In addition to causing bodies to change physically, these hormones are also responsible for a range of emotions and feelings. Petit-Daly justified that puberty can be a very emotional time, because the new hormones brings about change in one’s mood, making you feel more upset or excited about things than you used to. The feelings of love and joy, loneliness and sadness will become more intense. The number one new feeling that will be experienced is being sexually attracted to someone.
Puberty doesn’t always start at a certain age; it can happen either earlier that normal or later. Sanders and Myers described early puberty or precocious puberty as a time when someone experiences the physical changes of puberty before the usual age range. Stanley explains that the main problem with starting puberty early is that if it also finishes early, the skeleton will mature too quickly. Bones will stop growing when puberty ends, which may result in one not reaching their full potential height. There are hormone treatments that can halt the process of precocious puberty. Daily or monthly injections of a drug containing synthetic growth hormones are given until the age of 11-12 in girls and 12-14 in boys, when puberty is allowed to continue. Elliot-Wright discuss that there are no obvious reasons for early puberty, although it may run in families. Early puberty is more common in girls and in overweight children. Other possibilities but rarer causes include problems with the pituitary or thyroid glands, or tumors in the brain, testes, or ovaries.
Elliot-Wright explained that there have been some cases when someone passes the normal age range for starting puberty without showing signs of it, or they start puberty and then it stops progressing. This is called delayed puberty, or a “late bloomer”. Delayed puberty can be caused by certain illnesses as cystic fibrosis and kidney disease that can make it harder for the body to grow and develop. Eating disorders such as anorexia can delay the puberty process by the body being malnourished which delays growth and development. In the rarest case, Bailey concludes that excessive exercise in girls can delay puberty. Excessive exercise can prevent the body from gaining the amount of the body fat required for menstruation to begin. The delayed puberty process can be helped along with a short course of hormone treatments prescribed by a doctor to get the changes of puberty started.
In puberty, girl’s figures change gradually. The Petit and Daly describes that the pelvis become larger, hair is grown under the arms and on the legs, breasts appear and the pubis, the part of the body above the vagina, becomes covered in hair. As girls become women they are now sexually excited by sexual thoughts and dreams or masturbation. During puberty, a female’s ovaries begin to release eggs. If an egg is fertilized by sperm from a man's penis, it will grow inside of the uterus and develop into a baby. To prepare for this, a thick layer of tissue and blood cells builds up in the uterus. If the egg does not meet with a sperm, these tissues and cells are not needed by the body. They turn into a blood-like fluid and flow out of the vagina. This process is called menstruation or “having a period”. Most girls get their periods between 9 and 16 years of age. Petit and Daly expresses that a menstruation normally last for a period of three to seven days and usually twenty-eight days pass between the first day of your period and the start of the next. This span of time is called the menstrual cycle. It varies slightly for everyone by one person’s cycle being shorter (twenty-six days), while another’s maybe longer (thirty to thirty-two days).
Sanders and Myers state that the first physical signs that puberty has begun in boys are the growth of the penis and testicles. The testicles begin to produce sperm, the male sex cells. Boys may also notice the appearance of facial and body hair. Hair usually grows around the penis and testicles, and under the arms. Special glands in the brain release hormones into the body that produce changes in size, shape and appearance. Boys shape changes by growing taller and weight increases. Their shoulders become wider and muscles begin to develop. Also around this time the vocal chords change, making most boys’ voices deeper. Bailey states that hormones affect the larynx, which is known as the voice box, by making it grow and lengthening of the vocal chords. The larger the larynx gets, the deeper the voice becomes. That process may take a while, and for a time the voice may become husky or squeaky before it “breaks” properly. As the larynx become bigger, it begins to stick out, and this bump is what makes the “Adam’s apple”. Wright adds that boys may feel temporarily off balance or clumsy at times. This is due to the rapid growth of the body. Around this time, boys become curious about sex. Stanley noted that they begin to feel sensations in their body that they have never felt before. These sensations may include hardening of the penis, ejaculation, masturbation, “wet dreams”, and orgasms.
Sanders and Myers reminds their readers that you are only given one body and it’s yours for life. Good hygiene is very important to maintain. Bathing regularly will help prevent body odor and acne breakouts. Body image is an issue during puberty. Girls are less happy with their bodies and have more negative body images, than boys during this process. Bailey comments that during puberty it is extra important to take care of the body by eating a healthy diet consisting of a variety of foods from the five basic food groups. Get enough rest and exercise. Both will help increase the body’s energy and reduce stress levels.
In conclusion, puberty is the body’s way of preparing for the responsibilities of becoming an adult. Puberty is the period of time when children begin to mature biologically, psychologically, socially and cognitively. Girls start to grow into women and boys into men. Puberty is inevitable to escape from. Everyone has to go through puberty to get a step closer to becoming an adult. Even though everyone has to go through puberty, it doesn’t happen to everybody at the same time. The start of puberty can depend on factors such as family history, diet, and one’s general state of health. The most significant change is that during puberty, the body becomes capable of reproduction.
WORK CITED
Clausener-Petit, Magali and Melissa Daly. Sex Explained. New York: Amulet Books, 2004.
Stanley, Deborah A. Sexaul Health Information for Teens. Detroit, MI: Omnigraphics, 2003.
Sanders, Peter and Steve Myers. Puberty and Growing Up. Brookfield, CT: Copper Beach Books, 2000.
Bailey, Jacqui. Sex, Puberty and All That Stuff. New York: Barron’s Educational Series, 2004.
Elliot –Wright, Susan. Puberty. Chicago, IL: Raintree, 2004.
