One kind of annoying (and possibly embarrassing) part of the rapid increase in size and height is that your arms, legs, hands, and feet may grow faster than the rest of your body. So while the rest of your body is catching up, you might feel a little (or more than a little) clumsy. Sooner or later your body will once again be all the same size and you’ll be back to your smooth self again.
KNOW THE FACTS
Hormones are chemical messengers that help your cells communicate with each other. Everyone has hormones. In boys the hormone that controls puberty is called testosterone. In girls, it’s called estrogen.
One of the first changes many boys notice when they start puberty is that their testicles (the glands that produce sperm and testosterone) start to get bigger, and the skin on their scrotum (the pouch of skin behind the penis that holds the testicles) gets darker. If this is happening to you, you may also have noticed that the skin on your scrotum is starting to look rougher too.
The male reproductive system is a pretty amazing bit of plumbing. It consists of the penis, the scrotum, the testicles, and the urethra. As you go through puberty you’ll notice that you grow pubic hair (hair around and above your penis) and that your penis gets larger.
Another thing you may discover is that because you have more testosterone in your system, you may have more frequent erections. Males are able to have erections (when the penis gets hard and sticks out more) even as babies; this is normal. But when these erections start happening more often (especially for what seems like no reason at all!) it can feel pretty embarrassing. Most of the time, if you don’t make a big deal out of it, no one will even notice you are having an erection. Especially if you are around other kids your age, chances are they are too busy feeling self-conscious about their own bodies to notice what is going on with yours!
QUICK TIP
Some boys get embarrassed when they have a wet dream because the semen can make a mark on the sheets. If you feel this way, you might want to negotiate with your parents to do your own laundry. Then you’ll be happy because you will be the only one who knows when you have a wet dream. Your parents will also be happy since it means they will have less laundry to do!
Another thing that can sometimes embarrass boys going through puberty is something doctors call a “nocturnal emission” and everyone else calls a “wet dream.” A wet dream is when some semen (the sticky liquid that is stored in the testicles) comes out from a boy’s penis while he is asleep. Sometimes when this happens a boy remembers a certain type of dream; other times he just notices a wet spot on his pajamas or on the sheets after he wakes up.
If you don’t know about this in advance, a wet dream can seem weird or even a little scary. But wet dreams are a normal part of development. They will stop happening as you get older.
The Expert Says
Everyone is concerned about what other people think of them, how their bodies look, and how they compare to others.
A big part of puberty is growing hair in all sorts of places you never had hair before!
Often the first place a boy notices hair growing is above his penis. Usually, the next place he becomes a little furry is the underarms, followed by the face, usually on the upper lip. When this happens, the exciting process of learning to shave is right around the corner. You can read more about shaving in Chapter 2.