Puberty - a time of change?
Growing up is about many things and involves changes from the way you choose to spend your free time to the shape of your body. Growing up doesn’t happen all at once, and some changes you will hardly notice at all because they take time to develop. This time of change is called adolescence and is the in between time of being a child and becoming an adult. Puberty can begin between the ages of nine to fourteen and there are some changes that only happen to boys and some happen only to girls. It is your hormones that cause your body to change.Hormones are natural chemicals that control all sorts of changes in your body. Growth hormones make you grow taller and sex hormones control the changes in both girls and boys. In girls, these hormones cause the ovaries to make other hormones called oestrogen and progesterone. You will start to become curvier at this time and your breasts will start to develop by gradually growing and getting fuller, so you may need to start wearing a bra, especially if you are playing sports because this will support them and stop them from feeling uncomfortable. Often, one breast grows a little quicker than the other. Some girls’ breasts grow more quickly than other girls, and some remain small all their adult life. Also during puberty, your waist becomes narrower and your hips rounder, and soft hair will start to appear under your armpits, on your legs and you will gradually develop pubic hair. The pubic area in girls is made up of the Vulva, which contains the Labia, Clitoris, Urethra and the opening of the Vagina.
