Going through puberty can be a confusing time for both girls and boys. Hormonal changes lead to hair growth, voice breaking and growth spurts in boys. For girls, they develop breasts and go through menstruation. Both are prone to acne. Many parents struggle to explain these changes to children. We got 12 kids, aged 10 to 17 to talk about puberty - and how it’s changing their lives. Parents, you’ll find this video encouraging and helpful.
What is Puberty?
I know what it is but not the perfect definition.
Hormonal changes and growing up. And it is different in boys and girls.
I am pretty sure puberty is when teenagers go through a weird space of time which makes their bodies… I don’t know.
So it is body changes and growing up and moods..
Mood swings.
We get lots of hair, our voice starts sounding gravelly, like there are stones in our throat. They call that voice breaking.
It’s painful. There are periods, there is acne, mood swings.
Some get early puberty, before their age, like 8 or 10 or 11.
Who Told You About Puberty?
First I got to know at school then mummy told me at home.
Internet
Friends
My mother
Unfortunately
They tried to, didn’t succeed… But they tried.
They tired it. There was lot of awkwardness.
Are You Looking Forward to Changes in Your Body?
No not really. I am just cool about it.
I’ll sound manlier so I am excited about it.
I think my voice will be deeper.
It gets more deeper and gravelly and I can do a better batman impression…
It already is!
I am happy growing taller and looking less like a baby and more like my mom.
Do you want a big mustache like your dad has?
No, because sometimes food got stuck in it. And he makes really bad jokes like ‘if I am hungry I’ll just lick the mustache.’
I find it ugly, like Virat Kohli has it.
Beard I would prefer, but not a mustache.
Is There Something About Puberty You Don’t Like?
Ya, acne. Like I have, and I have been dealing with this for the past one year. Sometimes it bothers me. Like when someone is making fun of my pimples. I just ignore them
Sometimes I get worried about weight gain.
Before my period, I cry and I go through ups and downs, intense PMS. So no one is like ready for something like that kind of emotional trauma.
Your entire perspective about the world, it changes completely. Because your friends become much more important, you are exploring so much more than you used to.
What is Menstruation?
Before, in commercials like Whisper, the diaper brand, I used to find it funny. I thought they were acting like babies. But now that I know the concept, it explains everything.
We studied in bio about how it happens.
They.. umm..
Chapter 10, grade 8…
Honestly I still don’t understand what they go through…
It’s basically bleeding everyone and dying in pain.
So you have the ovary, and ovary has eggs. Every month, your uterus prepares for say if the egg gets fertilized with the sperm, it prepares itself for the baby. But in case you don’t get pregnant, the uterine lining sheds and it comes out as blood, and that’s your period.
What Was it Actually Like When You Went Through Menstruation?
When I first got my period I didn’t tell my mom, because I was shy. So when she found out, she sat me down and was like why didn’t you tell me.
I was prepared a little, because I already knew about it. But ya, nothing can really prepare you for something like that.
It scared me at first. I started crying, I thought something was wrong with me. I could not believe that I got my period. I thought oh my god something is wrong with my body, my parents are going to have to pay for it.
We didn’t have a very frank conversation but they got me a book called ‘Just For Girls’ which practically every girl knows about. I was one of those people who was very excited to get her period. It’s something like, in the friend group it’s always like ‘Hey I got my period or whatever.’
I was ready for most of the body changes, but I was not ready for the emotional changes.
Editor: Kunal Mehra
Camera: Sumit Badola, Shiv Kumar Maurya
Children: Vihaan - 12, Yesha - 11, Arnav - 12, Anika - 11, Tejas - 10, Gul- 11, Vedant - 14, Mahikaa - 15, Jhanvi - 14, Jhanvi - 17, Ishika - 17, Parth - 17
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