Something Doesn’t Smell Right – Is This Puberty?
*Is your son ready for early puberty?
*Your son might already notice changes and is concerned.
*Keep your talks with him brief (7 minutes) and fun.
You’re sitting down for a pleasant Saturday evening dinner with your family. Your 10-year-old son is sitting next to you. Suddenly, you notice an unpleasant smell coming from his direction. You realize that what you are smelling is body odor. The first thing you want to do is to tell him to take a shower. But, you stop yourself long enough to remember that one of the signs of early puberty is a change in body odor. And so it begins.
Now that you understand what is happening, should you talk to him after dinner and ask him to take a shower? Maybe before you make that request should you tell him about puberty? How do you begin that conversation?
It’s interesting with boys. By the time they are about 10 years old, many of them start feeling uncomfortable talking to you about a topic like puberty. You think to yourself, maybe I should just leave this information to the school to teach him.
Let me suggest a different option. There is only a small bit of information your son needs to know about puberty when he is only 10-11 years old. To start, it would be good for him to know that he is in puberty and his body is going to go through some changes. So that he doesn’t feel anxious about what those changes might be, give him this list.
- Small red bumps might start popping out on his face. These are called pimples. Keeping his face clean will help.
- His scrotum is going to become a little larger because his testicles are starting to produce sperm.
- He might start seeing tiny hairs growing near his scrotum and penis. These are called pubic hairs.
- Some boys might feel a little discomfort near their nipples. This won’t last very long and it’s normal.
This is likely going to be an uncomfortable conversation for you and your son. Seven minutes is long enough. Try to avoid explaining everything all at once. This list will peak his curiosity.
Now you need to follow up with a great resource that can explain why these changes are happening and give him a little more detail about each one. I can help with this.
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