Following the article at: http://grumpymumtobe.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/bringing-up-boys.html I ordered Raising Boys by Steve Biddulph 1998 (Finch Publishing) from the library.
Steve Biddulph believes there are 3 stages of boyhood; birth to six, six to fourteen and fourteen to adult.
A lot of the book is of no relevance to Jamie at the moment but I was interested to read about boys and testosterone. He writes; 'at the age of four, for reasons nobody quite understands, boys receive a sudden surge of testosterone - doubling their blood levels. At this age, little Jamie (his choice of name!) may become much more interested in action, heroics, adventures and vigourous play.
At five years of age, the testosterone level drops by a half, and young Jamie calms down again, just in time for school! Enough testosterone is still around for him to be interested in activity, adventure and exploration, but not especially in girls.
Somewhere between the ages of eleven and thirteen, the levels start to rise sharply again. Eventually they will increase by some 800% over the levels of toddlerhood. The result is a sudden growth and elongation of his arms and legs - so much that his whole nervous system has to rewire itself. In about 50% of boys, the testosterone levels are so high that some converts into oestrogen, and breast swelling and tenderness may be experienced. This is nothing to worry about.
The reorganisation of Jamie's brain, caused by the rapid growth, makes him dopey and disorganised for many months. If Jamie's parents know this is all part of puberty and take a relaxed, if vigilant, attitude then things should work out just fine.'
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment