Puberty

Overview
Physical changes that occur in boys
and girls during puberty.
Mental and emotional changes that
occur.
Social changes
Added responsibilities during
adolescence.
 Key words
Adolescence is the time between puberty and adulthood.
Puberty is the period of human development during which
people become able to reproduce.
Hormones are chemical substances made and released in
one part of the body and released in the other.
Testosterone is the male hormone released at the start of
puberty.
Oestrogen and progesterone are the female hormones
released at the start of puberty.
 Timing of puberty
Puberty starts at different times and lasts for different
periods of time for everyone.
It can start as early as 8 years of age until as late as 13
years of age.
The sequence of puberty - from the start of puberty to
complete physical maturity - may take a year and a
half or last as long as 6 years.
This is sometimes very difficult for boys and girls as
some of their peers may have entered and finished
puberty before they have even started
 Physical changes
What are some of
the physical
changes that
occur during
puberty?
 Physical changes
Girls
Appearance of hair on
underarm and genitals
Development of breasts
Widening of hips and pelvis
Start of menstruation and
ovulation
Boys
Appearance of hair on face,
on underarms and around
genitals
Deepening of voice
Broadening of shoulders
Enlargement of testes and
penis
 Changes that occur in both
Growth spurts

Facial acne

Change in muscle strength

Rise in sex hormones

 What causes these changes
Hormones- chemical messengers that travel in the blood
stream from the place that they were made (called glands) to
where they do their work.

Each hormone has a specific job

The Pituitary gland, deep in side the brain, gets things started.
It sends out Luteinising and follicle stimulating hormones to
get our sex organs to start making sex hormones.
 What causes these changes
It is the sex hormones that make the changes
that causes childrens bodies grow into adults.
Both boys and girls make the same sex
hormones. The main ones are testosterone and
oestrogen.
Boys make lots of testosterone, not so much
oestrogen
Girls make lots of oestrogen, not so much
testosterone.
Female productive system
Male reproductive system
 Social changes
As teens grow older, their parents (and others) expect more of
them
Relationships with friends change and become more
important during adolescence.
You can take more responsibility at home, in friendships and
in other parts of life by:
1. Listening to others
2. Showing concern for how people are doing
3. Encouraging others
4. Getting a small job or undertaking chores
 Emotional changes
Feeling overly sensitive
Looking for an identity
Feeling uncertain
Peer pressure
Conflicting thoughts
Mood swings
Feeling conscious about self
Getting sexual feelings
 Mental Changes
A New Way of Thinking As adolescence
progresses, teens are able to think in a more
complex way. They can foresee consequences,
make more logical decisions, and view situations
from other points of view.