Puberty is the period of time when your body is changing and growing from being a child to an adolescent or young adult. This will involve a lot of physical, emotional and mental changes. It typically begins between the ages of 10 and 14 but can also happen outside that age range. Puberty doesn’t happen all at once, but will come in stages as you get older.
Puberty is mainly caused by hormones in your body. It might affect things like your height, your skin, your body odour, your body hair, and more! To read more on what type of changes to expect, check out: Puberty
As your body changes, your mind and emotions are changing as well. You might feel like your mood is changing all the time and that is okay. If you are really concerned, talk to family members or adults you trust. For some young people, especially trans or non-binary folks, puberty changes can make them feel distressed as their body develops. It's really important to reach out to family members, school counsellors, or health care providers who can offer support and information.
During puberty, there are new hormones running through your system. People who have testicles will produce testosterone, and are often assigned male at birth. People who have ovaries will produce estrogen, and are often assigned female at birth. People who are intersex may have a different experience with puberty. For more information, check out: What Happens During Puberty if I’m Intersex?
During puberty, your body will change in different ways. First, you will grow in height and your body shape may change – you might develop rounder hips, or a bigger chest. You will start growing different types of body hair like hair under the arms, legs, and genitals. It is completely up to you to decide if you want to keep or remove your body hair. Overall, everyone will grow at their own pace.
You might start noticing a white or clear vaginal discharge. This keeps your vagina clean and is part of your development process. You might also get your first period (see below). This is also a time where you might start to feel a lot of things such as sexual desires. You might have sexual fantasies or start masturbating, and you might experience orgasms or sexual arousal while you sleep. It is all healthy and normal.
What happens during a period?
Your menstrual cycle is your body’s way of prepping itself for a potential pregnancy. During this cycle, your ovaries release an egg and the uterus lining thickens to cushion the egg. If the egg is not fertilized, the lining of the uterus and the unfertilized egg come out of your vagina in the form of menstrual bleeding-this is called your period.
During this cycle, there might be certain changes to your body and mood. To find out more about your period, check out: Period Basics
For more information, check out: Assigned Female Puberty
During puberty, your body will change in different ways. First, you will grow in height and your body shape will change – you may grow more muscles and your shoulders might broaden. You will start growing different types of body hair – hair under the arms, on your genitals, and eventually your face and chest. It is completely up to you to decide if you want to keep or remove your body hair. Overall, everyone will grow at their own pace.
Your penis and testicles will grow, and you might start to feel all sorts of things such as sexual desires. You might have wet dreams, more frequent erections, or start masturbating [anchor]. Wet dreams are when you release sperm (called ejaculation) during your sleep usually following a sexual dream of some sort; often, you will not even remember the dream but will wake up with a sticky spot on your sheets or underpants.
During puberty, your voice will also deepen and you will start having a stronger body odour when you sweat. This is all health and normal.
For more information, check out: Assigned Male Puberty