Puberty traits both girls and boys

Puberty or puberty is a sign that your child is starting to become a teenager. In this phase the child will experience physical changes that are quite different from before. As a parent, you can monitor and educate your child as he enters puberty so as not to be shocked or feel abnormal.

What is puberty and when does it occur?

At the stage of adolescent development, the child will experience puberty. This term is used when a child has undergone hormonal changes in the body related to the maturity of the reproductive organs.

Most of the girls started puberty when they were between the ages 8 to 13 years.

Meanwhile, in boys, puberty will be experienced when they enter ages 10 to 16 years. Yes, boys do go through puberty later than girls.

In this phase there will be a peak of growth (growth spurt) child, which is the second fastest growing period after infancy.

Quoted from Kids Health, puberty will make the body and sexual organs of children develop until adulthood.

Puberty traits for girls

The physical changes of boys and girls when they enter puberty are different. In fact, the age at which puberty starts is different between the two.

Usually, girls enter puberty sooner than boys.

The first sign of puberty in girls

The initial characteristic of adolescent girls at puberty is breast growth. This breast growth may even occur not simultaneously.

For example, one breast is formed earlier than the other breast.

In addition, another early characteristic that girls experience during puberty is the growth of hair on their arms and legs.

Not only that, hair in the area of ​​the sexual organs and in the armpits also begins to grow.

If the child has experienced breast growth and hair growth on the pubic and armpits, the sign will soon reach its peak growth.

Girls' puberty advanced traits

The traits of puberty experienced by girls do not just stop at the initial signs. Furthermore, adolescent girls will experience several other features of puberty, such as:

• Menarche or first menstruation.
• Starts to grow pimples on the face
• Breasts continue to grow until they are like adults
• Hair in the area of ​​the sexual organs and underarms becomes thicker
• The appearance of a thin mustache in some girls
• It is easier to sweat
• Starting to experience vaginal discharge
• Height increases dramatically since menstruation, usually 5-7.5 cm per year.
• Weight started to increase
• The hips get bigger while the waist shrinks

Yes, some of the traits of puberty above will be experienced by your daughter over time.

Menarche usually starts around 18 months to 2 years after your child shows the first signs of puberty.

Your child's body will start to get bigger, especially in the arms, thighs, hands and feet because of the fat reserves they have. That is why, during puberty, adolescent girls tend to gain weight.

Actually, children don't need to diet just to lose weight that increases at puberty.

Instead of making him lose weight, this can actually hinder his sexual growth and development.

Instead of letting the child diet, you should adjust the child's diet so that their weight remains stable.

Provide a variety of healthy and nutritious foods such as lean meats without skin, fish, whole grains, vegetables, and fruits.

Apart from that, your daughter's height will also increase. Therefore, before experiencing menstruation, it is important for you to always fulfill your nutritional needs.

This aims to help maximize the growth of the child's height.

The traits of puberty in boys

Slightly different from girls, boys will show traits of slower puberty than girls.

The characteristics of puberty in boys, namely:

The first sign of puberty in boys

The first characteristic that shows a boy entering puberty is an increase in the size of the testicles. Generally, this occurs at the age of 11 years.

After that, followed by an increase in penis size. Next, curly hair on the area of ​​the sexual organs begins to grow, as well as on the child's armpits.

Advanced features of puberty in boys

In addition to the characteristics of puberty that are experienced at the onset of puberty, here are some other signs that children experience during puberty:

• Growth of the penis and testes
• A boy's scrotum will turn darker
• Hair in the area of ​​the sexual organs and underarms becomes thicker
• Sweat production increases
• Have a wet dream.
• The occurrence of a voice change is becoming heavier
• Starts to grow pimples both on the face and body
• Boys increase in height by 7-8 cm every year
• Formed muscles in the body
• Start growing facial hair

Entering puberty, boys can experience erections and also ejaculate. First-time ejaculation or spermarche is usually the most recognizable feature of male puberty.

Ejaculation is usually characterized by wet dreams, but erections can occur spontaneously when the child wakes up for no apparent reason.

In boys, the peak growth will occur about two years after the first signs of puberty appear.

He will experience peak growth in height and weight together.

The growth and maturity of organs during puberty are caused by changes in the hormone GnRH (gonadotropin-releasing hormone) produced by the brain.

This hormone is responsible for maturing the function of the organs of adolescents during puberty.

If women will have more fat mass at puberty, men will have more muscle mass.

Adolescent growth during puberty

It has been explained a little above that boys and girls have their respective puberty times.

Find out more about the growth of adolescents during puberty below.

Growth of adolescent girls

When puberty begins, girls will experience a growth spurt and start menstruating for the first time. Two years after entering puberty, he will usually reach his peak height.

Two years after entering puberty usually girls will reach their peak height.

Although the peak of growth in girls occurs before menarche, height usually continues to grow to another 7-10 cm after menstruation.

However, the growth in height after menstruation does not occur faster than before menstruation.

Not only due to lack of nutritional intake, growth retardation can also occur due to health problems, especially in the pituitary gland or thyroid gland.

The reason is, these glands will produce hormones essential for growth and development.

If hormone production is hampered due to a disturbance in these glands, the process of growth and development will not run smoothly.

Male adolescent growth

Boys tend to increase in height by an inch or so per year during puberty. So, a boy's height can increase by about 31 cm during puberty.

The amount of height gain that occurs in girls is usually still lower than this figure.

So, when entering adolescence, boys will still be taller than girls even though puberty is slower.

This puberty process takes 2-5 years. This means that during this period the height can still grow rapidly to its maximum height.

Based on the time, development at puberty is divided into 2 groups, namely:

• Fast development (early matures), which will begin puberty around the ages of 11 to 12
• Slow development (late matures), started puberty around the age of 13 or 14

There are certain conditions that can stunt a child's growth, including health conditions that are affected by the thyroid gland and a lack of growth hormone.

In addition, a boy's height growth will not be optimal if you do not meet his nutritional needs properly.

Problems that occur during puberty

As explained above, there are certain age ranges when adolescents experience puberty.

However, it is not impossible for problems such as premature puberty, puberty may be late or some don't even experience it.

Here are the various problems that occur at puberty:

1. Early puberty in adolescents

A child is said to have had precocious puberty or precocious puberty if he experiences the features of puberty earlier before entering his time.

This condition occurs at the age of 9 years in boys and at the age of 8 years in girls.

Early puberty is an abnormal growth that can affect the physical and mental growth of children in the future.

Not many studies have specifically looked at the effects of early puberty. However, research conducted by the Medical University of Chongqing reports that this condition can lead to a decrease in the quality of semen.

Early puberty is known to have two distinct types of development, namely:

Central precocious puberty

Is a common type of precocious puberty and is characterized by the secretion (discharge) of gonadal hormones by the pituitary gland in the brain that is too fast.

This triggers the activity of the testes and ovaries to produce sex hormones and causes puberty to occur earlier.

Peripheral precocious puberty

This condition is a rare type of precocious puberty. This is indicated by the start of the production of sex hormones by the reproductive organs but without the activity of the brain glands.

Peripheral precocious puberty is usually a sign of problems with the reproductive organs, adrenal glands, or an underactive thyroid gland.

The body's unpreparedness to change too quickly can cause growth imbalances in children. As a result, his physical and mental growth is not optimal.

Early puberty will also make it difficult for children to adapt emotionally and socially.

Girls are most often experiencing self-confidence problems or feeling confused because of their physical changes.

In addition, changes in behavior can occur in both boys and girls as a result of change mood and tend to get angry more quickly.

Boys can tend to be aggressive and have sex drives that are not age appropriate.

2. Late puberty

In certain cases, children still do not feel the changes when they reach puberty. This condition is also commonly referred to as late or delayed puberty.

Late puberty can occur in both boys and girls. In boys, the signs can be seen when the penis size has not increased by the age of 14.

Meanwhile, in girls, the signs are seen when the breasts are not yet developed at the age of 13 years.

Generally, this condition is not serious because it can be treated with hormone therapy. However, you as a parent need to consult a doctor first.

The child will be evaluated first to find out what causes this condition. If it is affected by certain medical conditions that affect hormones, it is possible that this could have an impact on fertility problems.

There are several reasons that allow teens to experience this, including:

Heredity

Heredity is a cause that often occurs when adolescents experience delayed puberty.

Don't panic because this condition doesn't need treatment. It is enough to wait for the signs to come. However, if you are worried, visit a pediatrician for a consultation.

Health problems

Children who have chronic conditions such as diabetes, kidney, or even asthma may experience delayed puberty.

Therefore, even if the child has a chronic disease, make sure that the nutrition in your adolescent is sufficient.

Chromosome problems

Some teenagers who experience delayed puberty can also be caused by chromosome problems. For example like Turner Syndrome which is when one of the female X chromosomes is abnormal or missing.

For example, men have Klinefelter syndrome with an extra X chromosome. You need to consult a doctor to solve this problem.

3. Teens cannot experience puberty

In medical terms, this condition is known as Kallmann's syndrome. This is a rare genetic disorder in humans that is defined as delayed or absent signs of puberty.

This condition that can occur in women or men is accompanied by a disturbed sense of smell. Testosterone levels in men and estrogen and progesterone in women experience a decrease in the amount in the body.

This condition results in the failure of secondary sex growth in each sex. The main treatment for this condition is hormone replacement therapy (hormone replacing therapy).

The amount of hormone replacement is adjusted to the normal sex hormone levels in that age range, depending on the person's age at diagnosis.

Consult a doctor if you have further questions

Generally, parents are worried if their child does not show the characteristics of puberty when they enter puberty.

However, just remember that every child has his own time to experience the various signs of puberty that have been mentioned above.

It never hurts to consult a doctor if your child has problems in the puberty phase.

The doctor will help you find the right way to treat your child's problem according to the conditions.

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