My feed
Premium

Please
or
to access all these features

Parenting a preteen can be a minefield. Find support here.

Preteens

Puberty in boys what are the stages?

10 replies

hulahoopsilove · 10/01/2015 10:10

DS is age 10 so wondering if this will be kicking in soon or will he be a little older and what are the stages?

OP posts:
FannyFanakapan · 10/01/2015 10:26

I have 2 boys - 12 and 15.

12yo is moody, but no real signs of puberty, apart from general grumpiness. Still very childish and immature.

15yo started a year ago - sudden foot growth was the first sign - size 6 in July, size 8.5 by October, size 9 by December.

Became (for him) a little....rounded. Hes quite the athlete, so no spare flesh normally, but suddenly he had a bit of a paunch and, to his shame, slight moobs.

Then overnight he started growing very rapidly. 14cm in a year. Scrawny as a scrawny thing now. He was always quite stocky before, but no longer. BO. Hairy legs. Hairy pits.

He still has about 4 inches to grow, if he sticks to his red book targets. He is out of proportion - his torso is almost full sized and he is starting to get adult muscle definition - pecs and a six pack, but his legs are still out of proportion. Voice never really broke, just got progressively deeper.

I think 13/14 is about the age most boys start puberty, although some are much earlier and some much later.

enderwoman · 11/01/2015 18:51

My Ds is in y9. During y8 he went from one of the shortest in the year to a couple of inches shorter than me. (I'm 5'8) He has underarm and pubic hair and smells more than in y7. His hair goes greasy looking if he doesn't wash it daily. He started y8 size 6 and ended up a size 8. He's just gone into a size 9.5.
No sign of facial hair or voice breaking. Yet but the same goes for his closest mates.

hulahoopsilove · 11/01/2015 21:39

so IVe got a few years yet then mine is year 5 and nearly 10 - definately got the grumpiness though!!!

OP posts:
FannyFanakapan · 12/01/2015 10:39

hulahoop, you likely have a couple of years yet, but I do know of lads who were 6'4 by 12! And one of ds' friends is just 5'6 and is 16 and still has a baby face...

In my experience, as parent to 2, and sister to 2 brothers, watch for the rapid foot growth as herald to it all.

EdithWeston · 12/01/2015 10:48

Grumpy, greasy and growing. Oh, and grunting.

Actually, they're still (usually) perfectly pleasant and funny. But they can be touchy, and if feeling thwarted in any way, there are teen tantrums. It's like going in to a sort of downwards spiral that they can't control. I try to show them more positive ways of dealing with Stuff, but it feels like long haul, and there are times when they just cannot listen and are best left alone for a while.

Greasy is the hair, accompanied by a change in body odour (which I put down to increased testosterone) and that happened ages before an increase in body hair.

Mine grew upwards before growing outwards. 14 yo has a paunch at the moment. He's not overweight though (paunch possibly only showing because the rest of him is skinny) so I'm hoping it'll correct as the proportions change.

Ragwort · 12/01/2015 11:02

Grumpy, greasy and growing. Oh, and grunting.

What a great expression Grin - I have a 13 year old boy and can relate to that.

You will start buying large quantities of Lynx.

hulahoopsilove · 12/01/2015 12:00

ah I noticed the BO about 6 months ago I got him deoderant but must admit he usually forgets to use it and he doesnt seem to smell now strange one minute I can smell BO the next I cant.

He is very tall for hsi age anyway age nearly 10 and around 150cm now!!!!

OP posts:
Ringsender · 12/01/2015 12:08

watching this thread with interest.

My DS is 10, started showing signs of changing last year (age 9 1/4 onwards or so) - the hair on his legs has coarsened, and his 'tache is darkening (we are all dark-skinned, so I had a 'tache at age 11). He is also softening, although really muscly underneath, as he does loads of sports. And touchy, oh so touchy and angry, especially when thwarted. Then cuddly soon after.

I'm quite worried that as he's hitting pre-puberty/early puberty quite early that he's going to be quite stunted in growth. Am I wrong in that assumption? He hasn't grown much at all, except for his feet, which were always a bit hobbity. His school friends are shooting up, and he's now one of the smaller ones in class.

SunshineDaisy · 14/01/2015 22:42

DS1 hit puberty around 12/13. Grew about a foot in six months. Started school in September at 5'3 was 5'9 by April when we got his next lot of school uniform! Like others mentioned his shoe size grew overnight! He went from a 5 to a 9 in six months. He's 17 now and 6' wearing shoe size 11! He had a bit of paunch at around 13/14 but he's lost it now and is fairly muscular.
DS2 started a bit younger, the spring before he turned 12 (August birthday). Didn't grow taller so rapidly but shoe size went from a 6 in January to a 9 in August. We think he's finally stopped growing now. He turned 15 last year and stopped growing in the summer after reaching 6'3 and shoe size 13! Never really put any weight on and is currently quite scrawny despite being quite athletic.
DS1's voice never really broke, just became deeper but DS2's dropped over night around 12 and 1/2. I would say body odour started around the same time. In terms of mood both of ours have been great, we haven't really had any temper tantrums. DS1 has always been quiet and has stayed that way and DS2 has always been quite loud and jokey and still is! So we're hoping to have the same luck in a few years with DS3 (currently 8)!

sunnyfrostyday · 15/01/2015 18:01

Just borrowed a library book on this subject for ds1 to read. He's 11 (year 6), and has become greasy, spotty, hormonal, and has suddenly grown loads of pubic hair. All in 6 weeks.

I thought it was time to warn him about the rest...Smile

Please create an account

To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.