There is so much for our young adolescent sons to learn about the changes happening to them during puberty. But what are you supposed to do if they don’t want to learn from you?

Start Teaching Your Son Early

First recommendation, start early. From ten years old to about 12 years old, you might still be able to initiate some great talks with your son. After that, you will need to be much more creative in the ways you get information to him.

What does he need to know? I think helping him understand an ejaculation is the most important new physical response of his body that he should know. He has likely experienced spontaneous erections for many years, but he won’t begin having ejaculations until he is in puberty because he needs lots of testosterone to make it happen.

There are three reasons why understanding an ejaculation is important information for your son. This is a useful image to help describe the anatomy.

• The fluid part of an ejaculate comes primarily from glands in his pelvis, the prostate gland and two seminal vesicles. When puberty starts, these glands begin producing fluid every day.
• The sperm component of the ejaculate is actually a small part of the volume of the ejaculate, but there are usually about 100 million sperm in total. It would be good for him to know that sperm are constantly being produced in very large numbers every day to meet the large numbers needed for an ejaculate.
• Semen is the fluid that is formed when the fluid part of the ejaculate and the sperm mix together.
• Ejaculation is actually what happens when semen comes out of the penis. The amount is about 1 teaspoon.

For some boys, ejaculations can happen unexpectedly during sleep. They are called wet dreams or nocturnal emissions. Otherwise, your son will know when he is going to have an ejaculation because it will be the result of self-stimulation or sexual intercourse.

Teaching Them What They Need to Know

Just as with our daughters, our sons experience changes they need to be prepared for during puberty. Let’s make sure we get the information to them, even if it’s during a protest!