Physical, Emotional, and Social Changes at Puberty Grade 7 & 8 Health Unit 3 Making Healthy Choices in Relationships

Healthy Living In Grade 7 & 8 the units in Health are: Making Healthy Choices Making Connections for Healthy Living Making Healthy Choices in Relationships

Unit 3 (May-June) Making Healthy Choices in Relationships Physical and Emotional Changes at Puberty Making Informed Choices about Sexual Health Communicating Clearly Identifying Sexually Transmitted Infections Sexual Health and Safety Factors that Contribute to Healthy Development

Physical, Emotional, and Social Changes at Puberty explain how relationships with others and sexual health may be affected by the physical and emotional changes associated with puberty

Before we begin… Ask questions as you have them and/or write them down and hand them in at the end of each topic Everyone hands in a piece of paper with a question on it at the end of every topic. (If you don’t have a question, write a line or two from a song or poem.) GROUND RULES…

GROUND RULES Giggling is okay - this can be embarrassing for you. Respect what other’s say; no put-downs. Okay to pass, i.e., not answer a question. Understand other’s feelings - be sensitive and respect their differences. No personal questions or stories from student or teacher. Discuss puberty topics responsibly outside the classroom.

GROUND RULES Remember - there are no dumb questions, only questions that need answers. Use correct names for body parts - ask if you can’t remember. Let the teacher know if you want to speak to him/her privately. Expect the teacher to respect confidentiality except if she/he is required by law to disclose information, e.g., sexual abuse. Speak for yourself; use “I” statements and don’t point at others.

Physical, Emotional, and Social Changes During Puberty Changes at puberty may include: physical changes (e.g., voice changes, body growth) – in black on slides to follow emotional changes (e.g., increased intense feelings, new interest in relationships, confusion and questions about changes) – in green on slides to follow social changes (e.g., changing social relationships, increasing influence of peers) – what we will be focussing on in the intermediate years in health class e.g. effect of physical maturation and emotional changes on family relationships, interest in intimate relationships and effect on peer relationships, new expectations within family or culture with reaching of puberty/adolescence and how this affects a youth

Physical Changes During Puberty Review from Grade 5 When does puberty begin? While there are typical age ranges for when changes occur, it’s normal for each person to develop at their own rate. Changes may start in females between ages 8 and 13, and in males between ages 9 and 14. For some individuals, the changes will begin earlier and for others, the changes will start later.

What changes happen to females during puberty? Get taller and heavier Bones grow bigger and heavier Hips get wider and more curvy Face changes shape Voice gets a little deeper

What changes happen to females during puberty? Hair grows under the armpits, around the genitals (pubic hair) Hair on arms and legs grows darker Breasts and nipples get larger Body sweats more Internal and external sex organs grow (vagina, cervix, uterus, ovaries, fallopian tubes, endometrium, and clitoris) Menstruation begins May have mood swings, sexual thoughts and feelings

What changes happen to males during puberty? Grow taller and heavier Bones grow bigger and heavier Nose and jaw get bigger and face gets longer Get more muscles Hair and skin can become oily and you may get pimples Body sweats more Hair grows on the face, under the armpits, around the genitals (pubic hair).

What changes happen to males during puberty? May get more hair on arms, legs and chest. Voice gets deeper Penis and testicles grow (and inside the urethra, prostate gland, seminal vesicles, and vas deferens develop) Scrotum changes Breasts may grow May have mood swings, sexual thoughts and feelings

Stages of Puberty in Males

Stages of Puberty in Females

Questions about physical changes in females… Height and Weight Voice Muscles Pimples and odour Body hair Breast growth Widening hips Vaginal discharge Menstruation

Questions about physical changes in males… Height and Weight Voice Muscles Pimples and odour Body hair Penis size, shape, and growth foreskin and circumcision Testicles Erections and Ejaculations

Emotional Changes During Puberty Review from Gr. 6 1. Feeling overly sensitive During puberty, since your body undergoes many changes, it is common to feel uncomfortable about them and become overly sensitive about your physical appearance. As a result you may feel irritated quite easily, lose your temper or feel depressed. It will be useful to be aware of the changes in your behaviour and talk about it with someone that you're comfortable talking to.

Emotional Changes During Puberty 2. Looking for an identity Since you are in the process of becoming an adult, you may feel inclined to figure out what makes you unique as a person. There is also a general tendency that you associate more with your friends than your family members. Psychologically, it may be because your friends are going through a similar phase as you. You may try to figure out how you are different from others and how you fit into the world. This may eventually lead to some sort of a struggle to become more independent of your parents and family.

Emotional Changes During Puberty 3. Feeling uncertain Since you're not completely an adult and are not a child anymore, puberty can potentially lead to uncertain times. As a transition phase, you may begin to wonder and think about new and unfamiliar aspects of life such as career, livelihood and marriage. Since, all of this is new and unfamiliar when you start thinking along these directions, you may feel uncertain about the future. This uncertainty becomes more evident when the expectations that people close to you have from you also change. You may be expected to take on greater responsibilities than what was expected from you as a child. Eventually you will grow into your new roles and become more certain about yourself, but this process will take its own time depending on how you respond to this situation.

Emotional Changes During Puberty 4. Peer pressure With the onset of puberty, your conversations with your friends will increase. Your peer group and you are likely to be influenced by what you see around you in popular media and the culture that is represented through them. You might often pick up on what's in and what's out in terms of the way you dress, your language and even your behaviour depending upon what you see. This maybe uncomfortable at times and would probably even change your likes and dislikes. It's also one of the ways in which you struggle to fit in with your peers. These events can lead to a gap between what is perceived as appropriate by your parents and your friends.

Emotional Changes During Puberty 5. Conflicting thoughts Since you are somewhere in between as a teenager during puberty, you may feel stuck between how you were as a child and how you wish to be as an adult. For example, you might want to be more independent and at the same time, might also look for support from your parents. Another example could be along the lines of whether you wish to give up on your interests that you had as a child to be able to fit in with your friends. As a result you may feel conflicted and look for clarity.

Emotional Changes During Puberty 6. Mood swings To add to the uncertainty and conflicting thoughts, you may also experience frequent and sometimes extreme changes in your mood. For example, sometimes your mood will swing between feeling confident and happy to feeling irritated and depressed in a short span of time. These frequent swings in how you feel are called mood swings. They may occur due to shifting levels of hormones in your body and other changes taking place during puberty.

Emotional Changes During Puberty 7. Feeling conscious about self The onset of puberty can vary on an individual basis. Therefore the way you grow maybe different from the way your friends grow. This can make you conscious about the way you're growing up and your body. These experiences are more pronounced for girls because they develop faster and earlier than boys. Also the changes in their bodies such as development of breasts and widening of hips are more noticeable. This may make them feel more conscious about their body in presence of their peers of the same age group.

Emotional Changes During Puberty 8. Getting sexual feelings Puberty is also the phase after which you develop sexual maturity. Sexual maturity is the stage of your life when you can have children. One aspect of sexual maturity is being curious about sex and also about bodies of people that you are attracted to. With the onset of puberty, it is normal for a boy or a girl to be sexually attracted to people that they would want be more than 'just friends' with. You may also feel sexually excited by normal everyday activities such as reading a romantic novel or watching a romantic scene on television. These feelings are normal and there is nothing to feel guilty about. You may have many questions about sex. It is a good idea to talk to a trusted adult with whom you're comfortable discussing sex. You should get your questions answered and should stay informed on safe sex.

Social Changes During Puberty Brainstorm a physical change and an emotional change associated with puberty that may have an effect on your relationships with others. Write at least one of each on separate sticky notes. Post it under the appropriate heading. e.g. effect of physical maturation and emotional changes on family relationships, interest in intimate relationships and effect on peer relationships, new expectations within family or culture with reaching of puberty/adolescence and how this affects a youth

Social Changes During Puberty Think about each question on the placemat and to write a response to it in the corresponding corner of the placemat. Share responses in small groups.

Social Changes During Puberty Using the group’s summarized responses, individually complete the centre of your placemat highlighting the impact of changes during puberty on relationships. e.g. physical maturation and emotional changes can have an effect on family relationships; interest in intimate relationships can affect peer relationships; there can be a risk of STIs and/or pregnancy with sexual contact

Social Changes During Puberty Summarize the impact of changes during puberty on relationships in a “tweet” of 140 characters.

Social Changes During Puberty Identify one way today’s lesson can be used in your life.

QUESTION TIME! Everyone hands in a piece of paper with a question on it. (If you truly don’t have a question, write a line or two from a song or poem.)