What teen boys need to know
Like teenage girls, teenage boys also experience problems during adolescence.
Most boys start noticing changes in their bodies between ages 12 and 13.
Advertisement
During this period, they start getting much taller and bigger. How much they grow is determined mostly by the characteristics they inherit from their parents.
Each person enters puberty at a different time and with different speed.
Remember, everyone is different and whenever the changes happen to you is the right time for you.
Boys'voices become lower and deeper during puberty because of the presence of a hormone called testosterone.
This hormone causes the voice box to grow larger. Some boys find it embarrassing when their voices crack, especially because it is so unpredictable.
Don't worry; this, like other changes during puberty, is normal.
Some boys also find their breasts swell and become painful. A few boys have a lot of swelling, which makes them very worried that they are growing breasts like women.
This is perfectly normal. The swelling and tenderness are caused by all the hormones in their bodies.
Many adolescent boys and even some grown men spend so much time thinking and worrying about their penis. Is it too small? Is there something wrong with it?
The is a lot of false information about the penis: If you do not exercise the penis through sex, it will stop functioning and decrease in size.
This is false. Sex is not exercise for the penis. Your penis does not need any exercise. It will work fine without any sex at all.
Abstinence or waiting can never hurt your penis. A penis increases in size the more you have sex.
False again. Your penis size is determined by the traits you inherit from your parents and not anything you do with it
Accumulated sperm causes backache, madness, headache, impotence and acne.
False. Even though your testicles produce millions of sperm, it is impossible for too much sperm to build up and cause problems. In addition, sperm cannot move around to different parts of your body.
Wet dreams are a sign that you need to have sex.
False! Wet dreams are just one way that your body gets rid of sperm and semen. It is not a sign that you need to have sex. Your body can regulate itself just fine without you taking any risks.
Boys are also encouraged to practise good hygiene, whether they are circumcised or not. It is important to wash and clean the penis every day, just as you do to every part of your body such as your teeth, armpit and entire body.
