All About Puberty

Here's a quick list of all the changes that happen during puberty for girls – outside and inside. These changes will usually happen over a 3-4 year period. Some changes will happen quite quickly and others more slowly. You will:

• Have a growth spurt – growing taller, wider and becoming more curvy
• Begin to develop breasts
• Put on weight – which is necessary for your body to remain healthy
• Grow hair in different places – under the arms and between your legs
• Discover that the hair on your legs and arms begins to get darker/thicker
• Sweat a lot more
• Develop body odour
• Notice that your skin and hair become greasier
• Possibly get stretch marks on your skin
• Develop reproductive organs – big words, but we'll explain later!
• Find that your knickers become stained with a white sticky discharge
• Start your periods
• Begin to look less like a child in your face and more like an adult
• Get acne

So what do you think? Excited about all that? Or horrified? Scared even? It's quite likely that you'll be happy about some of these things and not so happy about others. That's normal. Welcome to puberty!

It's quite common for the changes to happen in this order, but it's not definite. Like everything else about puberty, it may be different for you.

The changes will be gradual, like growing taller and wider, but when it comes to periods, they may suddenly start one day, quite unexpectedly, and it can come as a bit of a shock. We have a whole section on periods so you'll know exactly what to expect if they haven't already started. Even if they have, you're bound to find some info there that you didn't already know.

It often starts at around age 8, occasionally sooner than that. Some girls, though, don't start to show any signs of change until they're maybe 11, 12 or 13. Remember, your body will begin changing when it is ready.

Starting to grow breasts is often (but not always) the first sign of puberty.

Up until this point, you will have been flat-chested with two darker-coloured circles on either side of your chest. These circles are called nipples by most people, though they are really made up of two parts: the nipple and the areola. The nipple is in the centre of the areola and is slightly raised. They may be coloured anywhere from pale pink to dark brown.

Behind each nipple, a breast bud will begin to grow. It will feel like a little lump and can sometimes be a little sore or tender, even itchy. This is quite natural. Your breast buds may not start growing at the same time and this is also normal – which means the breast buds may be different sizes as they are growing.

The breast buds will continue to grow bigger and will cause your nipple and areola to raise up. At the same time, the nipples and areola will start to look a bit puffy. Gradually the whole area will begin to swell. You'll notice this especially when wearing tee-shirts. People will sometimes call them "bumps". Unfortunately that's not very helpful to girls who might be feeling a little uncomfortable about developing breasts.

When your breasts first begin to grow, they will look "pert", which means that they grow outwards. As your breasts continue to grow into a more adult shape they will widen sideways.

There is a mix of fatty tissue, milk glands and ducts.

Breasts are the main way that women feed their babies. Of course, some babies are fed with milk from a bottle, but that's a different story. You grow breasts so that you can breastfeed your baby one day, but it's not until you actually give birth that the milk will develop.

It's quite common for girls to start getting breast buds around eight years of age, but it's also perfectly natural for girls to get no breast development till their mid teens.

The average time is around four years, but some girls will take less than this, and some may take up to eight years. Also, your breast development may stop and start at different times. It may not be until you are in your early 20s that your breasts have stopped developing fully.

This is why it is important to always get measured for your bras every 6-12 months.

That's impossible to say. Some women with larger shaped bodies have quite small breasts, some small women have large breasts and most women have something in-between. The size of your breasts is affected by your hormones, which you have no control over.

The best thing you can do is to accept that the shape and size of your breasts is special to you, to appreciate yourself and to take good care of your breasts like every other part of your body. You will need to be patient too, because your breasts make take quite a few years before they are finished growing.

This may seem rather difficult to do when there is a lot of attention on women's breasts in society, whether on television, in magazines, newspapers and films.The media gives girls the impression that big breasts make them more attractive, and you may also hear of women getting "boob jobs" to make their breasts bigger.

Having bigger or smaller breasts will not make you perfect or more attractive. There is a whole lot more to you than breasts – and that is what you need to remember. Your personality and the way you treat people make you far more attractive than a pair of boobs.

Oh yes. In fact, if you're ever in the changing rooms at the local swimming pool or gym, you will notice how different women's breasts are. Some will be wide apart, some will be close. It is natural to be curious and fascinated, but please try not to stare!

And it's not only the shape of the breasts that differ. Women's nipples and areola are really different too. Some women have nipples that stand out quite a lot, some will be quite flat. Some women's areola are large, some are small. The position of the nipple and areola on the breast can vary too. Some will be low, some will be high. Remember too that the colour of the nipple and areola may be anywhere from pale pink to dark brown.

It's like everything else about us – we are all different in so many ways.

It's actually very common for girls and women to have one breast slightly smaller than the other. Although you may find it weird at first, they tend to even out in time. As you get older it is unlikely to bother you at all.

The only time when it may cause some difficulty is buying a bra that will look and feel right. If there is a big difference between the size of each breast, you can use a little padding to even them out.

Once you have finished growing, it is still quite usual for one breast to be slightly different in size to the other. Many women are like this and no one even notices so it's not something you need to worry about at all.

This is known as an inverted nipple. Girls and women may have one or both breasts with an inverted nipple, meaning it tucks up inside the areola. This is usually nothing to worry about. However, if a nipple has always stood out and suddenly becomes inverted then it would be sensible to see a doctor.

If your breasts are tendor or sore before or during your periods, or they feel tight and swollen, this is quite normal. There is nothing to worry about. This discomfort should only last a day or so, and is something you will get used to.

If you are finding the nipples painful against clothing and you're not yet wearing a bra, consider getting a crop-top which is perfect for giving you a bit of protection while you are still growing.

Girls and women have been known to put plasters over their nipples to stop them rubbing. This isn't a good idea, but if you decide to do something drastic like that, just remember that it will really hurt when you pull the plaster off!

This is a common concern for many girls but you can stop worrying. Breast cancer is a disease that affects older women. Any lumps that you find during puberty will be a natural part of your breast development. Of course, if you are so worried that you are in danger of making yourself sick, talk to a parent about this and they might make a doctor's appointment for you.

If you find little tiny lumps on the areola, these are perfectly natural. Sometimes they might be more noticeable when you are cold – they look like goosebumps.

You won't need a bra until your breast buds have grown and your breasts have begun to swell a bit. The right time is really when you feel that you're ready for that stage. You may begin to be more aware that your breasts are starting to show through your clothes. This is a good time to talk to a parent.

You might be happy at first to get a cropped-top-style bra and get yourself comfortable wearing that under your clothes first before a proper bra. We've done a special feature How to buy the right bra for girls, which gives advice on how to get started.

Please stay away from underwired bras until your breasts have grown quite a lot and your breast shape is obvious. We know that lots of underwired bras are pretty and make you look more grown up, but they are not the best idea for girls who are still growing.

As you begin puberty, your skin will begin to change. It tends to get more oily, and this often results in acne. If you are lucky, you might just get a few pimples. Unfortunately, some girls will suffer from really bad acne.

See our feature Looking after your skin, which gives advice on getting into a safe skincare routine, what to do about acne, and the type of products to use.

Well, for starters ...

1. sleep makes us feel good!
2. it keeps us alert and wide awake during the day when we should be
3. we can be more creative, more flexible, and be cleverer in the way we think
4. it improves our concentration
5. our memory is better
6. our reflexes are better (how quickly we can react to things).

Plus, our bodies are also quite busy when we’re sleeping and resting and if we're not getting enough sleep, then our bodies can't do this important work that helps to keep us well.

One of the difficulties for children today is all the eletronic gadgets that tend to keep them away – TV, mobile phones, computers, games, etc. Staying up late to play with these things means the day gets pushed further into night and the body's natural systems get messed up.

We need different amounts of sleep according to our age:

• babies sleep the most
• children aged 5-12 can need between 9-11 hours
• teenagers need just over 9 hours
• adults need less.

As you know, puberty is about changes to the body, which affects everything! Hormones are produced to help to deal with those changes – emotional and physical. If you add a lack of sleep to this, you ...

• may have trouble controlling your temper
• might have more mood swings
• might feel anxious or nervous lots of the time
• won't deal well with stress
• and, unfortunately, as a girl you may be at risk of suffering from depression.

Basically, your health can suffer quite badly from a lack of sleep, so these are things you really want to avoid.

A good night's sleep will leave you feeling rested, relaxed and refreshed. If you are regularly disturbed during the night or you wake up and your bed clothes are all over the place and twisted around you, or you still feel tired in the morning or sleepy in the afternoon, then you are not getting good quality sleep.

Look above to see how much sleep you should be getting every night. You should not make a habit of trying to catch up at the weekends because this starts to mess up your body clock, and you will never be able to catch up.

Keep roughly to the same time and same hours every night (give or take 15-30 minutes) and you’ll feel great.

Napping a lot is not good. If you need to nap most days it means you’re not getting enough quality sleep. However, a nap is a good idea if you’ve had a late night and only managed a few hours sleep. Take a 20 minute nap in the afternoon and then get to bed at your usual time and you’ll probably sleep through to your waking-up time.

How would you know if you're not getting enought sleep? If you often:

... then you are quite probably not getting enough good sleep.

As hard as this may seem, get your computer and tv out of your bedroom! Or at least, turn them off at least an hour before you should be turning the lights off.

Start learning to make good choices. If you learn to make these good choices when you are young, you will have a much better chance of being able to look after your health when you are older.

Top tips for good sleep

• Work out from our list above how many hours' sleep you need each night, and stick to it every night.
• Have a regular bed-time routine - including turning off the tv, computer, mobile phone, etc an hour before going to bed to give your body the signals that it's time to sleep.
• Keep your room cool at night, and as dark as possible.
• Go to bed and wake up at roughly the same time every night and morning.
• Wake up to some quiet music or the radio, rather than the alarm.
• Get some exercise every day - 30 minutes is good.
• Eat well. That includes fruit and veges!
• Take control of your own health.
• Learn to recognise when you are suffering from a lack of sleep.

• Clock watch.
• Sleep in at weekends or during the holidays.
• Rely on high-caffeine drinks to keep you awake.
• Spend time on your phone or the computer or watch TV before bed.

Fun things to try and further reading

Download our Tips for sleeping well and see if you can improve your sleep by trying just five things on the list.

www.bbc.co.uk/science/humanbody/sleep

Try the Sheep game on the BBC's website. It's a fun way to test your reactions. How awake are you really? But we'd prefer you try something other than coffee if your reactions are slow!

Once you reach the age of 9, you need to start looking after your bones. Your bones do a lot more than just keep your body standing up!

Up until your 20s to 30s, your bones have their best chance of becoming strong, and you need to do as much as possible to make sure this happens. The proper term for this is "building bone density". Bones with poor density are more easily broken, and this becomes a huge problem once you get older.

It is really important that you do the following to build your bone density in your teens because it's extremely hard to build bone density when you are older:

• drink lots of water
• avoid all fizzy drinks (these weaken your bones really badly!)
• get plenty of "weight-bearing" exercise (see the list below) every day, at least 30 minutes' worth
• eat foods that are high in calcium and Vitamin D.

Weight-bearing exercise includes anything where you have to support your body's weight when you are exercising, such as:

• walking
• running
• jumping
• skipping
• dancing
• aerobics
• football & netball.

Cycling and swimming are not weight-bearing.