Insights Into Teens: Episode 18 “The P-Word Part One”

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Speaker 1:
0:02
Insightful pocket by informative hopes, insights, a podcast network.:
Speaker 2:
0:21 .:
Speaker 3:
0:26
Welcome to insights into teens, a podcast series, exploring the issues and challenges of today’s youth. Your hosts are Joseph and Madison whale is a father and daughter team making their way through the challenges,:
Speaker 2:
0:41
the teenage years.:
Speaker 4:
0:52
Welcome to insight into teams. This is episode 18, The p word, part one. I’m your host, Joseph Waylon and my lovely and talented cohost Madison Waylon. Hi everyone. How are you doing today, Madison? Pretty good. So this is kind of a special episode this week. It’s actually a two part series. I’ve actually just won our very first one. We’ll be doing part one this week and next week’s episode will be our continuation and final episode in the two part series. So for the purpose of the show, the p word really takes on two meanings for us here. This week’s a discussion on the p word. We’re going to be talking about puberty. Uh, we’ll talk about what it is, um, some facts about it. We’ll talk about what the stages of puberty the girls go through. Uh, then there are some physical changes to both boys and girls. Go through, we’ll talk about, and we will talk about some of the emotional changes that, um, deans are challenged with going through puberty. And then we’ll wrap with a, your final thoughts and shout outs. And then next week our continuation, we’ll tackle getting your period for the first time. And for that we’re going to be bringing in a subject matter expert, uh, because clearly I’m not a subject matter expert on that topic clearly. So shall we get started? Shell? All righty.:
Speaker 5:
2:33
Okay.:
Speaker 4:
2:34
The first thing that we’re going to talk about here is, uh, what is puberty? So for this, uh, I went out to a website called medicine.com or medicine net.com. And a, this is a fairly clinical description of what it is and let me read it and then I’ll get your thoughts on it. So it says puberty is the period during which growing boys and girls undergo process of sexual maturation. Puberty involves a series of physical stages or steps that lead to the achievement of fertility and the development of the so called secondary sex characteristics. The physical features associated with adult males and females such as the growth of pubic hair. While puberty involves a series of biological or physical transformations, the process can also have an effect on the psycho social and emotional development of the adolescent. Has a lot of big words there. I know that sounds, sounds kind of scary and scientific. Yeah. Um, what to you described to me and to the audience what puberty is to you?:
Speaker 6:
3:44
Well, for me, puberty is a series at which young adolescence such as myself, goes through physical and emotional changes, slowly grew up going into eventually becoming men and women instead of just kids. Right. Instead of just boys and girls.:
Speaker 4:
4:06
Okay. So you’ve got a very firm idea of what puberty is, uh, which is helpful considering you’re kind of in the middle of it right now. Much. We’ll we’ll take the clinical idea of, of what puberty is and we’ll take yours and we’ll sort of keep those in mind as we go through the rest of the, of the things we have to talk about today. Okay? Yup. Awesome.:
Speaker 5:
4:32
Yeah,:
Speaker 4:
4:33
and we’re going to talk about just some Schubert effects at this point. As mentioned in the definition, puberty is a period of the sexual maturation where you’re maturing into adulthood for, for both boys and girls, you’re achieving fertility, the ability to reproduce basically, and that causes significant physical changes to your body. Uh, the time when puberty begins varies greatly among individuals. Uh, whoever puberty usually occurs in girls between ages 10 and 14 and between the ages of 12 and 16 in boys, and you’re, you’re right in the middle of that 10 to 14 range. Now, the interesting takeaway from that fact is you look at those numbers and immediately you look and see boys reach puberty later than girls do. Have you noticed differences in boys and girls in your class while you’re going through this?:
Speaker 6:
5:30
Well, actually, yes, I’ve noticed that the girls seem more matured and the than the men do because the men act like idiots. And the more the girls act actually say more mature than the boys, and right now the boys are actually just, most of the boys are actually just turning 12 so I’m pretty sure by the end of the summer they’ll probably be going through period puberty. Yes. Yeah, yeah,:
Speaker 4:
5:56
yeah. So you’re just going to seeing, you know, the boys are going to start acting differently. This is kind of what I told you a few weeks ago when you had some issues at schools that you know the boys haven’t hit that stage yet. You know, a lot of them haven’t. And now they’re going to hit it and they’re going to start to act a little bit differently. The other thing that you notice, and we’ll talk about it a little bit more, is because you’re hitting puberty at different times. One of the things about puberty is how you grow. So you’re going to go through growth spurts. So you may notice that you’re taller than a lot of the boys. You’re seeing me age because you started those growth spurts earlier than they did. So that’s kind of a distinguishing factor. So the next thing it says is that both genetic and environmental factors are involved in the timing of puberty.:
Speaker 4:
6:41
So depending on when Mommy and daddy went through puberty, that would effect when you do, when they say environmental factors, it could be the climate that you live in. A lot of it has to do with sunlight, you know, and, and in northern climates, puberty cares at a different time than in southern climates and it could be as much as pollution in the air and how your body reacts to that. So there’s a lot of different things that that go into triggering when you, when you have you go through puberty. Another interesting fact is that body fat or body composition plays a role in regulating the onset of puberty to girls who are carrying more body fat than, than uh, other girls. That extra body fat causes the chemicals in your body to react differently. And it may alter the timing that you, the time that you actually enter puberty. So that’s another factor. So some girls, like you probably know that all girls aren’t going through puberty at the same time. There’s just a lot of factors that go into that. So it’s, you know, body composition’s another one of those.:
Speaker 6:
7:45
Yeah. Um, remember how you said that most girls, when they hit puberty, they hid it from 10 to 14. Right? I think I actually hit it when I was nine.:
Speaker 4:
7:58
You, you probably dig, you hit it fairly early, much earlier than Danny was comfortable with puberty. May Be accompanied by emotional and mood changes. Have you experienced any of that? Yep. I have little bit of that, Huh? No bullets. We’ll talk about that a little bit more. But yeah, that’s one of the things, you know, if you know, there’s kids out there that are listening who, who are approaching this age and haven’t gone through it yet, it’s something that, that, that hit you pretty hard and you’re not really ready for it. There’s a rushes of emotion, like kind of get a little little explanation of what you’ve run into. Sweet.:
Speaker 6:
8:37
Well, I’ll give an examples. So let’s just say you’re playing one of your favorite video games and you’re at a very high level on, you’re like super happy, amped up, you’re ready to win and all of a sudden you die and then your emotions are triggered and you all of a sudden become angry. You want to start screaming at the game. I know I’ve had that happen a few times before:
Speaker 4:
9:06
since you were a situation where a week ago you would have reacted completely differently. Yeah. And it’s, it’s overwhelming. You can’t control it. And it surprises you sometimes and it kind of scares you sometimes, but you know, it’s one of those things where it’s a matter of adjustment, right? I mean your body at that point, your body’s producing a lot of chemicals, a lot of hormones, and they can cause all kinds of different emotions that you normally would have control over and you don’t, for those that it’s going through, it’s normal. It may be uncomfortable, it may be frustrating, but it’s normal. Everyone goes through it. There are some medical conditions, and I don’t have them listed here, but there are some medical conditions that could, could change when you go through puberty because of all these chemical changes in your body. Uh, one of the ones that I had noticed in my research was of diabetes.:
Speaker 4:
10:03
It can affect your blood sugar levels, it can affect asthma, can affect any number of things. So it’s important that, uh, when you’re going through this, and this is more a message for the parents out there that you know, you keep an eye on the kids, always keep them, check on them, make sure that they’re okay and make sure if they’re feeling strange, take it, take it seriously and make sure that you’re keeping an eye on it to make sure nothing serious is happening. Uh, and keep up with your regular doctors visits because your is going to know best for you. Yep. So, so we’ll talk about some stages of puberty for girls coming up. In most girls, the first signs of puberty is the beginning of breast development, uh, which can occur at an average age of approximately 11 years old. And this can cause some girls to feel rather self conscious because when once it becomes visible, people start to have concerns about body image. How did you, how did you deal with that sweetheart?:
Speaker 6:
11:10
Well, I actually didn’t mistake, I actually received mine when I was nine. Right. Or at least I started noticing, I immediately decided to tell mommy because I knew she’d probably know about it. Of course I had like no idea because I really didn’t have much talk about puberty at the time. Um, but she did tell me and she told me not to be ashamed of it, even though I was kind of ashamed of it at the time. There was a beautiful thing and that, um, everyone would go through it and I wasn’t the first one. And that made me relieved. And later on I started getting used to it and I wasn’t really ashamed of it.:
Speaker 4:
11:50
Yeah. And the important thing is it isn’t anything to be ashamed of. It’s the art of natural growth, you know, of, of becoming a young woman. But what did you go through as far as challenges? How did your, did your wardrobe change? Did your daily routine change?:
Speaker 6:
12:07
My wardrobe did change. I had to start wearing bras or course at the beginning it was very uncomfortable. I was not used to it, but eventually I started getting used to it. Every time my mom would make me wear one, I always hated it because it was so uncomfortable. Now I weigh one pretty much every day.:
Speaker 4:
12:26
No. Now when you went to buy browse the first time, did mommy take you to do that? Yeah. To sort of describe some of what the experience was like with that. So other girls now?:
Speaker 6:
12:38
Well, I was a little strange, of course. I mean, I had never actually tried on one and when I first tried one on, it was actually kind of uncomfortable, but mommy said it was actually meant to be comfortable. And I didn’t understand it at the time. But after I got used to what I started realizing, it actually does keep you more comfortable, which is why I won pretty much every single day now.:
Speaker 4:
13:01
Okay. Very good. So in girls, the growth of pubic hair begins next, followed by the growth of hair in the armpits or minority girls, uh, develop, uh, pubic hair prior to breast development though, uh, again, this is one of those things that it’s, it’s a natural part of the process and it’s a result of the, the chemicals in your body. Your thoughts on, on that?:
Speaker 6:
13:28
Well, I would definitely say it’s true because I noticed I was getting hair in places. I didn’t have hair before, so, and that was after I had gone my breasts. So yeah, I would definitely agree that my pubic hair started right after I started growing my breasts.:
Speaker 4:
13:45
So with that in mind, was there any significant changes in your personal grooming or your personal hygiene?:
Speaker 6:
13:53
Well, I did have to start using deodorant every single day. And I had, and Mommy always told me to scrub really hard [inaudible] and which I did.:
Speaker 4:
14:05
Yeah. And it’s important because your hygiene demands do change as a result. And the deodorant is a very good point because, well boys and girls both use it. Voice will wind up having to probably use something a little bit stronger because there’s certain chemicals that boy’s produce that do have more odor to them. And so boys just need to be aware of that. The onset of menstruation getting your first period. Ah, so this usually happens, this is the next step is usually happens later than your other physical changes. And it usually occurs around two and a half years after the onset of puberty. You know, spoiler for next week. You’ve already had your first period. So you’ve started your menstrual, not the spoil, everything for next week’s discussion, but tell us how it was the first time that you went through that. Was it scary? Was it, was it concerning?:
Speaker 6:
15:03
Well, by the time I had gotten it, I heard Ernie known a lot of information about growing and having your period. And I was always like a little nervous whenever I would if, and I was always self conscious about when I would get it. I just thought the concept was a little weird. I mean I did, I didn’t feel ashamed of it. I was just kind of scared of it. And when I did realize I had it, unfortunately, fortunately was not at the house. You were the only one and you may. And when I realized it, my eyes to it up and I screamed for you, you called Mommy and she gave you directions.:
Speaker 4:
15:42
Yeah. Yeah. Cause that was not something that I was prepared for. Yeah. That was not fun at all. Which is why we’re going to have a subject matter expert next week when we go in depth and the discussion. Yep. So the last stage for puberty for girls is a regular pattern of on ambulation. You’re, which obviously involves your menstrual cycle. This corresponds to the achievement of fertility. Uh, usually developed rapidly once a girl begins her menstrual periods. However, girls who have later on onset menstruation after age 13 tend to have lower rates of regular ovulation in the years following the onset of ministration. Uh, so not all girls start their periods at the same time or do they have them with the same regularity as is all girls? It’s important to mention this because that’s normal. There’s nothing unusual about that. Um, there’s nothing to be worried about with that if it does happen to you.:
Speaker 4:
16:40
Um, studies have shown that one half of adolescent girls who first began to menstruate after age 13 will not obsolete regularly over the next four and a half years. Well that’s half girl, half the girls out there. So that’s perfectly normal if that’s what happens to you. And I don’t want to Glen a gloss over ministration and in the period and all that stuff, I just wanted to go to touch on what the stages of puberty where for girls will go into more detail on that later and next week we’ll go into that and talk about it in the more dense. So there are other physical changes of puberty that both boys and girls go through and these are pretty, pretty normal for most adolescents. Um, and I’m sure you can sympathize with some of these. The first one is your growth spurt. So you’ve gone through several growth spurts now, have you not?:
Speaker 6:
17:41
I have and I think I’m in one now cause my feet really hurt.:
Speaker 4:
17:45
Yeah. And that’s sort of what happens. Explain to us what it’s like.:
Speaker 6:
17:49
Well, when:
Speaker 4:
17:50
you know you’re getting a growth spurt, you’ll start to notice that your feet tend to hurt. And the reason for that being is because your legs are growing and if you start feeling sore in any other party about it, that part of your body’s growing. So you can probably tell when you’re going to have her go spurred catch. You’ll start feeling the pain and yes, it’s agonizing. Honestly, I’ve kind of learned to deal with it even though we’re still hurts and right now, which kind of hurts now. So I’m not immune to what, you’ll probably never get immune to it, but I mean it’s something you’ll just get used to and know get used to having. And it’s not unusual. During the growth spurt, you have rapid increases in height, which usually accompanies puberty for most people. Not everyone goes through it. Uh, the rapid increase in height typically last for two to three years, statistically speaking, and about 17 to 18 about 17 to 18% of your adult height is a team.:
Speaker 4:
18:53
And during puberty, which is pretty impressive considering, you know, puberty typically lasts for maybe five years and you’re getting almost 20% of your height during that time. The increase in height affects both your trunk and your limbs. Uh, growth in the limbs usually happens first. And this is the pain that you’re talking about with your legs. The Grossberg characteristically occurs earlier in girls than boys, which is why you probably found you were taller than some of the boys in class. Yeah, I had a growth spurt, uh, with girls having a gross road approximately two years prior to boys. On average in girls, that growth spurt typically precede the onset of menstruation. So did you start having your growth spurt before you had your first period? Yep. Yeah. See that’s pretty typical then. Um, so bone growth and mineralization is another one of the physical changes.:
Speaker 4:
19:53
Uh, so puberty is accompanied by growth of bones and the increase in bone density in both boys and girls. It’s that growth in your bones that typically causes the problems and the problems usually manifest in your joints as your, as your bones start to grow, it starts to put strain on the ligaments and the joints in your body as they start to stretch and compensate for that. So that’s usually where that comes from. And girls, bone mineralization peaks around the time of your menstrual periods start. And studies have shown that the bone with increases first during this time period where you’re, the bone density is changing. This is when you start to see kids, like this time of your life, you’ll start to see kids breaking bones, playing sports, stuff like that. It’s not because the reckless or, or it’s dangerous, it’s because the bone density is changing so much that they’re more prone to breakage.:
Speaker 4:
20:56
Uh, so it’s important to kind of be careful about that sort of thing. Cause I all play sports. It’s, it’s a good thing you don’t play sports, right? Don’t do anything that’s good. But you know, people break their legs stepping off the curb the wrong way. So you still have to be careful. So wait, genius, that’s another one of the changes. And listen, girls develop a greater proportion of body fat than boys with redistribution of the fat toward the upper and lower portions of the body, which leads to what is often considered a curvy complexion or curvy appearance and girls rather than boys. That’s part of the natural tab. That’s where your body redistributes itself. So it’s fairly normal. And journals that are more athletic contend too. I don’t, you know, almost a fight it off, but they can resist that natural change longer than those who are less, less athletic.:
Speaker 4:
21:58
While boys have an increase in muscle fat, their muscle growth is faster. Muscle mass is heavier, denser than fat. So as a result, there are a lot of their weight gain comes from the muscle mass that they put on. Um, by the end of puberty, boys have a muscle mass of about one and a half times greater than that of comparably sized girls cause always bodies just developed muscle mass faster. Again, when we talk about athletics, that’s why you see some of the distribution of sports that the boys are playing versus what the girls are playing. The girls are tend to be playing more, uh, aerobics style gains where they’re running more and it’s less about the physical body strength. That’s not to say that girls can’t do those things or the, the boys can’t do the aerobic ones. It all depends on your body composition and what you enjoy. But a lot of that is driven by puberty and how your body comes out of puberty and what kind of shape green, how your body is composed. Uh, have you seen any changes in your weight or your body composition that has been dramatic?:
Speaker 6:
23:05
Yeah, I kind of have, I mean, I remember like one time when I went to the doctors, I noticed that I had, I was kind of heavy. I was like way heavier than the last time and I’m pretty sure that was the stage of puberty. I just thought I was getting fat, so be honest.:
Speaker 4:
23:27
Yeah. And you don’t have much body fat on you. I think Alana, it like you’ve, you’ve increased your height significantly to the point that it’s not much of a competition with mommy anymore. Nope. That’s okay. So, but a lot of the weight comes from your bone density to where you’re increasing your bone density. A lot of changes. Lot of changes. Yep.:
Speaker 5:
23:48
Okay.:
Speaker 4:
23:54
Emotional changes of puberty in boys and girls. Is this something that you’ve encountered since you’ve entered puberty?:
Speaker 6:
24:05
Yep. Numerous times. Almost every day in my life.:
Speaker 4:
24:08
How are you coping with them?:
Speaker 6:
24:10
Well, it’s still difficult even all the years that I’ve had them, but I’m definitely much better, especially thanks to the podcast, I’ve definitely learned to gain control myself and not lash out at people.:
Speaker 4:
24:25
That’s good. That’s very important. So both boys and girls can experience emotional changes that accompany the myriad physical changes of puberty, which you obviously can attest to. These changes are not all the same for all adolescents. Changes can occur in the way a team responds to family or friends or youth, him or herself. Uh, have you started to look at yourself or do you look at yourself differently now since you’ve, you’ve started puberty?:
Speaker 6:
24:58
Well, yes I do, but it’s mainly in good ways. I say I’m being, I’m becoming more mature and eventually I’ll become, I’m becoming a woman and just basically all positive stuff about the future and maturing and stuff.:
Speaker 4:
25:14
That’s good. Yeah. You have a much broader outlook on things today than you did a year ago. I can tell you that much. Um, many adolescents experience mood swings, anxiety, confusion and sensitivity. Uh, are you going through any of that?:
Speaker 6:
25:31
Yeah, I do feel as long guns that mood swings definitely like one point I’ll be okay and next one I’m like so angry, I want to punch something. Um, anxiety, I definitely would say I do panic about certain things, especially after a day of Ela because we’re hitting pretty hard topics in there and I fear of things of things that might actually happen to me. Yeah.:
Speaker 4:
26:00
What hard topics do you hit in Ela?:
Speaker 6:
26:03
Stuff about death, the Holocaust, um, and dystopian societies.:
Speaker 4:
26:09
Oh, okay. Great. Yeah, that’s cheerful stuff. Yeah, definitely. Okay, so moving on, uh, not all emotional changes of puberty are related to negative thoughts or feelings of being upset. Have you had non negative emotional feelings? Can you please describe how have you found, have you had a crush on anyone and you don’t have to name names?:
Speaker 6:
26:40
Yeah.:
Speaker 4:
26:41
Yeah. But those, those feelings are part of puberty as well. Now I really don’t have a car. I one, honestly, I’m pretty sure it’s be single right now for now and that’s fine. But the feelings that you didn’t have a year ago that you start having now are as a result of the chemical changes in your body as well. So yeah, we have mood swings, we have emotional outbursts. We may seemingly cry for no reason at all, but some of the feelings that we get, you know, you may become attached to your, uh, you know, you may become more friendly with your friends. You may have a tighter bond with them, you may have a shared misery and we’ll say with them. And a lot of that stuff has to do with the emotions that are not just all negative. You get some positive, I guess is the important thing.:
Speaker 4:
27:40
See, while some emotional changes are normal part of puberty, it’s important to seek medical help if these emotional changes are in usually severe affect, day to day functioning or result in thoughts of harming oneself or others. Now again, I want to, I want to, you know, put a note out to the parents out there of adolescents that it’s vitally important that you have an open dialogue that your, your children feel comfortable talking to you. You know, there are days that you come home from school that you’re cranking. You just want to go up to your room. And those are the days that that we typically stop you to make sure, hey, what’s wrong? What happened? Tell us what happened. Oh well so and so said this or, or if the kids were allowed and I couldn’t do my homework or something like that. Those couple of minutes of exchange allow Mommy and daddy to figure out if one of these problems is severe.:
Speaker 4:
28:43
And if it’s something that’s really inconsequential but just rubbed you the wrong way, we’re okay. But if there’s something out there, you know, there’s certain signs that we look for to see if it’s something that’s more severe. And that’s what I cautioned the parents for. You know, you might’ve sense that there have been a couple of days that I had concerns and if I have concerns, what we’ll do is we’ll sit down and we’ll talk a little bit more. Like the other night when mommy came downstairs, after you went to bed and told me, you know, that you were having some issues at school that day. It was impossible, important for me to come up and talk to you at that point in time for me to understand what those issues were, even though we didn’t solve the problems for you. You know, it’s important for you to know you’re not dealing with them alone.:
Speaker 4:
29:33
Nobody should have to deal with these kinds of issues alone because going through puberty, dealing with a school drama, dealing with, you know, bullies or whatever else you’re dealing with on a day to day basis, nobody should deal with that by themselves. That’s what Mommy and daddy are here for. And we may not be able to solve the problems for you, but we may be able to point you in the right direction to find a solution or at least be there so that you got someone to lean on when you need it. And sometimes that’s what it takes. That’s what my mom did for me when I went through all this stuff myself. Um, so it’s important to know that you’ve got the support there. And I credit the parents that stand by their kids like that and make sure that their kids are taken care of. It’s important to do health checks physically and mentally during this time because a lot changes. Right. That was all, I think I had four, uh, this will come back with a couple of questions and answers I think and then we’ll, we’ll wrap things up.:
Speaker 5:
30:35
Okay.:
Speaker 4:
30:41
So I’ve, I’ve exhausted all of the material that I have here, but I wanted to ask you, you’re roughly two years, three years into puberty right now. Has it been a difficult road for you and do you find that your co, your, you’re coping with it now?:
Speaker 6:
30:58
Well, yes and yes actually. Um, in the beginning it was definitely difficult for me. I have to be honest, it wasn’t something I felt as though I was ready for. But as I got older and I’m a short and I learned more about all of the stages of puberty, I learned to cope with everything. And now I’m British. I’m fine with that.:
Speaker 4:
31:23
That’s awesome. I’m glad to hear that. What do you think was the most difficult thing that you struggled with early on?:
Speaker 6:
31:31
I guess all the sudden changes and that I wasn’t very introduced to it at the time. I didn’t like have the videos at the time to watch that we watch now Evers cause we, cause I started in third grade and we watched the videos in fourth grade and Mommy Kinda had to teach me then, but I didn’t fully, but she didn’t really tell me too much about it until I started going through it. So,:
Speaker 4:
31:58
so the material that you saw in school, the videos and whatever lectures or anything, did you find while it came later than it was convenient, did you find that that material was helpful and do you think it would have been helpful if you had known what that information was beforehand?:
Speaker 6:
32:17
Yes and yes. The information was definitely helpful and it would have been better to know about it when I was going through it cause I was just confused at the time and I really didn’t know too much. I was kind of scared for the future.:
Speaker 4:
32:32
Okay. That’s all fair points. If you had to give advice to someone who hasn’t started going through puberty yet, what would be,:
Speaker 6:
32:40
I would just say try to prepare yourself and don’t freak out and it’s completely natural. Everyone goes through it and eventually you’ll go through to make sure you have people to support you. I’m lucky enough to have both of my parents should have support me and all my friends who have also support me. So make sure you’re around positive people who will help you through one of the most difficult times of your life.:
Speaker 4:
33:05
Where do you find yourself still struggling today to to cope with it:
Speaker 6:
33:10
with some occasions? Yes. I would definitely say like I’m still having trouble controlling my mood swings. I mean I’m good enough to where I won’t ever lash out at anyone, but I might give people an attitude and I might up my technology:
Speaker 4:
33:27
now. Is there anything that would help you now if you had it:
Speaker 6:
33:33
right now? I’m able, if I get really angry, I’m able to write down my thoughts, read over it, and then probably swallowed a piece of paper. I can punch a wall, count backwards from 10 and just try to ignore the people. But unfortunately ignoring them is all harder than than it really needs to be. If I’m able to actually ignore the people, I’m pretty sure I’d be able to cope with my emotions better.:
Speaker 4:
34:03
Okay. But you’re getting better over time though. Yeah. Okay. Awesome. Well we’ll uh, we’ll come back with your final thoughts and your shout outs.:
Speaker 5:
34:14
Okay.:
Speaker 4:
34:18
I turn it over to you my dear.:
Speaker 6:
34:20
Well I just want to say for anyone who hasn’t gone through puberty like before, prepare yourself, make sure you’re around positive people who will always support you through the most difficult part of your life. I can definitely say it’s been difficult for me but thanks to all the positive people I’ve been around, I’ve been able to help. It’s help me cope, cope with it and all the good resources I’ve been around to help me learn about it. If you’re already going through these stages and you haven’t quite learned to cope with it, I suggest some of the message that I’ve gone through, I would definitely suggest writing down your thoughts cause it’ll take you time to think about what you’re can write. And afterwards you can read it over, think about what you thought and I’m pretty sure the next day you’ll probably just laugh it off saying, Hey, look how ridiculous I was because I do that. Also try to distract yourself from the issue at hand. And when you are going through all the physical changes, I’d recommend bumping up your hygiene, talking to people who have already gone through it and find people who are just like you. And I’m pretty sure with time you’ll learn to cope with it. Just say, I have. Awesome.:
Speaker 4:
35:39
All very good suggestions. I have very good thoughts. Any shout outs this week?:
Speaker 6:
35:45
Yes. I would like to give a shout out to other people who have supported me through this difficult challenge. Um, mainly you and mommy, you guys have helped me a lot and all the people who have educated me about puberty. Um, thank you and all my friends who have been there to support me through my emotional changes and my physical changes. Thank you all.:
Speaker 4:
36:07
Awesome. Very good. Well I think that about does it for this week. Remember we will be back next week with part two. We will have some help with that one because I’m in over my head with it. Yeah. Uh, another, uh, just a program, we know that, uh, starting last week we started posting our show notes to the website so you can visit us@wwwdotinsightsintothings.com. Click on this week show, you will get a audio link, a video link, subscription links to both. You will get a transcript of today’s podcast and you will also get the show notes that we worked off of here. That includes all of the links that we have. All of our contact information is also there. Any parting words dear?:
Speaker 6:
37:01
I just want to say thank you all for watching and make sure to check out part two.:
Speaker 4:
37:06
Alrighty. Thanks for watching this week and we’ll talk to you all next week and for it to see Ya.:
Speaker 5:
37:11
Okay.:

Show Notes

• Introduction
  • Special Guest to help us navigate this complicated topic
• What is Puberty?
  • Medicinenet.com –  https://www.medicinenet.com/puberty/article.htm#when_does_puberty_occur
  • Puberty is the period during which growing boys or girls undergo the process of sexual maturation. Puberty involves a series of physical stages or steps that lead to the achievement of fertility and the development of the so-called secondary sex characteristics, the physical features associated with adult males and females (such as the growth of pubic hair). While puberty involves a series of biological or physical transformations, the process can also have an effect on the psychosocial and emotional development of the adolescent.
     
• Puberty facts
  • Puberty is the period of sexual maturation and achievement of fertility.
  • The time when puberty begins varies greatly among individuals; however, puberty usually occurs in girls between the ages of 10 and 14 and between the ages of 12 and 16 in boys.
  • Both genetic and environmental factors are involved in the timing of puberty.
  • Body fat and/or body composition may play a role in regulating the onset of puberty.
  • Puberty is associated with the development of secondary sex characteristics and rapid growth.
  • Puberty may also be accompanied by emotional and mood changes.
  • Some medical conditions may worsen or first become apparent at puberty.
     
• Stages of Puberty for girls
  • In most girls, the first sign of puberty is the beginning of breast development, which occurs at an average age of approximately 11 years.
  • In girls, the growth of pubic hair typically begins next, followed by the growth of hair in the armpits. A minority of girls, however, begin to develop pubic hair prior to breast development.
  • The onset of menstruation (having periods) usually happens later than the other physical changes and usually occurs around two and a half years after the onset of puberty.
  • A regular pattern of ovulation, corresponding to achievement of fertility, usually develops rapidly once a girl begins having menstrual periods. However, girls who have a later onset of menstruation (after age 13) tend to have lower rates of regular ovulation in the years following the onset of menstruation. Studies have shown that one-half of adolescent girls who first begin to menstruate after age 13 will not ovulate regularly over the next four and a half years.
     
• Other physical changes of puberty in boys and girls
  • The “growth spurt”
    • A rapid increase in height, referred to as a growth spurt, usually accompanies puberty.
    • This rapid increase in height typically lasts for two to three years.
    • About 17%-18% of adult height is attained during puberty.
    • Although the increase in height affects both the trunk and the limbs, growth in the limbs usually happens first.
    • The growth spurt characteristically occurs earlier in girls than in boys, with girls having the growth spurt approximately two years prior to boys, on average.
    • In girls, the growth spurt typically precedes the onset of menstruation by about six months.
       
  • Bone growth and mineralization
    • Puberty is accompanied by growth of bones and increases in bone density in both boys and girls.
    • In girls, bone mineralization peaks around the time of the onset of menstrual periods, after the time of the growth spurt.
    • Studies have shown that bone width increases first, followed by bone mineral content, and lastly by bone density. Because of the lag between bone growth and achievement of full bone density, adolescents may be at increased risk for fractures during this time.
       
  • Weight changes
    • Changes in weight and body composition occur in both boys and girls.
    • Adolescent girls develop a greater proportion of body fat than boys, with redistribution of the fat toward the upper and lower portions of the body, leading to a curvier appearance.
    • While boys also have an increase in the growth of body fat, their muscle growth is faster. By the end of puberty, boys have a muscle mass about one and a half times greater than that of comparably sized girls.
       
  • Other changes
    • Maturation of the cardiovascular systems and lungs results in an increased working capacity of these organs, associated with an overall increase in endurance and strength.
    • These changes are more pronounced in boys than in girls.
       
• Emotional changes of puberty in boys and girls
  • Both boys and girls can experience emotional changes that accompany the myriad physical changes of puberty.
  • These changes are not the same for all adolescents.
  • Changes can occur in the way a teen responds to family or friends and views him- or herself.
  • Many adolescents experience mood swings, anxiety, confusion, and sensitivity.
  • Not all emotional changes of puberty are related to negative thoughts or feeling upset.
  • Puberty is also a time in which the young person learns about his or her own interests and goals and learns to relate to others in a more mature way.
  • While some emotional changes are a normal part of puberty, it is important to seek medical help if these emotional changes are unusually severe, affect day-to-day functioning, or result in thoughts of harming oneself or others.
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