Review the posts made by your classmates and reply to at least two that explained different aspects of puberty you did not consider. Reply to those posts indicating which aspect(s) of their reasoning you found most compelling. 

 Jennifer Motl Puberty (classmate1)

Since I’m raising two boys, I’m going to focus my answers on the changes males make throughout puberty.

1. I would hope to be open and honest about the physical changes they are going through during this time. I imagine these conversations would be difficult as children in these ages may not want to discuss these issues. This conversation may be better accepted by my husband than me. I would want to let them know the changes they are going through are normal and everyone in this age range goes through the same changes. Probably the most sensitive topic that should be discussed is spermarche- another topic I would probably leave for my husband. I think it would also be important to discuss things like hygiene during this time. I imagine my boys would be embarrassed to have these conversations, but I think it’s important to be open so they feel comfortable coming to us with questions.

2. The psychosocial changes may be just as difficult for adolescents to process as the physical changes. As their bodies change and look more adult-like, they want to be treated like an adult. I think it’s important to give children this age the space they need, but it would be imperative to have important conversations about sex, drugs, and staying safe overall. I hope I can teach my children that they can trust me and come to me with anything.

3. In this age, they are also growing very rapidly in cognition. One area that I would definitely want to focus on is Idealism and Criticism. Children this age can have grand ideas about the world and how they think it’s supposed to be and then their reality doesn’t live up to their expectations. I think it’s important to discuss this and be patient as they begin to realize no one is perfect and we all have faults.

(classmate 2)

 Cynthia Castrejon puberty

I think that it is important as a parent to educate our children as much as possible about puberty. Some might feel embarrassed or awkward but we shouldn’t, we should prepare our children what to expect during these changes so that they are not scared when these changes do start to occur and that they know the correct information through parents/caregivers and not learn second hand information from peers. Most girls start puberty sometime between 8-12 and boys between 10-15. For girls’ noticeable physical changes will be breast growth and armpit and pubic hair and the start of their period. For boys’ physical changes are armpit and pubic hair and growth of penis to be wider and longer.

Psychosocial changes that occur during this time, this could be hard on a growing teenager. Finding yourself and your friends. I try to explain that friends change because everyone is changing during that time and friendships do to.

The cognitive changes that occur during this time occurs very rapidly. I would just want my child to know to make smart choices and think things thoroughly about decisions about friendships, school, work and relationships. I would want them to now not to be too critical and respect the views of others.

Dowshen, S. (Ed.). (2015, January). Talking to Your Child About Puberty (for Parents) – Nemours KidsHealth. https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/talk-about-puberty.html.

ADLER, L., & Turley , R. Cognitive Development in teenage years . https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/encyclopedia/content.aspx?contenttypeid=90.