting to shave or having periods, people of this age start to think and feel differently. They make close relationships outside the family, with friends of their own age. Relationships within the family also change. Parents become less important in their children's eyes as their life outside the family develops.
Real disagreements emerge for the first time as young people develop views of their own that are often not shared by their parents. · As everybody knows, adolescents spend a lot of time in each other's company, or on the telephone to each other. Although this can be irritating to parents, it is an important way of becoming more independent. These friendships are part of learning how to get on with other people and gaining a sense of identity that is distinct from that of the family. Clothes and appearance are a way of expressing solidarity with friends, although teenage children are still more likely to get their values from the family.
Parents often feel rejected, and in a sense they are. But this is often necessary for young people to develop their own identity. Even if you have rows and arguments, your children will usually think a lot of you. The rejections and conflicts are often not to do with your personalities, but simply with the fact that you are parents, from whom your children must become independent if they are to have their own life. · As they become more independent, young people want to try out new things, but often recognise that they have little experience to fall back on when things get difficult. This may produce rapid changes in self-confidence and behaviour - feeling very adult one minute, very young and inexperienced the next.
Being upset, feeling ill or lacking confidence can make them feel vulnerable. They may show this with sulky behaviour rather than obvious distress. Parents have to be pretty flexible to deal with all this, and may feel under considerable strain themselves.
Adolescence is the time when people first start in earnest to learn about the world and to find their place in it. This involves trying out new experiences, some of which may be risky or even dangerous.
Young people can crave excitement in a way that most adults find difficult to understand - and exciting activities may be dangerous. Fortunately, most people manage to find their excitement in music, sport, or other activities that involve a lot of energy but little real physical risk.
When they do experiment - with drink or drugs or smoking - it is usually with friends. If a young person does this alone, they are in much greater danger. Warnings from older adolescents will usually be taken more seriously than those from parents.
Emotional Problems
Over-eating, excessive sleepiness and a persistent over-concern with appearance may be signs of emotional distress.
Anxiety may produce phobias and panic attacks. Recent research suggests that emotional disorders are often not recognised, even by family and friends. Depression
At some time, 4 out of 10 adolescents have felt so miserable that they have cried and have wanted to get away from everyone and everything.
During their adolescence, more than 1 in 5 teenagers think so little of themselves that life does not seem worth living. In spite of these powerful feelings, depression may not be obvious to other people.
The process of rapid physical changes in adolescence is called puberty. It starts gradually, from around eleven years for girls and thirteen for boys. The age at which puberty starts has been dropping in most countries, probably due to better nutrition. So, your children may hit puberty earlier than you did. The hormone changes responsible actually begin some years earlier and may produce periods of moodiness and restlessness. Girls start these changes before boys and will, for the first three or four years, appear to be maturing much faster. After this, boys catch up.
These changes include: For girls: menstrual periods, growth of under-arm, body and pubic hair. For boys: voice breaks (becomes deeper), growth of body and pubic hair, facial hair, erections and wet dreams. For both: Rapid physical growth.
By the age of 17, they'll be young men and women who may be bigger than their parents and capable of having children themselves. In spite of this, they often still need support from you.
It is not surprising that, with the speed of these changes, some adolescents become very concerned about their appearance. They may need a lot of reassurance, especially if they are not growing or maturing as quickly as their friends.
They and their parents may worry less if they remember that there's a lot of difference in the ages at which these changes occur.
Growth and development uses a lot of energy, and this may be why teenagers often seem to need so much sleep. Their getting-up late may be irritating, but it may well not be just laziness.
Psychological
As well as growing taller, starting to shave or having periods, people of this age start to think and feel differently. They make close relationships outside the family, with friends of their own age. Relationships within the family also change. Parents become less important in their children's eyes as their life outside the family develops.
Real disagreements emerge for the first time as young people develop views of their own that are often not shared by their parents. · As everybody knows, adolescents spend a lot of time in each other's company, or on the telephone to each other. Although this can be irritating to parents, it is an important way of becoming more independent. These friendships are part of learning how to get on with other people and gaining a sense of identity that is distinct from that of the family. Clothes and appearance are a way of expressing solidarity with friends, although teenage children are still more likely to get their values from the family.
Parents often feel rejected, and in a sense they are. But this is often necessary for young people to develop their own identity. Even if you have rows and arguments, your children will usually think a lot of you. The rejections and conflicts are often not to do with your personalities, but simply with the fact that you are parents, from whom your children must become independent if they are to have their own life. · As they become more independent, young people want to try out new things, but often recognise that they have little experience to fall back on when things get difficult. This may produce rapid changes in self-confidence and behaviour - feeling very adult one minute, very young and inexperienced the next.
Being upset, feeling ill or lacking confidence can make them feel vulnerable. They may show this with sulky behaviour rather than obvious distress. Parents have to be pretty flexible to deal with all this, and may feel under considerable strain themselves.
Adolescence is the time when people first start in earnest to learn about the world and to find their place in it. This involves trying out new experiences, some of which may be risky or even dangerous.
Young people can crave excitement in a way that most adults find difficult to understand - and exciting activities may be dangerous. Fortunately, most people manage to find their excitement in music, sport, or other activities that involve a lot of energy but little real physical risk.
When they do experiment - with drink or drugs or smoking - it is usually with friends. If a young person does this alone, they are in much greater danger. Warnings from older adolescents will usually be taken more seriously than those from parents.
Emotional Problems
Over-eating, excessive sleepiness and a persistent over-concern with appearance may be signs of emotional distress.
Anxiety may produce phobias and panic attacks. Recent research suggests that emotional disorders are often not recognised, even by family and friends. Depression
At some time, 4 out of 10 adolescents have felt so miserable that they have cried and have wanted to get away from everyone and everything.
During their adolescence, more than 1 in 5 teenagers think so little of themselves that life does not seem worth living. In spite of these powerful feelings, depression may not be obvious to other people.
Strengths and Concerns of Childhood
Child
· Has good physical health and nutrition
· Has good eating habits
· Is developing a sense of responsibility for personal health
· Has regular oral health care
· Engages in physical activities
· Has positive attitude
· Feels loved and valued by parents and other adults
· Has one or more close friends
· Is developing social competence
· Expresses feelings
· Enjoys life and has joyful experiences
· Participates in social activities
· Has personal sense of competence
· Has high self-esteem and expects personal success
· Has opportunities for new challenges
· Feels comfortable asking questions of parents and teachers
· Works hard in school
· Has positive role models
Family
· Meets child’s basic needs (food, shelter, clothing, safety, health care)
· Provides strong, nurturing family
· Provides safe environment (e.g., smoke alarms, car booster seat or safety belt)
· Enjoys child
· Responds to child‘s developmental needs
· Encourages good communication
· Spends individual time with child
· Praises and takes pride in child’s achievements
· Affirms child‘s feeling of being loved
· Helps child develop social competence
· Possesses working knowledge of child health and development
· Serves nutritious family meals regularly
· Reinforces health as a family priority
· Allows age-appropriate autonomy
· Protects child against excessive stress
· Provides value system, good parental role models
· Promotes cooperation among siblings
· Has support of extended family and others
· Encourages participation in community
ISSUES DURING MIDDLE CHILDHOOD:
Child
· School concerns (learning disabilities, underachievement, difficulty completing homework, frequent school absence or tardiness/school avoidance, lack of motivation)
· Behavioral concerns (hyperactivity, inability to concentrate, temper outbursts, lying, aggression, fighting, stealing, vandalism, fire-setting, cruelty, violence)
· Peer concerns (inability to get along with other children, lack of friends, excessive shyness)
· Emotional concerns (separation problems, depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, threat of suicide)
· Risk-taking behavior (sexual activity, use of alcohol, drugs, or tobacco)
· Weight and height concerns (short stature, obesity, eating disorders)
· Physical inactivity
· Chronic illness
· Physical complaints
· Tics
· Developmental delays
· Has good physical health and nutrition
· Has good eating habits
· Is developing a sense of responsibility for personal health
· Has regular oral health care
· Engages in physical activities
· Has positive attitude
· Feels loved and valued by parents and other adults
· Has one or more close friends
· Is developing social competence
· Expresses feelings
· Enjoys life and has joyful experiences
· Participates in social activities
· Has personal sense of competence
· Has high self-esteem and expects personal success
· Has opportunities for new challenges
· Feels comfortable asking questions of parents and teachers
· Works hard in school
· Has positive role models
Family
· Meets child’s basic needs (food, shelter, clothing, safety, health care)
· Provides strong, nurturing family
· Provides safe environment (e.g., smoke alarms, car booster seat or safety belt)
· Enjoys child
· Responds to child‘s developmental needs
· Encourages good communication
· Spends individual time with child
· Praises and takes pride in child’s achievements
· Affirms child‘s feeling of being loved
· Helps child develop social competence
· Possesses working knowledge of child health and development
· Serves nutritious family meals regularly
· Reinforces health as a family priority
· Allows age-appropriate autonomy
· Protects child against excessive stress
· Provides value system, good parental role models
· Promotes cooperation among siblings
· Has support of extended family and others
· Encourages participation in community
ISSUES DURING MIDDLE CHILDHOOD:
Child
· School concerns (learning disabilities, underachievement, difficulty completing homework, frequent school absence or tardiness/school avoidance, lack of motivation)
· Behavioral concerns (hyperactivity, inability to concentrate, temper outbursts, lying, aggression, fighting, stealing, vandalism, fire-setting, cruelty, violence)
· Peer concerns (inability to get along with other children, lack of friends, excessive shyness)
· Emotional concerns (separation problems, depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, threat of suicide)
· Risk-taking behavior (sexual activity, use of alcohol, drugs, or tobacco)
· Weight and height concerns (short stature, obesity, eating disorders)
· Physical inactivity
· Chronic illness
· Physical complaints
· Tics
· Developmental delays
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