{"id":22275,"date":"2023-06-07T18:19:25","date_gmt":"2023-06-07T18:19:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bloomforall.com\/parent\/?p=22275"},"modified":"2023-10-10T01:17:29","modified_gmt":"2023-10-10T01:17:29","slug":"what-is-puberty-parents-guide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bloomforall.com\/parent\/what-is-puberty-parents-guide\/","title":{"rendered":"A Parent\u2019s Guide to Navigating the Stages of Puberty"},"content":{"rendered":"

Written by Lori Reichel, Ph.D.  |  Reviewed by Hina J. Talib, MD<\/em><\/p>

As a parent or caregiver, having a young person in your life go through the stages of puberty can be both exciting and challenging to navigate. Understanding and embracing the changes they will experience will help you navigate the next few years. You can learn to not just survive the teenage years, but thrive through them together.<\/p>

What Is Puberty?<\/h2>

Puberty is a time when your young person\u2019s body changes as it prepares for sexual maturity. They usually start going through these changes around 8-10 years old, and continue to go through changes for the next 5-7 years. Everyone develops at their own pace, however, so don\u2019t be concerned if your child doesn\u2019t enter puberty at the exact same time as their friends. <\/p>

Experts call the puberty stages the Tanner Stages of puberty<\/a> or the Sexual Maturity Rating. During a period of 5-7 years, your young person will grow and develop pubic hair, armpit hair, breasts and uterine\/vaginal development in those assigned female at birth, and penis, scrotum and testicle growth in those assigned male at birth.<\/p>

Learn more about the stages of puberty with our deep dive into the 5 stages of puberty<\/a>.<\/p>

Supporting Your Tween or Teen Through Puberty<\/h2>

With all these changes, you may wonder how you can support your child throu<\/a>ghout puberty<\/a>.<\/p>

Here are some tips:<\/p>