Puberty

Puberty is the name for the time when the body starts to change and develop from a child to an adult, causing lots of different changes. Skin can become greasy and spotty, hair can start growing in places it hasn’t before and sweating and body odour may become an issue.

These changes affect everyone differently and at different ages, for girls, this is mainly between the age of 9 and 16 and for boys, most changes will happen between the age of 10 and 18.

As well as the physical changes, there are also likely to be emotional changes and young people may get angry, upset, worried and distant, sometimes for no particular reason. This is completely normal and is due to the changes in levels of hormones in the body. It’s always best to try and talk to young people about how they are feeling and reassure them about what’s normal.

Puberty is different for girls and boys, for more information on the different stages of puberty and what happens to girls and boys.