Adolescence And Puberty
What is "adolescence" and "puberty"?
Adolescence and puberty is a phase of development where you have a massive growth, both physically and emotionally, and it correlates with boys and girls having an increase in hormones in their bodies. Boys and girls go through puberty a little differently, with different stages of development. Girls start puberty a little earlier, at around 7 to 8 years of age, whereas boys may start around 8 or 9. It's important for parents to start talking about these changes in their children's bodies before puberty even happens, because they can be scary for the children if they don't know what's going on.
How do girls and boys develop during puberty?
In girls, the order or puberty is usually that they develop breast buds first, then they develop pubic hair, then they go through their growth spurt, and then their menses. It's important to talk about these changes, before and as they occur, so that girls know what to look forward to. Now, with boys, it's a little different. They start with testicular growth, followed by hair and penile growth, and then finally their growth spurt. On average, boys' growth spurts are two years after girls, and that's why in grade school all the girls were so much taller. The interesting thing is, if you start your growth spurt earlier, you actually end up shorter, for the most part, and that's why boys end up taller than girls. It's important, again, to talk to both girls and boys about puberty.
What should I do to prepare my child for puberty?
There are some things that you should do to get your child ready for puberty. Because of the increase in hormones, they're going to have new emotions during puberty that you want to talk to them about, maybe feelings for the opposite sex. They may sweat more during puberty and have new odours, especially after exercising. So it's important to talk about hygiene during puberty, including the fact that we need to bathe and shower once a day now, do a really good job brushing our teeth and we may have to wear deodorant. And talk about their emotions that they feel during puberty as well.
Should I be concerned if my child starts puberty late or early?
If you think your child's starting puberty too early or too late it should be evaluated by a doctor. There is a wide range of when puberty can happen. But if they're starting with any of these developmental puberty things early, a doctor can see that with a physical exam and maybe with some bloodwork looking at the hormones in their body.
How will my child's doctor visits change when he reaches adolescence?
When should I discuss puberty with my child?
I don't think it's ever too early to discuss puberty with your child. I think you can gage when to speak about puberty based on your child's development. If you start seeing the puberty development like the breast development or hair growth, that would be a good time to start talking about it. A lot of children have taken sex education, or have started talking about their bodies in school as early as 5th grade, so as you hear they're doing it in school that's a good stepping stone to say lets talk about puberty further. And you can preempt before they even talk about puberty in school, or before they hear it from their friends. Always talk about their bodies and about the changes that's going on during puberty, even if you're a year or two early on it. It makes it nice for the child so that when they see it if, just like anything else, we've heard about it, they don't worry so much about it when they see puberty taking place.
How should a Dad talk to his daughter about puberty?
In single households, where maybe there's not a mother figure, it's still important for dads to talk to their daughters about puberty, including menstruation and other female issues such as their breast development and wearing bras. If they don't know about this aspect of puberty, you can go to the store together, go into the aisle of female products and go through them and talk about them together. Or, you can have a family friend, or one of her girlfriend's mothers help out with these puberty issues. Be involved in their lives and talk about these issues - even if you don't know as much about these puberty issues, just get help where it's missing. But it's important to open the lines of communication as that does more than anything. Knowing that you're there for your child and for them to know that you're there to discuss these puberty issues, and that you're never going to be mad at them if they come to you and say, “Well, I tried alcohol” or “I tried drugs”. The fact that you're willing to discuss these puberty issues with them will hopefully curb that action later on and you'll get more success.
