Female Puberty – An Arduous Process!
Puberty is the process of a girl’s body maturing in preparation for reproduction. During puberty, hormones change which causes changes in their body. This process begins at different ages in different girls. Some girls begin the process as young as 8 years of age and some not until 12 or 13 years or even older.
When entering puberty, girls begin developing breasts, gain weight in their hips, buttocks, and thighs, and begin to grow hair under their arms, grow pubic hair, and their skin becomes oily, which can cause pimples in the majority of girls. At some point during this process, girls begin to menstruate. Once menstruation begins, girls are, of course, capable of becoming pregnant. Going through puberty is an arduous process with many emotional ups and downs.
During the process of going through puberty, most girls begin to be attracted to the opposite sex and begin to want to look womanly and attractive. They want to shave their legs, put on makeup, wear more fashionable clothing – even revealing clothing. Love songs become very interesting to them as they search to find out what that boy/girl thing is all about. They start flirting with boys in the form of trying to be around them as often as possible and performing acts to attract their attention – for example, seeking them out to talk or to aggravate them by any means handy that will get their attention. Of course, normally, those boys are also going through puberty and are acting just as silly towards the girls trying to attract their attention. It should be noted that there are some girls who are never attracted to the opposite sex but are very attracted to other girls. They still go through these same stages of puberty, their interests are simply directed in another direction.
During the puberty process, girls go through mood swings as their hormones change in their body. They may be happy one minute, crying the next minute, and angry the next – mostly over minor things or over nothing at all that a parent can see. All girls go through it and most make it just fine. Some mothers, however, have a harder time. They question their sanity and their ability to cope. Sometimes one wonders how it is that mother’s have any hair left after their little girls finally pass through puberty! Maybe they hang on to the thought that revenge will be theirs after their little girl has a little girl of her own and she has to cope with the puberty process!
This article is not intended as medical advice. You should consult your doctor with any questions regarding your child’s development.