2. What are we talking about?
ï What is puberty?
ï What are the changes I can see and
what is private?
ï What are the reproductive organs and
how do they work?
ï How do I take care of my changing
body?
4. Your Changing Body
ï When we talk about these changes it is normal to feelâŠ
curious disgust comfortable
excited
embarrassed
shy
5. What is puberty?
ï It is the time when our bodies change
from a childâs body to an adult body.
Girls â Start to release
eggs
Boys â Start to make
sperm cell
7. When do changes happen?
ï Anywhere between 8 and 17 years old?
ï Most people begin between the ages of 10
and 14
ï When you start makes no difference to how
you develop.
ï No age is better than any other one.
ï For some most changes happen in a few
years
ï For some changes happen slowly over lots of
years.
9. Girls
ï Get taller and heavier
ï Hips get wider and more
curvy
ï Face changes shape
ï Oily skin and hair, pimples
ï Voices get a little deeper
ï Hair grows under the armpits
and around the genitals
ï Hair on arms and legs grows
darker
ï Breasts and nipples get
larger
ï Body sweats more
ï Internal and external sex
organs grow
ï May have mood swings,
sexual thoughts and feelings.
Boys
ï Get taller and heavier
ï Nose and jaw get bigger
ï Face gets longer
ï Get more muscles
ï Oily skin and hair, pimples
ï Body sweats more
ï Hair grows on the face, under
armpits, around the genitals
ï May get more hair on arms, legs
and chest
ï Voice gets deeper
ï Penis and testicles grow, scrotum
changes
ï May have mood swings, sexual
thoughts and feelings
10. What causes these changes?
ï Hormones â chemical messengers that travel the
blood stream from the place where they are
made to the place where they do their work.
ï Each hormone has a specific job
ï Both girls and boys make the same sex hormones.
The main ones are testosterone and estrogen.
ï Boys make lots of testosterone, and not so much
estrogen.
ï Girls make lots of estrogen, not so much
testosterone.
13. Spermatogenesis
ï Hormones makes the testicles grow and
they start making more testosterone and
producing sperm.
ï After puberty you make 200,000 â 400,000
sperm cells a day for the rest of your life.
14. Erection and Ejaculation
ï If semen is going to come the penis is
likely to be erect
ï A penis gets erect when blood rushes into
it
ï Muscles push the semen into the urethra
and out the penis
ï This is called ejaculation.
15. Erection and Ejaculation
ï If a boy wakes up and finds a wet sticky
spot on his pyjamas, semen came out
when he was sleeping. This is called
nocturnal emissions, or a âwet dreamâ.
ï Some boys have wet dreams and some
donât.
18. Menstruation
ï Girls are born with hundreds of thousands
of tiny eggs, called ova â one is called an
ovum
ï These egg cells are only half formed
ï At puberty hormones tell the ovaries it is
time to start releasing ova
ï Usually one egg at a time matures
(develops) and is released from an ovary.
19. Menstruation
ï At the same time the uterus starts to grow
a thick lining on the inside wall
ï The lining has lots of tiny blood vessels
ï The lining is there to protect and feed an
egg that has combined with a sperm to
form a fertilized egg.
ï If the egg does not meet a sperm, the
lining is not needed, and is then shed. This
is often called a period.
20. Questions about Periods
ï When will a girl gets her first period? â No
one can tell exactly when it will start.
ï How long will the bleeding last? â It can
vary from 3 â 8 days.
ï How much will a girl bleed during her
period? â Usually only a few tablespoons.
ï How often will a girl get her period â It is
often unpredictable at first but later will
arrive between every 23 â 35 days.
21. Questions about Periods
ï Will it hurt? â the bleeding itself is not
painful, but cramping that can help to
remove the blood from the uterus can be
uncomfortable.
ï Will people know when a girl has her
period? â Not unless she tells them.
22. Pads and Tampons
ï Girls use pads or tampons to catch the blood that comes
from the vagina.
ï Pads are a sticky strip of material the absorbs the blood.
They are placed in the underwear. It should be changed
frequently.
ï A tampon is a small plug of material that fits inside the
vagina to absorb the blood. This should be changed
frequently.
23. Daily Checklist for a Changing
Body
ïŒ Shower daily
ïŒ Use deodorant or anti-perspirant on the
underarms
ïŒ Wash face daily to help prevent acne
ïŒ Brush teeth twice per day
ïŒ Use shampoo on your hair to prevent
oilyness
ïŒ Eat a well balanced diet
ïŒ Get plenty of exercise.