Adapted from: Puberty: Understanding Your Changing Body.
SexualityandU.ca, 2010
What are we talking about?
 What
is puberty?
 What are the changes I can see and
what is private?
 What are the reproductive organs and
how do they work?
 How do I take care of my changing
body?
What's Happening to my Body?
Your Changing Body

When we talk about these changes it is normal to feel…
curious
shy
disgust
embarrassed
comfortable
excited
What is puberty?
 It
is the time when our bodies change
from a child’s body to an adult body.
Girls – Start to release
eggs
Boys – Start to make
sperm cell
What is puberty?
 These
are the cells that are necessary to
make a new human.
When do changes happen?






Anywhere between 8 and 17 years old?
Most people begin between the ages of 10
and 14
When you start makes no difference to how
you develop.
No age is better than any other one.
For some most changes happen in a few
years
For some changes happen slowly over lots of
years.
Boys, Girls,
Both
Class
Activity
Adapted from: Beyond the Basics: A Sourcebook on
Sexuality and Reproductive Health Education.
Canadian Federation for Sexual Health, 2005.
Girls











Get taller and heavier
Hips get wider and more
curvy
Face changes shape
Oily skin and hair, pimples
Voices get a little deeper
Hair grows under the armpits
and around the genitals
Hair on arms and legs grows
darker
Breasts and nipples get
larger
Body sweats more
Internal and external sex
organs grow
May have mood swings,
sexual thoughts and feelings.
Boys











Get taller and heavier
Nose and jaw get bigger
Face gets longer
Get more muscles
Oily skin and hair, pimples
Body sweats more
Hair grows on the face, under
armpits, around the genitals
May get more hair on arms, legs
and chest
Voice gets deeper
Penis and testicles grow, scrotum
changes
May have mood swings, sexual
thoughts and feelings
What causes these changes?





Hormones – chemical messengers that travel the
blood stream from the place where they are
made to the place where they do their work.
Each hormone has a specific job
Both girls and boys make the same sex hormones.
The main ones are testosterone and estrogen.
Boys make lots of testosterone, and not so much
estrogen.
Girls make lots of estrogen, not so much
testosterone.
Boy Parts
Matching
and Labeling
Activity
Boy Parts
Foreskin
Penis
Urethra
Scrotum
Seminal Vesicles
Prostate Gland
Testicles
Bladder
Vas Deferens
Source: Always Changing Program, PHE Canada, 2011
Spermatogenesis
 Hormones
makes the testicles grow and
they start making more testosterone and
producing sperm.
 After puberty you make 200,000 – 400,000
sperm cells a day for the rest of your life.
Erection and Ejaculation
 If
semen is going to come the penis is
likely to be erect
 A penis gets erect when blood rushes into
it
 Muscles push the semen into the urethra
and out the penis
 This is called ejaculation.
Erection and Ejaculation
 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 “wet dream”.
 Some boys have wet dreams and some
don’t.
Girl Parts
Matching
and Labeling
Activity
Girl Parts
Fallopian Tubes
Ovary
Uterus
Cervix
Vagina
Endometrium
Source: Always Changing Program, PHE Canada, 2011
Menstruation
 Girls
are born with hundreds of thousands
of tiny eggs, called ova – one is called an
ovum
 These egg cells are only half formed
 At puberty hormones tell the ovaries it is
time to start releasing ova
 Usually one egg at a time matures
(develops) and is released from an ovary.
Menstruation
 At
the same time the uterus starts to grow
a thick lining on the inside wall
 The lining has lots of tiny blood vessels
 The lining is there to protect and feed an
egg that has combined with a sperm to
form a fertilized egg.
 If the egg does not meet a sperm, the
lining is not needed, and is then shed. This
is often called a period.
Questions about Periods
 When
will a girl gets her first period? – No
one can tell exactly when it will start.
 How long will the bleeding last? – It can
vary from 3 – 8 days.
 How much will a girl bleed during her
period? – Usually only a few tablespoons.
 How often will a girl get her period – It is
often unpredictable at first but later will
arrive between every 23 – 35 days.
Questions about Periods
 Will
it hurt? – the bleeding itself is not
painful, but cramping that can help to
remove the blood from the uterus can be
uncomfortable.
 Will people know when a girl has her
period? – Not unless she tells them.
Pads and Tampons



Girls use pads or tampons to catch the blood that comes
from the vagina.
Pads are a sticky strip of material the absorbs the blood.
They are placed in the underwear. It should be changed
frequently.
A tampon is a small plug of material that fits inside the
vagina to absorb the blood. This should be changed
frequently.
Daily Checklist for a Changing
Body







Shower daily
Use deodorant or anti-perspirant on the
underarms
Wash face daily to help prevent acne
Brush teeth twice per day
Use shampoo on your hair to prevent
oilyness
Eat a well balanced diet
Get plenty of exercise.