Hormones and puberty
Time during which sexual maturity happens. is the stage in life when a child's body develops into an adult's body. The changes take place gradually, usually between the ages of 10 and 16.
Changes occur at puberty because of the Chemical messenger produced in glands and carried by the blood to specific organs in the body.:
- testosterone - produced by the testes - controls the development of male secondary sexual characteristics
- oestrogen - produced by the ovaries - controls the development of female secondary sexual characteristics
The development of secondary sexual characteristics is shown in the table below.
| Boys only | Boys & girls | Girls only |
| Voice breaks | Pubic hair grows | Voice deepens gradually |
| Hair grows on face and body | Underarm hair grows | Hips get wider |
| Body becomes more muscular | Sexual organs grow and develop | Breasts develop |
| Testes start to produce sperm cells | Ovaries start to release egg cells - menstruation starts |
| Boys only | Voice breaks |
|---|---|
| Boys & girls | Pubic hair grows |
| Girls only | Voice deepens gradually |
| Boys only | Hair grows on face and body |
|---|---|
| Boys & girls | Underarm hair grows |
| Girls only | Hips get wider |
| Boys only | Body becomes more muscular |
|---|---|
| Boys & girls | Sexual organs grow and develop |
| Girls only | Breasts develop |
| Boys only | Testes start to produce sperm cells |
|---|---|
| Boys & girls | |
| Girls only | Ovaries start to release egg cells - menstruation starts |
You can see that some of the changes in puberty happen to both sexes, whilst others only occur in those born male or female. Both boys and girls will have a growth spurt during which time their height increases more quickly than at any other time in their life. This tends to happen earlier in girls. The graph below shows this.
Boys and girls grow at different rates