Aakash’s voice is cracking. Now he is in his teenage, 14 years old.
When girls enter Puberty, we could see visible changes. But for boys it
is not just a day, it happens over a period of time. I thought I will
share my experience of what is happening over a period or a year.
Myself and my husband decided to prepare Aakash for this transition a couple of years back. We started saying(when Aakash entered Thirteen), that he is now a “big boy” in suitable opportunities like when he was getting dressed(so he would be seeing himself in the mirror), when we went to the park and he wanted to play the slide etc.
Also, we used other cues to educate him so that he understands the changes happening in his body. His dad used to show occasionally that Aakash had started getting hairs in his body and compared it with his own hair. And we correlated the concept of “big boy” with the same. We explained about Moustache (as he had started getting traces of it) and beard.
Before even he entered his thirteenth year, we had introduced the concept of shaving to him. I thought that this skill is going to take some time for him to understand and wanted to start early. His beard or Moustache were very less but we wanted him to get used to the concept. My husband got an old-style razor where we have to put the blade separately. But we did not get or put in the actual blades. We got a separate shaving brush for him. And along with his dad (and with the help of dad), he learnt to put the shaving cream, wet his chin and apply the shaving cream. He had to undergo lot of stages here to learn the hand movements (and still learning), overcoming the ticklish feeling when the brush touched his chin and neck. However once the cream was applied no training was needed. He imitated his dad perfectly and felt proud that he was doing shaving. He even perfectly applies the after-shave lotion also. All like his dad 😊. In a year or two he may need actual shaving and hopefully he will do it easily/safely with a razor which actually has blade in it.
One note here is that I did not use any visuals for this transition. His dad did all the modelling.
Aakash started getting hairs in the private part. As it itches him, he tries to scratch it. As it does not look appropriate in front of others, we told him not to. But he looked insulted. Hence we told him, if he needs to do it he can do it in the rest room. After this such behaviour has come down. His dad also educated him to dry his private parts thoroughly after bath. Also we have given him a anti fungal powder to avoid any issues in this area.
As there is lot of hormonal issues during this stage, we encourage him to use body spray. He also likes to use the same and hence we have no problem.
Another observation that I want to share is Aakash was overweight for his height and age. Whenever we meet a general physician for anything, this used to be the general advice. Till 1 year back this was the advice. But now in the last 1 year, he is gaining weight but still he is loosing the flabbiness around his face and hands. He is more energetic, focused and brisk. I feel he needs balanced diet and nutrition at this stage to manage his changes during the growing change. We have not changed his diet which continues to be the balanced diet which I had shared earlier. But I think the transition happening is because of his age.
A note on his sleep pattern. Aakash always sleeps at around 9 and gets up at around 5.00 to 5.30am. But now a days he is waking up late or he gets up and goes back to sleep. Afternoon also he catches up with a nap some times. Overall his sleep cycle has increased.
One general observation is that he still has obsession on cars. When I talked to some therapist moms they did share their kids like watching girl pictures. But Aakash has not shown any interest till now. I think this is a long journey. I will share my experience as we walk the path.
Myself and my husband decided to prepare Aakash for this transition a couple of years back. We started saying(when Aakash entered Thirteen), that he is now a “big boy” in suitable opportunities like when he was getting dressed(so he would be seeing himself in the mirror), when we went to the park and he wanted to play the slide etc.
Also, we used other cues to educate him so that he understands the changes happening in his body. His dad used to show occasionally that Aakash had started getting hairs in his body and compared it with his own hair. And we correlated the concept of “big boy” with the same. We explained about Moustache (as he had started getting traces of it) and beard.
Before even he entered his thirteenth year, we had introduced the concept of shaving to him. I thought that this skill is going to take some time for him to understand and wanted to start early. His beard or Moustache were very less but we wanted him to get used to the concept. My husband got an old-style razor where we have to put the blade separately. But we did not get or put in the actual blades. We got a separate shaving brush for him. And along with his dad (and with the help of dad), he learnt to put the shaving cream, wet his chin and apply the shaving cream. He had to undergo lot of stages here to learn the hand movements (and still learning), overcoming the ticklish feeling when the brush touched his chin and neck. However once the cream was applied no training was needed. He imitated his dad perfectly and felt proud that he was doing shaving. He even perfectly applies the after-shave lotion also. All like his dad 😊. In a year or two he may need actual shaving and hopefully he will do it easily/safely with a razor which actually has blade in it.
One note here is that I did not use any visuals for this transition. His dad did all the modelling.
Aakash started getting hairs in the private part. As it itches him, he tries to scratch it. As it does not look appropriate in front of others, we told him not to. But he looked insulted. Hence we told him, if he needs to do it he can do it in the rest room. After this such behaviour has come down. His dad also educated him to dry his private parts thoroughly after bath. Also we have given him a anti fungal powder to avoid any issues in this area.
As there is lot of hormonal issues during this stage, we encourage him to use body spray. He also likes to use the same and hence we have no problem.
Another observation that I want to share is Aakash was overweight for his height and age. Whenever we meet a general physician for anything, this used to be the general advice. Till 1 year back this was the advice. But now in the last 1 year, he is gaining weight but still he is loosing the flabbiness around his face and hands. He is more energetic, focused and brisk. I feel he needs balanced diet and nutrition at this stage to manage his changes during the growing change. We have not changed his diet which continues to be the balanced diet which I had shared earlier. But I think the transition happening is because of his age.
A note on his sleep pattern. Aakash always sleeps at around 9 and gets up at around 5.00 to 5.30am. But now a days he is waking up late or he gets up and goes back to sleep. Afternoon also he catches up with a nap some times. Overall his sleep cycle has increased.
One general observation is that he still has obsession on cars. When I talked to some therapist moms they did share their kids like watching girl pictures. But Aakash has not shown any interest till now. I think this is a long journey. I will share my experience as we walk the path.
No comments:
Post a Comment