PUBERTY IS NOT A DISEASE!

It usually takes an entire class period for us to cover the changes we’ve been talking about in this chapter. The pupils in our classes are curious about these things, and they often have a lot of questions. Most of them agree that knowing about things like sore or swollen breasts, spots, stretch marks and breaking voices helps you to deal with them if they happen to you. Still, hearing about all of them at once can be a bit overwhelming. As one boy put it:

I’m not sure I’m exactly looking forward to all these things happening to me. Puberty is beginning to sound like some kind of disease!

Puberty definitely isn’t a disease. The changes we’ve described in this chapter and in other parts of this book are natural and healthy. They’re a normal part of growing up and becoming a man. Still, when we start focusing on things like perspiration, spots, breaking voices and so on, puberty can start to sound like just one hassle after another. By the end of the class in which we cover these things, we can see that some people are starting to think that puberty sounds like more trouble than it’s worth! So we tell them, ‘Hey, don’t get discouraged!’

First of all, the problem things don’t happen to everyone. Not everyone has spots, a voice that breaks or swollen, sore breasts. For most boys, the physical changes of puberty happen without any difficulties. And even for those who do have some problems, it’s not such a big deal. So your voice breaks. Even if it’s embarrassing, no one ever died of embarrassment.

Sometimes, spending a whole class period — or, in the case of this book, a whole chapter – on these problems can give you a distorted picture. It can make them loom larger or seem more important than they really are. So at the end of the class, we ask everyone to make a list of the five things they like best about going through puberty and growing up. Here are some of the things the boys in our classes have come up with.

more privileges hanging out with the older

getting to stay out later boys

being more my own boss getting a job

driving a car dating

new friends getting into films rated 15

new school having my body get stronger

more respect going to parties

more pocket money having my own money

making my own decisions joining the school team going to college

(sometimes)

Perhaps you’d like to take a few minutes to make a list of your own, to help yourself remember that puberty is a lot more than just spots and perspiration!

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