The role of being a mother and a father are created when you give birth to your first child. When you see that little one opening his eyes for the first time and looking at you, you know a lot has changed overnight. An expecting mother prepares herself for life after delivery, but trust me, the preparation is never enough. You can use all the parenting tips for newborns you can get your hands on, but having a child is one of the most special moments which is going to change everything, no matter what and how you prepare. A child changes your life forever, the day it is born. From your waking up time to the food you eat to the things you need to be aware of, everything changes. The father goes through many changes as well. Even the would-be fathers should read more on how does having a child change your life forever. His entire universe starts revolving around the new born. Life is taken more seriously and more cautiously once the new born enters your life. All this change, is for the good of course. Continue reading for some more interesting facts!
How Does Having a Baby Change your Life?
The Constant Company
In our lives, we are used to being in the company of some people and avoiding that company when we want to be with just ourselves. There are times when we want to be alone, away from all relationships for just a few days. Once you have a child, this becomes a dream. You have to be with the new born every second of your life. Though this is something you are going to love, it’s just a big change in your life. When your child is sleeping, you can perhaps leave for a minute or two but never more than that. The moment you hear the baby crying, nothing but your presence near the little one is going to make him stop crying. Like other things and people in life, you cannot ever ask your newborn to wait for a minute. Wherever you are, the baby stays with you.
The Feeling of Nurturing
If you want to know how does having a child change your life forever, it is because of the feeling of nurturing. You have to nurture your child with so many things that sometimes, it’s very overwhelming. You have to teach the child how to eat, how to walk, how to talk and also how to behave. For the first few years of his life, your child is only going to learn what you teach him. What means good to you, means good to him. What according to you is bad, is bad according to him too. If you teach him to drink milk with sugar, that is how he is going to drink it. You ask him to call you mom, that is precisely what he is going to call you. Taking care of a child, feeding him and being responsible for his growth, changes you completely as a person.
Seeing the Baby Grow
Teaching your baby what you need to is one thing. However, when you actually see the child learning and understanding, it changes your equations with the child completely. The first word your baby speaks, is going to be what you teach him. If you plant a sapling tomorrow and watch it grow everyday, you will be content with your efforts. With your own child, this feeling of satisfaction gets an altogether different meaning. When your child reacts to something you do or something you say, you start connecting with the little one in a way. This is the first relation your child understands, that of a mother and her child. When you watch your baby grow, you see a part of yourself grow outside your body. Nothing can compete with this feeling ever.
The Shift in Priorities
How does having a child change your life and routine? It changes like this. Before you become a parent, you have priorities in your life or rather you prioritize things and people in your life according to what you feel is appropriate. Once you become a parent, your first priority always remains your child and nothing in this world can change that. You cannot commit to anything or anyone before you make sure you have done everything you need to for your child. A mother cannot think of a job if her child isn’t used to living without her. You cannot time any of your activities after the birth of your child. Any time, any second, your child might ask for you. Like the genie in a bottle, you will have to be there for him.
Completion of a Family
The day your child is born, your family is complete. From being just husband and wife, you now become parents to a child. This changing of your role brings with it a lot of changes. You have to, for your entire life, take care of a child now, bring up the child, educate him and attend to him whenever needed. In the process of forming and giving a direction to the life of another, your life itself has to go through tons of changes.
There are so many things that change once you have a child that it is impossible to list down every one of them. However, now since you know how does having a child change your life, you can be a little bit more prepared to experience parenthood. If you wish to, you can record all your experiences in a diary and share them with your child later on. You are going to see some awesome changes coming your way once you have a child. Best of Luck!
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Parenting styles say a lot about the way your child behaves all his life. Your behavior with your child decides your parenting style. According to Diana Baumrind, there are four types of parents, who decide four types of parenting styles. These are authoritative parenting, authoritarian parenting, indulgent parenting and neglectful parenting. Out of all these, authoritative parenting pays off greatest rewards and give both, parent and the child a chance to build a long lasting and a trust worthy relationship all their lives. This style is broadly defined as, the parent being demanding and responsive, which brings about a balanced upbringing. Let’s take a look at what is the influence of authoritative parenting style and how it benefits the child at a much later stage in life.
Effects of Authoritative Parenting Style
Happy Child
Authoritative parenting refers to a parenting style, wherein the parent is proactively involved in child’s mental and physical growth. Thus, it is a very child centered approach, which aims at raising a happy child. In the initial stages of childhood, parents are the only world that children have. Thus, when a parent makes an effort to be with the child, spend quality time, make some of the fondest memories, it automatically culminates into happy household and a happy child.
Maturity in Problem Solving
An authoritative parent strives to make the child independent, but does put a few restrictions and controls on him. They demand maturity while problem solving, which teaches the child to be insightful and objective while solving certain issues and ensuring mistakes are not repeated again. As the child is intentionally monitored, possibilities of high risk behavior or chronic stress and tantrums is reduced to a large extent. Although kids have the freedom to voice their opinions, it is parents who will have the final decision. This also helps in making children think by themselves, which keeps the negative effects of peer pressure at bay.
Emotional Balance
Understanding your child is one of the biggest challenge of parenting in modern times. An authoritative parent encourages the child to talk about his feelings and emotions and treats the problem with total respect. Children of authoritative parents are emotionally well developed, as the quality communication helps them reducing unrecognized stress, anger and frustration. The nurturing and friendly attitude of parents towards their children, goes a long way in building a relationship of trust. Thus, rebellious streak in children during teenage is sobered down. Also, as authoritative parents make it a habit to explain mistakes, punishments are received with a complete understanding. An emotional balance is established at a very young age, because emotions are understood and reciprocated by the parents.
Social Conduct
As open dialogue and free channels of communication are the underlie of authoritative parenting, it develops an ability to handle their emotions. Thus, they grow up as adults with better social conduct, which is seen through respect for elders, better tolerance levels, maturity and good decision making skills. Also these kids are better than a lot of their peers as they are independent in thoughts and sentiments, which also makes them good leaders at time. Authoritative parenting also teaches kids to take up household responsibilities, resolve conflicts with peers, value things in life and most importantly do all of this with confidence.
By far, authoritative parenting is one of the most effective parenting style. The influence of authoritative parenting is seen through responsible adults, who can raise good families. Such type of parenting, which treats children with respect and love, allows them the freedom of making mistakes and learning from them, and helps them express their most innate emotions that goes a long way in making a society which understands the objectivity.
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Gone are the days when parents would raise their kids with no prior thought of how they should be raised. They would rather go with the flow, guide them when needed, let them be when required?raising children was something that didn’t need a strategic planning! But now, things are different, people are adapting different kinds of parenting styles to bring up their kids in the manner they wish to. Speaking of slow parenting, it is a way of bringing up kids wherein the parents encourage more of self exploration rather than guiding the children all the way through, like what happens in case of authoritative parenting wherein the kids are always ordered to live their life according to the parent’s will. In slow parenting, the parents make sure that they encourage their children to solve their own problems and learn by discovering through curiosity. Parents are there to watch over, however they try to make the least efforts to actually interfere in the learning process of their children. While this parenting style is acceptable to some parents, there are others who question its efficiency in the growth and development of the child. Concerns like safety, surety and voluntary guidance are questioned. Like each and everything in this world, the slow parenting style has its advantages and disadvantages. We are letting go of the disadvantages for now and discussing about the advantages only. Read on?
Advantages of the Slow Parenting Style
Slow parenting style is more or less similar to permissive parenting wherein the children are allowed to do whatever they want to, with no interference from parents at all. This gives the kids a chance to learn by exploration, being curious, discovering things and also allows to sink in a sense of freedom and self dependency in them. These advantages are explained in details in the following paragraphs.
The Natural Way of Learning
The primary approach of slow parenting resides on the fact that kids should grow and learn in a natural environment rather than being influenced by the materialistic way of learning which never gives their minds a chance to develop naturally. It wouldn’t be wrong if slow parenting movement comes up with a motto like “Let Nature Take its Own Course in Child Development.” This parenting style doesn’t encourage kids to watch television as there is nothing natural in it. After school classes like ballet, swimming or football are also not considered valuable as it results in influencing the mind of the child and not letting the child be himself or herself.
Enhances Exploration and Creative Growth
If you watch channels like Discovery and National Geographic, you would know how a young one explores its surroundings as soon as it is born. It checks out the leaves, the branches, the other animals?it runs, it jumps, it falls and it learns! Parents who follow the slow parenting style, would actually want their kids to learn in the similar way, though not in a jungle, but somewhere in company of the nature. In stead of sending their kids to ballet or football, they would actually want their children to play in the garden, chase the butterflies, hold the snails, learn and explore. This way, the child’s mind is not being influenced, rather it is learning through curiosity, which in turn, promotes creativity.
Enables Learning through Self Dependency
A modern parent would get a new toy or a game and instruct the kid on how he or she should play it, on the other hand, slow parenting would expect the parent to just give the toy to the kid, stand back and observe how the kid manages to figure it out. The advantage of this approach is that the child will not be dependent on the parents for each and everything. In fact, the child will become self dependent and self capable of learning and understanding.
Makes the Child More Confident
Self confidence is something that is very essential to live in a world, the way it is today! In fact, most adults who were raised under the influence of authoritative parenting style end up having problems in decision making and self dependency. It is mostly these adults that want their children to have the freedom to choose and to live the way they want to, and not live their life the way their parents wished for them.
Lesser Behavioral Problems Resulting from Stress
Sources state that the children who were raised in an authoritative influence or too much of interference from their parents end up dealing with a lot of stress and behavioral problems. These children are also prone to suffer from personality disorders and dependency issues. The slow parenting style gives the child the freedom and encourages them to learn through self exploration. This minimizes the children to have troubles in the future.
So this was a brief writeup about slow parenting and its advantages. Though all parents may not agree to this way of raising children completely, you can also not ignore some of the key benefits that this parenting style involves. Nevertheless, I believe that a parent knows what is best for their kids and a good parent is the one that understands the needs of the kid. Keeping a balance is what is needed to make sure that you are giving the best upbringing to your child.
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Parenting is the best full time job anyone can ask for, but it is also a job that comes with a load of responsibilities. The way you choose to raise your child affects his / her physical, emotional and psychological development, and you only know the results of your efforts when your child raises his own child later, and even then your job is not truly over. The two most talked about styles of parenting are over parenting and attachment parenting, and in the argument of over parenting vs attachment parenting, we’ll see which one comes out tops?
On Over Parenting
Don’t handicap your children by making their lives easy. ~ Robert A. Heinlein
Too often we give children answers to remember rather than problems to solve. ~ Roger Lewin
Over parenting is basically, parenting bling! Too much and not nice at all. It hampers the development of the child, and fails as a parenting style. Over parenting means exactly that ? completely overdoing the parenting bit. Going so far as to vicariously live through your kids. Making all their decisions for them, deciding what’s right and wrong for them, assuming that they are too na?ve to know what they want from life, are too inefficient to make the right choices for themselves, constantly telling them what to do, which friends to hang out with and which to not, telling them what to wear, what stream to pursue graduation in, whom to marry, when to marry, how many kids to have, and so on and so forth. You get the gist, I assume. And this way of raising kids, in my personal opinion, is WRONG. Big time. There’s a term for such parents ? Helicopter Parents ? always hovering above their kids.
With over parenting, you are only crippling your child in every way possible. Sure, you have the best intentions at heart, but unintentionally, you are ruining your child’s chance at a normal, healthy, happy and emotionally satisfying life. You are so caught up in the material things that you think will lead your child on the path of happiness, that you totally forget the emotional and psychological aspect of raising kids. To put it straight across, at the expense of hurting emotions, such parents are control freaks and want to control each and every aspect of their child’s life, and are usually despised by their kids, if the kids have managed to develop their own opinions in spite of such parents. This style of parenting is usually well intentioned, but sometimes it is to feed the ego of the parents. The oh my child needs me as much as before, although he’s all grown up, and cannot do a thing without asking me, is a very ego-massaging cushion to sleep on. These kind of parents are too scared to let go of their kids, they fear that they won’t be needed anymore, and so the more their kids grow, the more they want to control.
Over parenting is an absolutely unhealthy way to raise a child, and over parenting effects in kids are pretty adverse. If any of you identify with what is mentioned in the above paragraphs, then please stop! The more you try to control your child’s life, the more he will resent you and your attempts at being important in his life, for the children of such parents will escape at the first opportunity that they get, and will think twice about letting such parents back into their lives.
One has to know how over parenting affects one’s child, and it’s not in a good way as far as I can tell. The kids that grow up with super parents / helicopter parents, usually show the following signs:They are usually reserved, introverted, and shy.They are not able to handle confrontations or conflicts and resolve them in a healthy manner, because they are so used to having their parents sort out everything for themThey usually have very low self esteem, low confidence, and over time they tend to believe that they are indeed incapable of making any decisions for themselves.Such children grow up to be lazy and dependent without any sense of their individuality, because they usually have all the decisions made for them, by their parents.When the time comes for them to make decisions, they feel totally lost and continuously keep asking other people about what they should and should not do, and keep putting off making any important decisions.Unrealistic expectations from parents puts them under a lot of stress, and they usually end up depressed if they fail to live up to their parent’s expectations, often failing to realize their worth. They measure their worth from their parent’s point of view and often end falling short. Conversely, such children always expect to be cushioned from all the bad things in life, because that is what they are used to, and they cannot handle tough situations.The only thing that I can say to such parents is that, let your child breathe. Let go a little, and give them a chance to be all that they can be. They can and will learn to take care of themselves. So far I’ve not heard a scraped knee leaving indelible psychological scars on any child’s psyche. Let them breathe, let them live, let them fly with their own wings, and see their own view. Do not restrict them to your view.
On Attachment Parenting
Always kiss your children goodnight ? even if they are already asleep. ~ H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
There are two lasting bequests we can give to our children. One is roots. The other is wings. ~ Hodding Carter, Jr.
Attachment parenting, as the word suggests, is all about bonding with your child on an emotional plane, providing secure and solid attachments for him, so that although he is encouraged to do his own thing in life, he knows that his parents are always there when he needs their guidance and help, without forcing their opinions and beliefs on him. Attachment parenting focuses more on giving guidance, nurturing your child’s uniqueness, his talents, instead of forcing him to be like everyone else, and then breathing down his neck constantly about being the best at being ordinary. It’s a gentler, more nurturing and fostering way of raising children, and teaching them that they have to fight their battles themselves. It’s OK to win, it’s OK to lose sometimes too, and it says that you will celebrate their wins, and provide a shoulder to cry on if / when they lose.
The backbone of attachment parenting is respecting your child as an individual with his own talents and flaws, his own opinions and beliefs, and not just as an individual who ‘belongs’ to them, and they have a right to dictate how he should lead his life, simply owing to the fact that they played a part in creating his life. The main benefits of attachment parenting are that it stresses on the socio-emotional development of the child right from the time the child is born, it realizes the importance of physical contact ? hugs, pats on the shoulder, holding hands, rubbing backs ? basically any touch that comforts and nurtures. It is the importance of responding to your child’s emotional needs and not dismissing any feeling as trivial or unimportant, and the importance of putting the child before the ambitions and expectations of the parents from him.
One of the main points that gives attachment parenting the thumbs-up in the debate of over parenting vs attachment parenting is that, in the attachment school of parenting, the parents are in sync with the emotional and psychological development of their child. This means that they are better able to set realistic expectations from their child, unlike in over parenting, where the parents expect their child to be the best at everything he does, irrespective of whether he is cut out for that particular thing or not. Setting realistic expectations and not burdening your child unnecessarily, is a key factor in ensuring mental and emotional well-being in children. And lastly, in attachment parenting, when the child can handle and satisfy his own requirements, he is left to his own resources, instead of having his needs fulfilled anyways, just to ‘make things easy’.
But it is not all rosy, and there are a few cons of attachment parenting too. These cons though, are more for the parents than for the child.It becomes difficult for parents to strictly adhere to the attachment school of parenting, and can be the cause of major stress for parents, specially if a support group is absent.Critics and child care institutions, like The American Academy of Pediatrics, have strongly disagreed against co sleeping that is an important part of attachment parenting, and medical experts are against another important part of attachment parenting ? non circumcision ? since they say that this practice may expose the babies to heightened risks towards particular diseases, and may also cause problems later on in life.Experts say that attachment parenting instills a sense of over-whelming obligation in parents, which, if they fail to fulfill, causes them stress and an overload of guilt.Non believers of attachment parenting say that it is not very much different from mainstream parenting, and that it doesn’t become superior over mainstream parenting simply because of its labor intensive approach.But in spite of the few cons of attachment parenting stated above, in the argument of over parenting vs attachment parenting, the obvious winner is attachment parenting, since very clearly, there are no long-lasting negative impacts on children in this type of parenting. My vote will definitely go for attachment parenting, because the benefits of attachment parenting far outweigh the cons of it, and the cons are pretty negligible when compared to the over parenting effects on kids. All said and done, it is almost impossible to raise children with a set of rules and regulations. It is more of a journey that the parents make with their children, and you just have to find the best way to get to your destination, while losing as little as possible along the way. And every parent knows his child best, so it is eventually up to them to raise their kids in the way they think is right.
I’ll leave you with some food for thought ?
If I had my child to raise over again
I’d finger paint more, and point the finger less.
I’d do less correcting, and more connecting.
I’d take my eyes off my watch, and watch with my eyes.
I would care to know less, and know to care more.
I’d take more hikes and fly more kites.
I’d stop playing serious, and seriously play.
I’d run through more fields, and gaze at more stars.
I’d do more hugging, and less tugging.
I would be firm less often, and affirm much more.
I’d build self-esteem first, and the house later.
I’d teach less about the love of power,
And more about the power of love..
~ Diane Loomans, from If I Had My Child To Raise Over Again
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Enlarge ImageBreast development in teens and menarche (the onset of the menstrual cycle) mark the beginning of puberty and thus the great transition between childhood and womanhood. This period often fills the minds of young girls with mixed feelings of fear, sometimes spurred on by myths, hope and the wonderment of becoming a woman. Children around this age are asking themselves and others questions like “what is menstruation like?” How big will my breasts be? Will mine look like mom’s or big sister’s or will mine be different. Is this (situation) normal?
In addition to attracting a sexual partner, which these days we could safely say could be of either gender, breasts have a biological purpose, to provide milk for a child that the woman will one day produce. As it is true with the rest of our bodies, breasts take several years before they?re fully mature and prepared to perform this function. This development takes place during puberty.
Stages of Breast Development
There have been several studies concerning breast development in girls and they have recognized a pattern in the growth pattern of developing breasts. This growth pattern has been divided into five stages of breast development. These stages take eight to ten years for a young woman to go through before breast development is complete.
Stage 1 (The child less than 10 years old)
In this time period the child is growing in all areas, however development of breasts is not yet seen. Areola’s are only brownish spots where there will one day be full breasts and fully developed nipples.
Stage 2 (Beginning development age 8-13)
There are some differing viewpoints as to the age at which this stage begins. There are those that say that it begins at nine years, but it is well proven that there are factors (such as obesity, which increases Leptin, the hormone required to begin puberty and breast development) that can bring about early onset of this stage. In this stage small breast buds develop in preparation for growth of the ducts. Menarche will begin approximately four years after this stage.
Stage 3 (Ages 12-14 years)
In this stage the breasts buds are beginning to enlarge. There may be some pain or discomfort.
Stage 4 (Ages 12-15)
At this stage of development the breasts form mounds and are gradually enlarging. There may be some additional discomfort and pink lines may appear on the breasts, these are only stretch marks and will fade in time. In addition there might be noticeable pain. This is only the breasts growing and the skin growing to accommodate the enlarging mound beneath it. This discomfort will pass in about a year or so.
It is at this stage of life that a young girl should be taught and makes it a habit to do breast self exams. This is definitely not because cancer is a worry at this point in life. However, it is because cancer is a possibility later in life and that it is important for the teenager to get into the habit of doing these exams shortly after each menstrual cycle.
This is a good time to purchase a bra to prevent injury. The child needs to understand that a brassier is more than underwear. A bra is meant to protect the breasts both during and after growth. Breast injury is quite painful and breasts need to be protected while jogging and other sports. There are some who claim that it is very good for a person to wear a bra to bed.
Stage 5 (ages 14-18)
This is the last stage and the breasts mature and become full and rounded. This is about the time a woman has realized the approximate breast and bra size that she will most likely retain for most of the rest of her life. There will be factors that will change this; breast size will increase with both pregnancy and weight gain. In addition if the young woman is overweight at this point in her life, then dramatic weight loss will of course decrease the amount of fat in the breasts and her bra size will decrease.
It is also during this last stage of development that the ducts within the breast will be growing and this can produce small lumps. ` These are nothing to be concerned about; these usually go away within several menstrual cycles. Doctors generally are not concerned about this unless they last longer than three menstrual cycles.
While breast growth and development is a completely normal thing that happens to a young girl, it can also be a scary time. There are many changes taking place and some of these associated with the breasts are not taking place at the same time. There may be a period where one breast is slightly larger than the other. This is just a minor and very normal thing that happens during any growth period. After about 18 years old the breasts should be very close to the same size.
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Puberty marks the onset of sexual maturity in boys and girls. Puberty in both the sexes is accompanied by a series of physical and hormonal changes in the body leading to the development of reproductive system and certain characteristics, like pubic hair and mustaches. The transition period from childhood to adulthood not only leads to physical changes in the personality but also to physiological and emotional changes. Developing a sense of individuality and a new relationship with parents, are evident in puberty. Read more on adolescents.
Puberty Questions for Boys
Some commonly asked questions and their answers about puberty in boys are as follows:
When does puberty begin in boys?
The age when puberty begins in an individual varies from person too person. In boys, puberty generally occurs between the ages of 12 to 16 years. Various factors like environmental influences and deficiency of hormones in the body can affect the start of puberty.
What are the physical effects of puberty in boys?
Puberty marks its beginning in boys with the increase in size of testicles. The enlargement of testicles begins at the age of 11 or 12 and lasts for around six months. As the testicles grow in size, there is an increase in the size of the penis. Then there is the growth of the pubic hair and hair in the armpits. Along with these, the voice becomes rough and deeper. The development of facial hair is the last step in the process of puberty. Increase in height and weight are some other physical changes cause by puberty in boys.
Why do some of the boys gain weight and height during puberty, whereas others are dissatisfied with their looks?
Puberty in boys leads to significant changes in the bodily constitution. While many boys gain weight and appear older than their age, various others don’t grow much or are unable to put on much weight. It is to be understood that puberty is natural and so the growth process differs for every individual. Besides these, your nutrition also plays a vital role in your growth during puberty. That’s why, it is advised to consume a healthy diet, especially during growing ages. Every one responds differently to puberty changes, so, boys not gaining weight shouldn’t worry much. Follow a healthy diet and get trained under an expert gym trainer.
What are ‘wet dreams’?
Wet dreams or nocturnal emissions are nothing but the discharge of semen through the penis, while a boy is asleep. Generally, there is a lot of embarrassment and hesitation when it comes to discussing wet dreams. However, wet dreams are common during the puberty ages and there is no need to feel embarrassed. Wet dreams occur when the body starts making more testosterone (the male sex hormone) and there is an erection in the penis. Erection is nothing but the filling of the penis with blood. Erection leads to ejaculation, which is the discharge of semen from the body, through the penis. Wet dreams are normal for all boys and none should feel guilty of having a wet dream.
Puberty Questions for Girls
Here are some puberty questions for girls.
When does puberty begin in girls?
As compared to boys, puberty changes in girls are more faster. In girls, puberty occurs roughly at the age of 11 years. However, there is no right time and right age that one can predict for the onset of puberty. Some girls have been reported to have onset of puberty at the age of 9 years.
What are the physical changes of puberty in girls?
The development of breasts are the first signs of puberty in girls followed by the growth of pubic hair and it is followed by the growth of hair in the armpit. The growth of armpit hair in some cases can be prior to the breast development. Menstruation, or what we normally call periods, occur after two and a half years of reaching the puberty stage.
What is menstruation?
Menstruation is one of the major signs, that show a girl has reached the stage of maturity. Women call it by different names like periods, menses, monthly cycle, few girls even use code words like chumps, Aunt Flo or MC. Menstruation is a part of the natural cycle of the biological clock of women. It is the monthly vaginal bleeding that occurs in girls from the age of puberty till the age of menopause.
All girls have two ovaries that contain thousands of eggs. Every month one egg travels down the fallopian tube towards the uterus. The egg is in the developmental stage and the uterus begins preparing to receive the egg. It builds up the endometrial lining with extra blood and tissues. If the egg is not fertilized by the male sperm, the egg will be flushed out of the uterus through the vagina. Along with the egg, the extra blood and tissue lining will also be shed. Thus, resulting in the monthly cycle of menstruation. A normal menstruation cycle is of about 28 days. Many girls have longer or shorter menstruation cycles. A normal period will last 2 or 3 days and some may experience bleeding for 7 days. Amount of bleeding varies from girl to girl. More on menstrual period symptoms.
What are menstrual cramps?
Menstrual cramps are the most common signs of puberty before the start of menstruation cycle. Many girls experience menstrual cramps for the first few days of their periods. The cramps are due to the contraction of the uterus because of the release of a chemical prostaglandin. Few girls often feel dull aches and menstrual cramps. Few experience sharp and intense menstrual cramps. Many times, menstrual cramps disappear with age. Read more on severe menstrual cramps.
Puberty Questions for Parents
Parents can play a significant role in maintaining the teen sexual health. However, many parents are so embarrassed of talking on topics related to puberty and sex with their children, that they avoid it as much as possible. This attitude is nothing less than poor parenting. Children are not born with all the knowledge and life experiences. Parents must ensure that they give their children right information and at the right time, so that, they are not dependent on external sources for information. Some questions that may help parents are as follows:
What are the puberty questions that parents can answer?
Parents can talk about various issues related to puberty, like the role of hormonal changes in the body, especially the role of testosterone and estrogen. Where does embarrassment come into picture? What you are doing is nothing but explaining a naturally occurring phenomena, on the basis of biological science. If you will properly explain things, it would help your child develop a good notion about sex and other related concepts.
What should parents talk to boys?
Parents should explain boys, the role of testosterone, that is the male sex hormone. They can explain them that boys can experience mood swings and they will develop hair on private parts. Besides these, over a course of time their voice will become rough and harsh. As parents, one should remind them these are just bodily changes that occur in this age group. With time, they will be comfortable with these changes. Testicular growth, erections, enlarged penis, wet dreams etc. must be discussed with the child, so that, when he encounters these things, he does not develop guilt, shame or embarrassment. Read more on the subject sex education.
What should parents talk to girls?
The relation of a mother and daughter assumes great significance during the puberty stage. It is the mother who can guide the daughter on issues related to menstruation and hygiene. The mother should sit with the daughter and explain her the various changes, that the body will go through, especially, the breast size. Mothers can help the daughter understand the bodily changes, she is growing through. Read more on parenting teenagers.
During the puberty phase, interest in the opposite sex is perfectly normal. Parents should talk to their children about maintaining healthy friendship with the opposite sex. Issues related to masturbation and other topics must be discussed with the children, if not possible by the parents, then with the help of a counselor. Parents can be the best friends of their children and children look for guidance and support from the parents. So, it is necessary that parents talk to their children about these issues. Hope, this article must have helped you in getting some of your puberty questions answered.
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To define in simple terms, puberty is a phase in human life when changes take place biologically, psychologically, socially and cognitively; boys start to reach their manhood and girls, their womanhood. 10 to 14 is the male puberty age, while for girls, it begins a little earlier, between 9 and 12. This is the reason why during puberty, a girl will be taller than a boy of the same age. The physical and emotional changes during puberty are brought upon by the hormones called estrogen in females and testosterone in males. Although, puberty deals with the development and maturity of sexual characteristics and sexual organs, it is also related to a wide range of emotional changes. These changes are easily managed by some, while they present some sort of challenges to others. The different and characteristic male puberty stages have been explained below.
Stages of Male Puberty
Male Puberty Stages – #1
As I mentioned, 10 is generally the age which marks the beginning of all the stages of male puberty. Here, the testicles begin their maturation process with an initial growth spurt. The growth of the scrotum is also one of the male puberty symptoms at this stage. Despite of the fact that the scrotum and the testicles undergo a growing process, boys do not develop the ability to reproduce. Boys may notice the growth of fine pubic hair in the pubic area and they might also come across occasional erections.
Male Puberty Stages – #2
12 – 13 is the next phase of male puberty stages. The testicles continue in their growing process and the production of testosterone increases, giving way to more changes. There will be a gradual increase in the height of the boy and the pubic hair starts gaining color. Erections will start increasing its frequency and the body starts taking on an adult and masculine shape.
Male Puberty Stages – #3
The third stage of puberty in boys, begins at the age of 13 or 14. It may also initiate as early as 11 or as late as 16. There is a growth in the penis lengthwise, and the pubic hair become darker and fuller than before. The boy continues to grow taller and erections become common, accompanied by the continued growth of the testicles. A boy may also undergo experiencing nocturnal emissions [ejaculation during sleep (usually during a dream)] or wet dreams [an erotic dream (usually at night) accompanied by the (nocturnal) emission of semen]. This is also the point wherein, the boy’s voice will undergo a change from a lighter to a deeper tone. The voice may begin to break or crack. This occurs as a result of the growth of the larynx and lengthening of the vocal cords.
Male Puberty Stages – #4
In the 4th stage of puberty in boys, hair start growing in the armpits and on the face, along with a coarser growth of the pubic hair. Hair growth might also be evident in the anal area, as well. The scrotum and the testicles will keep on growing and the penis starts growing in width and continues to lengthen. The penis gradually begins to take a mature look. The boy’s voice will get even and more deeper and his skin more oily. This one, out of all the stages of male puberty has the characteristic symptoms of development of acne due to the oily skin. Faster growth is also evident in this stage.
Male Puberty Stages – #5
Here comes the final stage of puberty in boys, wherein, a boy ideally achieves most of his height. This however, might not occur for all. Shoulders begin to broaden, muscles develop and there is a development of masculine appearance in arms, legs and chest. This results due to the development of new muscle fibers, which get thicker overtime. The inner thighs and the stomach will be covered by the growing pubic hair, denser than before. Facial hair will start getting prominent as they grow and would require shaving. The sex organs will be fully developed and bear the appearance of those of an adult male’s. Although, a boy achieves his full height and his body type will be complete like that of an adult, some males continue to grow till their 20s.
For your reference, here’s more on some vital female and male puberty questions which you may also come up with in near future. You may also get some vital info on adolescents.
This was about all the significant male puberty stages, giving you a brief insight about the male puberty and growth. As I mentioned, all such major changes in growth and development may be a source of worries for some, while they may be approached as a simple process of nature, by others. So, it is always advisable to have a conversation with someone older person, about what are you feeling regarding the physical and emotional changes you are going through. This would help you in getting more aware and less anxious about all such major changes in your life.
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Puberty is a stage in an individual’s life when the body begins its transformation from childhood to adulthood. This is the period when secondary sex characteristics are formed and differences between male and female become more prominent. Though teenage is the time when the signs of puberty are seen in both boys and girls, the process of achieving puberty is totally different in both the sexes. Here, we will take a look at the female puberty stages in detail.
Female Puberty and Growth
Female puberty marks a girl’s transformation from a little girl to a woman. Though usually, the start of menstruation is believed to be the onset of puberty, it actually begins much earlier than that. However, the actual female puberty age will not be the same for every girl, rather various factors including genetics, environment, ethnicity, nutrition and other social factors are said to affect puberty. Nevertheless, the average age at which puberty begins in females can range between 8-14 years. During this period, rapid development occurs in the girl’s body which can give rise to various female puberty questions in the girl’s mind. Here, we will try to understand the growth of the female body while she undergoes the female puberty stages.
Female Puberty Stages
Puberty begins when the pituitary gland in the brain secretes an hormone called FSH, which stimulates the ovaries to begin the development of estrogen in the body. With the production of estrogen, the secondary sex characteristics in the female body begins to develop. This can happen anytime between 8-14 years of age. The changes in the female body happen internally during the initial years and only gradually become visible externally. Let us look at the stages of female puberty that all girls have to undergo.
Female Puberty Changes: Stage I
Though puberty in girls begin at the age of 8 or 9, most of the changes occur internally. When a girl reaches the age of 11 or 12, one of the first female puberty symptoms is seen i.e. breast development. During this stage, the breasts are called breast buds because the tissues are not fully developed. The pigmented area around the nipple which is called the areola becomes darker during this stage. Other than this, slight growth of pubic hair may also begin at this stage. A considerable change in the girl’s height and weight can also be observed.
Female Puberty Changes: Stage II
The second stage of female puberty is when the girl turns 12 – 13 years of age. During this time, the second symptom of female puberty is seen, i.e. hair growth. Though the onset of pubic hair growth is seen in the earlier stage, it is at this level that it begins to turn thicker. Moreover, the size of the vagina also increases at this stage. Hair growth can also be seen at the armpits and the hair on the legs becomes thicker or darker.
Female Puberty Changes: Stage III
The third stage of female puberty can be said to be at the age of 13 or 14 when the first menstrual period, also know as menarche occurs. Now, there is no fixed age for the periods to start and it can occur either before this stage or even after it. Ovulation may also begin at this stage, but it may take sometime till it becomes regular, i.e. maybe 2-3 years. Read more on menstrual period symptoms.
Female Puberty Changes: Stage IV
The growth of breast tissues increases at this stage as the nipple and the aerola begin to protrude. Pubic hair become quite dense and coarse by this time and long and thick hair may also appear on the inner thighs. The girl continues to grow in height and also gain weight, especially on the upper arms, buttocks, breasts, thighs, pubis, etc. which is quite important, as the body is preparing itself for reproduction and childbirth.
Female Puberty Changes: Stage V
By this stage, which is between 15-17 years, the body attains full maturity. The height of the girl usually becomes stagnant at this stage, along with breast growth which attains adult size. Moreover, menstruation as well as ovulation become regular during this period. Apart from these physical changes, most adolescents may also have to face the problem of acne. Estrogen and progesterone which are produced by the body during puberty are mainly responsible for this because they make the skin oilier, thus giving rise to acne. Severe menstrual cramps are also another problem that teenage girls may have to undergo during this time. However, there are several ways with which they can be lessened or controlled. Read more on relieve menstrual cramps.
You may like to know more about:Male Puberty StagesParenting TeenagersSex EducationThese are some of the physical changes that occur during female puberty stages. Other than this, girls also undergo various emotional changes which are sometimes more difficult to handle than the physical ones. Making the girls understand this process as a normal stage of development will help them to handle it in a better way. Teenage years or adolescence are said to be crucial years where the girls are trying to understand themselves and the world outside in a new light. Proper support, understanding and guidance from parents during this time, will ensure that they become matured and successful individuals.
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