Puberty

Puberty is the biggest physical development change in the child's life during late childhood. Puberty is a rapid growth and physical change of the body for boys and girls. Girls will encounter changes in breasts, the appearance of hair, and start menstruating. Boys will also experience more body hair, changes in voice, larger scrotum, and ejaculation will start to happen while asleep.

For both boys and girls this is a time of increase in sexuality and hormones. Almost all of children during puberty will start experimenting with masturbation and a heightened preoccupation with physical appearance. There will be an increase in social interactions with the opposite sex and there will start to be sexual attraction and may begin around this stage. This is also a time where emotions are changing and getting more sensitive in girls and testosterone levels in boys increase. Due to these factors of puberty, this can cause conflict between the child and the parent. In late childhood, the child will start to become more independent and peers start becoming more important than parents when trying to fit in. Pre-teens will start to think more abstractly and rationally, asserting themselves and their own opinions rather than parental control (The Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada, 2012).

Parents can alleviate this issue of conflict and distance between their child and them by listening, the number one way to build trust and a healthy relationship. The earlier a parent starts communication, the easier it will be to know what their child is going through and keeping them open to telling the truth throughout their older years (The Nemours Foundation, 2016).

Ways to collaborate with your child during puberty:

• Listen
• Talk to your kids early and often about puberty
• Put yourself in your child's shoes
• Pick your battles (try to understand why they do things)
• Set expectations
• Inform the child on potential peer pressure and know your child's friends and their parents

Santrock. J.W. (2016). Essentials of Lifespan Development. (4th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill

The Nemours Foundation. (2016). A parent's guide to surviving the teen years. Retrieved from http://kidshealth.org/en/parents/adolescence.html#

The Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada. (2012). Late childhood (9-12). Retrieved fromhttp://www.sexualityandu.ca/health-care-professionals/sexuality-and-child-development/late-childhood-9-12