A Book for Every Boy

Violeta Babić A BOOK FOR EVERY BOY illustrated by Аnа Grigorijev

contents TO A DEAR BOY 9

care 47

A small test for every boy 10

Facial care 47

WHAT IS PUBERTY 13

Time of changes 14 You're becoming a man 18

CLEANLINESS IS NEXT TO GODLINES 33

Skin types 47 Blackheads, Spots and Pimples 49 Key Rules 50 Beard 54 How to Shave a Beard 56

Legs 60 Feet 60

Hands and Nails 66 Skin 33

Important things for a healthy skin 34

Wash your hands 36 Sweating 38

Bath, Wash, Shower 39

To Stop Biting Your Nails... 67

Mouth and Teeth 68 How to Brush Teeth 69 How to Floss Teeth 71 Braces 72

Eyes 73 At the Optometrist 75 How to Choose Right Frames 76 Contacts 77 Sunglasses 78

Ears 79 Ear care 79 Ear Piercing 79

Hair 83 Hair types 83 Hairstyles 87 Washing Hair 88 Hair Dyeing 90 Dredlocks 90

BODY 94

Correct Posture 94 Excercise, Training, Sport 95 Most Usefull Sports for Boys 96 Healthy FOOD – Healthy Lifestyle 113

What is Important for a Good Diet 114

SPARE TIME 127

Тatoo 127 Piercing 131 Clothes, Jeans, Tracksuits 133 Books, Music, Computer 134 Be Organized 135 Drugs 138 Тоbacco 139 Alcohol 140

Good Manners 142 Spending Time With Girls 142 What Girls Like 142 Summer, Seaside, Snow, Mountains 146 Travelling 150 List of things you need 150

About the Authoress 152

TO A DEAR BOY

To a dear boy The moment has come – you have started to change. You are in your teens. Mum’s little boy will become a grown-up man. These changes don’t happen over the night and not to all boys at the same time, but you will go through them just like millions of other boys before you did and you’ll have plenty of time to get used to them and accept them as something normal.

Changes in voice, rapid growth, excessive sweating, face acne and hairs on your body aren’t the only things that you may find unpleasant during this period of changes, growth and development. Some boys don’t want to talk about this other thing that happened to them – their sexual development. Some on the other hand share their experiences with their friends although they know little about the whole thing or nothing whatsoever. If you are confused about what’s happening to you, try and find some information about it. Ask and read and find out about it as much as possible!

This book deals with a whole lot of things! It will also provide you with some pieces of advice on your personal hygiene, healthy eating habits and lifestyle. It will help you develop your body as well as your self-esteem, which will make you look good and feel great. That’s how you’ll be able to show your hidden talents.

I hope I will help you!

Yours trully, Voleta

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A SMALL TEST FOR EVERY BOY YES

Did your mum tell you yesterday…?

Just so you know, I was in the school! You have A only in PE! The rest are Cs and Ds! What’s going on with you?

NO

While you were looking at yourself in the hallway mirror, did your dad maybe shout at you from the kitchen…?

Don’t you feel sorry for your poor parents?! Did you hear me?! Give us a hand, for Christ’s sake!

Did your grandma tell you last week…?

Sweetie, what on earth have you been texting on that mobile all day long? Why don’t you take your books and do some homework instead?

YES NO

YES NO

Did you grandfather keep asking you the other day…? Oh, go on, tell your grandfather which one of three is your girl? …and you felt really embarrassed?

Do you spend most of the afternoon staring into the distance or thoughtfully looking at a spider on the ceiling although you have a test in maths tomorrow?

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YES NO YES NO

YES

Do you prefer making phone calls, watching TV, playing computer games eight hours a day and texting to studying?

NO YES

Do you ever wonder how come you have so many pimples on your face and back and loads of black spots on your nose?

NO YES

Do you have a crush on a girl from your/ another class and she doesn’t even know you exist?

NO

Did a neighbour you hadn’t seen for two months meet you in the corridor yesterday and tell you...? Gosh, you’ve grown up so much! I barely recognized you!

When you and your mates shout and make noise, does it ever happen that you quack like Daffy Duck?

Did your best friend tell you the other day...?

Ever heard of deodorant, mate?!

Are you 12, 13, 14 or 15?

YES NO YES NO 11

YES NO

YES NO

Test results: If YES is your answer to most of the questions, it has begun! You are entering this new stage of your life called puberty. The passage from boy to man is ahead of you.

WHAT IS PUBERTY

You may have noticed yourself that something strange has been happening to you lately. These changes are obvious to you, but since your friends don’t seem to change at all or what’s happening to them seems to be somehow different, you may have got worried and wondered: Am I normal? There’s no need to worry – of course you are! Some boys notice the first signs of physical development at the age of ten, while some experience them when they are sixteen. All boys enter puberty at some point and all of them leave it, usually when they come of age. But until then... During these five or six years you will experience rapid physical growth and development caused by an increased hormone secretion; in addition to that, you will go through various conflicting feelings.

Moments of joy and melancholy will follow one another, you’ll get lazy and bored by everyone, you’ll rebel against everything, but then suddenly you’ll be full of energy and self-esteem, until you cry out irritably and unexpectedly again, mad at yourself and everybody else.

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THE TIME OF CHANGES

Puberty lasts longer in boys than in girls, who enter it a year or two earlier and develop faster, so that’s something you may not be very happy about.

However, there’s no reason to worry! Boys will catch up with girls when the time is just right. Long ago boys entered puberty not before the age of 14 or 15. It has been found that today’s boys start developing two years earlier comparing to their peers who lived at the beginning of the last century. Their body is bulkier and they are taller thanks to their long legs, not the growth of torso. It is considered that healthier diet, higher living standards and advanced health care gave a contribution to the earlier physical and psychological development.

If it seems to you that some of your friends don’t change at the same pace as you do, you should know there’s nothing strange about that, because these changes are connected to inherited traits. In other words, it depends on when your parents and grandparents, even your mum and dad’s grandparents, entered puberty. You can talk to your parents and ask them when they started to change and how they felt about it at the time.

Sometimes a school doctor has to spend some time persuading 13- or 14-year-old boys who are the shortest in their class and still look like children that they will develop and grow up later and when they reach the age of 18, they may even be taller than boys who are more developed at the moment. Inherited traits and parents’ height have an impact on this delayed puberty.

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Boys grow longer than girls. They reach their maximum height at the age of 17 or 18, while girls reach it the age of 15. Girls can still grow a little until they are 19, but in most cases they reach their maximum height when they start their periods. Boys grow until they are 22 or 23.

So, here’s what happens during puberty: First signs of puberty can start showing as early as the age of 9 You grow up rapidly (from the age of 12 to 18) Your sex organs grow (testicles and scrotum – from the age of 10 or 11 to 17; penis from the age of 12 or 13 to 16 approximately) Hairs start growing on your body (first around your penis and they are called pubic hairs; this happens between the age of 11 and 12; and then hairs under your armpits, over your legs and chest, and finally beard and moustache – from the age of 14 to 18) Under the influence of the hormone called testosterone, testicles start producing male sex cells (spermatazoids) You start sweating under your armpits more than you used to and you don’t smell the way children do Your larynx starts growing and your voice is changing, i.e. mutating (between the age of 13 and 15) You become aware of your sexuality.

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All of these changes can be exciting at first. You are growing and you look like a young man to yourself. However, you may feel terrible because of the sweat you’re constantly smelling around you, because of pimples and spots, greasy skin and hair and your voice cracking in the middle of the sentence. Besides, when you start growing, you’ll look disproportionate, because not all body parts grow at the same pace, so it may seem to you that your nose and ears are huge, arms and legs too long, hands and feet too big (or perhaps too small) comparing to the rest of your body. That’s when you may also start feeling pain in your arms and legs, especially during the night. These are the so-called growing pains and they are caused by the growth of bones. But don’t worry about that! Everything will fall into place soon. Your shoulders will get wider and you’ll have muscles, which will grow stronger through healthy diet and exercise.

If you feel bad because of all the things that happen to you at school and in life in general, try and talk to your mum and dad, or some other adult you can trust. You’ll see that you’ll feel better soon, because the conversation will help you understand the problem.

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You're becoming a man Body hairs When the testosterone secretion increases, hairs around your penis will start growing. At first they will be fair, soft and fluffy, but in a year’s time they will get thick and curly and they will form into a triangle shape from the lower part of your belly to your penis. Their colour is usually the same as your hair colour, but it is possible that boys with blond hair have dark pubic hairs.

Body hairs, which were thin and fair while you were younger, will now grow stronger and darker. You’ll have them on your arms, legs, buttocks, under your armpits, on your feet, big toes, in your nose, ears... Some men have them even on their back, chest and belly. And some don’t have them at all, which doesn’t mean they are less manly! Some like the fact they are getting hairy and some don’t, it’s all a matter of taste. If you have don’t like them, you can simply wax them (see page ___). Men do it often nowadays.

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Facial hairs Beard and moustache start growing at the age of 14, first above your upper lip and around your ears. Moustache and sideburns are soft and fluffy at first. If you want, you can start shaving them right away. In the beginning you’ll shave your moustache more often than beard, but later, if your beard is strong, you’ll have to shave it once a day. If not, you can shave it once a week until it gets stronger. If you shave more often than necessary, your skin may get irritated. You’ll find out more about shaving in the chapter Face on page___.

Shaving increases hair growth.

False! Neither hair nor beard grows thicker or faster if you cut it or shave it often. If it were like that, no one would ever be bald! You can shave any part of your body as much as you want, but that won’t make hairs grow thicker. Hairs are seemingly sharper and thicker after shaving because you cut them off at their thickest point, i.e. right above the skin.

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Breasts Every girl is happy when her breasts start growing in puberty.

However, boys and their parents are usually worried about that. However, a slow growth of breasts at the beginning of puberty is what happens to boys quite often. It’s a small, hard, painful swelling, usually at one side only and it appears in puberty as the result of the secretion of oestrogen, the female hormone. This phenomenon called gynecomastia is usually very mild and there is no need to get upset about it. The swelling will disappear at some point of puberty. If your breasts continue to grow, you should see your doctor.

Voice Mutation And now the hormone testosterone! That’s the reason why you’ll suddenly lose your voice and croack like a frog in the middle of the conversation. This you may find terribly annoying and you may decide to avoid company for the fear of being mocked. However, your voice can also break in class during an oral exam, in front of a teacher and the whole class, which doesn’t mean you should skip school until your voice gets steady, because this may last up to a year‘s time. Still, there’s no reason to feel bad about what’s happening to you. Voice mutation is a normal part of growing up and all boys have to face it sooner or later.

Your voice is mutating and it gradually becomes deeper. So try and accept the fact that sometimes while you speak, and especially when you are excited, a word or two may sound weird.

Your Whole Body is Growing Not only is your body affected by puberty, but something else that you haven’t experienced before also happens. Your sex organs will change to a great extent. Namely, they start functioning and getting ready for future sexual experiences and procreation.

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A Brief Puberty Glossary Ejaculation refers to ejecting semen and male sex cells from the male sex organ.

Erection is the state in which penis is upright and stiff.

Condom is a thin piece of rubber that one puts on one’s penis in order to protect oneself from sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancy; it is also known as a preservative or rubber.

Contraception, i.e. birth control refers to methods of preventing unwanted pregnancy; this includes condom, contraceptive pills, diaphragm, etc.

Masturbation refers to obtaining sexual pleasure by stimulating one’s own sex organs.

Period is a monthly bleeding from a womb that happens to sexually mature girls and women. If a female sex cell, i.e. egg cell is not fertilized during ovulation, the lining of the uterus/ womb, which was getting ready to take a fertilized egg cell until then, is no longer needed, so it separates from the womb walls and is ejected though cervix and vagina along with the unfertilized egg cell. If it is fertilized though, a girl will not start the next period, which means she is pregnant.

Ovulation refers to ejecting a ripe egg cell (female sex cell) from ovaries into oviduct. It usually happens between the 9th and 16th day from the beginning of a period. In girls whose menstrual cycle lasts for 28 days it’s usually on the 14th day. These are the so-called fertile days. If a girl has sex with a boy on these days, she can get pregnant.

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