Have you ever wondered what to expect when you go through puberty? Here is everything you need to know about puberty for boys!
Before we start, you should note that this is not medical advice. The following information is based on personal experience and research as a teenage boy and common things that happen during puberty.
Everyone goes through puberty a little differently, so just know that everything discussed may not all apply to you.
With that out of the way, let’s talk about puberty!
What is Puberty for Boys?
Puberty is essentially the transition between being a kid and being an adult. You will experience many changes (physically and emotionally).
You will go through the process of becoming a man. There are plenty of things to enjoy from this process and there are also some annoying changes that take some getting used to.
Luckily, puberty is only a small fraction of your life. However, it is an important fraction that will help you learn a lot about yourself.
But what is actually causing the start of puberty?
Why Do Boys Go Through Puberty?
Around the ages of 8-14, your brain will start to promote the production of hormones. One of those hormones is testosterone.
Testosterone is the hormone responsible for regulating your sex drive, helping you grow your testes and scrotum, and managing other internal body responsibilities.
As these hormones release, you will start to feel emotional changes along with many differences in your body’s shape, size, and appearance.
These hormones have properties in them that affect brain chemistry and circuitry, which is why you may start to feel different.
All of these changes will be discussed down below…
Physical Changes During Puberty for Boys
The first thing that happens when you go through puberty is that your testicles and penis will start to get bigger. This is to promote the production of sperm (a cell used to create children).
Here are a few other physical changes you may experience through puberty:
- Body growth (getting taller, slightly wider)
- Muscle growth (more defined muscles)
- Hair growth (on your face, armpits, pubic area, chest, and more)
- Voice cracks (your voice is getting deeper)
- Acne
- Body odor
- More hungry (because your body is growing)
Those are the main things that are likely to occur as you grow. It’s important to regulate these changes (discussed later) in order to keep your body in check.
Keep in mind, everyone starts this process at a slightly different age (and there’s nothing wrong with that. If you’re way shorter than your classmates or even other females your age, you might just have a later start to puberty.
Emotional Changes During Puberty for Boys
On top of physical changes to your body, all those hormones will also start to affect your brain emotionally.
You may feel things that you’ve never felt before. Your complete set of emotions are starting to fully develop, and you may have tendencies that you’ve never had.
Here are some emotional changes that you’re likely to experience through puberty:
- Sexual desires
- Depression
- Mood Swings
- Rebellious
- Uncertainty
- Emotional sensitivity
Understand that these feelings are completely normal! There is no shame in having those sexual thoughts as long as you keep them to yourself.
You may have experienced erections (the feeling of your penis getting hard) or the feeling of waking up and wetting the bed.
All of these feelings are natural responses to the changes in your body. There isn’t much you can do to prevent this from happening.
What Age Does Puberty Start for Males?
The early stages of puberty can start anywhere from the age of 8-14 in males (with the average age being around 12 years old).
Again, if you feel like you’re starting puberty at 7 or 15, it doesn’t mean there’s something wrong with you. You are just an early or late bloomer that will catch up in the end.
If you start to see an incredibly fast growth at a very early age, speak with a doctor to go over those changes and determine if there is an underlying cause.
When Does Puberty End?
Boys end puberty around 15 years old on average (give or take a couple years). It is normal to start early and end early or vice versa.
Puberty lasts about 3-5 years for teenage boys.
It’s completely normal to end puberty a year or two before the average time, but speak with a doctor if you still feel the effects of puberty after the age of 17.
A common way to tell if you’re nearing the end of puberty is by seeing if your pubic hair has gone down towards your thighs.
Please note: Acne does NOT necessarily stop if puberty has stopped. Don’t use acne to determine if you’ve finished puberty. It’s not an accurate representation.
Common Questions from Teenage Boys
I’m sure you still have many questions about some personal things you may have experienced during puberty. Here are a few common questions that teenage boys have about puberty:
Why Does My Penis Get Hard A Lot?
Your increase in testosterone is promoting sexual thoughts and random bursts of blood flow to your penis.
When your penis fills up with blood, you get an erection.
It’s completely normal for it to happen often during puberty and it’s nothing to be ashamed of. Just make sure that you’re taking care of it properly and hiding it as best as you can in public.
Is it Normal to Wet the Bed?
You might experience instances where you wet the bed over night, but it’s not with urine (pee). These are known as “wet dreams”.
You may find that the fluid is more white and possibly sticky. This fluid is called semen.
Semen is the fluid that is produced in your testicles and is released from your penis during sexual stimulation (in other words – your penis starts to feel pleasure).
I recommend keeping an extra pair of boxers by your bed and in your locker in case of emergencies.
How Do I Grow My Muscles as a Teenage Boy?
Doing physical activities such as playing sports, riding your bike, jumping rope, or running around can be done at any age.
Lifting weights to grow muscles is not advised until you’re at least 12-13 years old. At that point you can start to perform exercises with light weights.
If you want exercises that don’t require weights, check out this full body workout for teenagers and ab workout for teenage guys. Both can be done at home!
Tips for Managing Your Puberty
Now that you know the ins and outs of puberty, it’s time to start caring for your body by taking the right steps to avoid messy accidents.
Here are a few tips to manage your puberty:
- Do your research (ask questions about personal things you’re going through)
- Understand that everyone goes through puberty differently
- Manage your hair (start learning about shaving your face and down there)
- Take care of how you smell (use deodorant everyday and shower often)
- Manage your acne (work on getting your skin clear and acne-free)
- Continue to exercise for at least 1 hour per day
- Do things that make you happy
- Communicate with your parents (it’s easy to slip away and hide from family during puberty)
The point is… your body is going through a ton of changes that require a little bit more maintenance. Be sure to talk to your parents about what you need to start taking care of yourself.
I’ll give you guys a few resources that go into more detail on some of these topics below…
Resources to Learn From
Going through puberty is a big learning experience and you shouldn’t be expected to know everything after reading through one little page of information.
To help you out with that, I’m going to list some of my favorite articles that go over the necessary tools you need to kick puberty in the butt and come out the other end as a man.
Here are some tools to help you get started:
- How to Shave
- Shaving Tips for Teenage Guys
- How to Groom Down There
- How to Shave Your Armpits
- Full Body Workout for Teenagers
- How to Get Clear Skin for Teenage Guys
- Daily Routine for Teenage Guys
Hopefully these resources will help you out on your journey to becoming a fully grown man.
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions leave them down below. Thanks for reading!
