When do girls stop growing and become a woman?

0
1337
Image Credits: Slide Team

Do you have a teenager at your home? If yes! Then you are not unaware of the physical and mental changes of your child. They could be rude sometimes and soft as a leaf suddenly. Time passes so quickly with children that we forget about their age. When they reach a certain age, we wonder . “when do girls stop growing and become mature?”. This happens because of hormonal as well as emotional changes in their body and mind. They are not at fault. It’s the hormones. In this article, we will discuss medical facts. After reading this article, we will get to know the reason behind the hormonal changes between 10-17 years of age in girls. Also, we will discuss how and why they attain puberty? Let’s begin now!

When do girls stop growing and become a woman?

When do girls stop growing
Image credits: Sofy

Do you ever wonder when or at what age do girls stop growing and become a woman? If you are a parent of a baby girl, you could not stop wondering how your daughter grew up in a blink of an eye. Yes! This is what happens. Let us talk about the undiscussed topic: Puberty and Adolescence.

Puberty: A physical change at a certain age

When do girls stop growing
Image Credits: YouTube

We can define the term “Puberty” as the process of physical changes in the human body. The body of a human being or a child goes through specific changes during puberty. Also, due to these changes, the body becomes mature and ready for sexual reproduction. Moreover, Hormones in your body are responsible for these changes. At a certain age, the brain sends signals to the reproductive glands: Ovaries(in girls) and testes(in boys). This is when gonads produce hormones to activate the libido or sexual drive. Also, these hormones are responsible for the overall growth of a human being to become mature. From the brain transformation to the physical change, these hormones are solely responsible. These hormones also help in the physical growth like bones, hair, muscle, blood, breast, skin and sex organs.

Moreover, the height as well as the weight of a human being also goes through development. The development begins at the initial level of puberty and completes when puberty ends, and maturity enters.

The sexual traits or organs that help differentiate between a boy and a girl before puberty are Primary Sexual traits or characteristics.

Moreover, the secondary traits or characteristics are visible during puberty, and the body goes through some more stages of development. This is when girls do stop growing. Secondary characteristics help to distinguish the sexes of different species. For example, secondary traits in females are wide hips, large breasts, growth of Pubic hair, especially on genitals etc. Similarly, in males, secondary sexual traits are the growth of Adam’s apple and Facial hair.

Secondary traits: In non-Humans

Furthermore, not only human beings show primary and secondary sexual characteristics or traits. Many mammals and non-human beings go through puberty and exhibit traits. For instance, Male Lion’s manes, Male Peafowl’s Long feathers, Male narwhal’s tusks, growth of proboscises in long nose monkeys and elephant monkeys. Male mandrill’s facial and rump development and the development of horns in antelopes and goats.

See also  how long should a cover letter be? Read this article to know more info!

Puberty Explained

Image Credits: Teach Starter

During the formation of gonads, the body of human beings or mammals start showing some physical changes. These changes can help one to identify the sexes. Or you can say it allows us to differentiate between a boy or a girl. This sexual difference is possible due to the changes in both male and female body and is termed as “gestation”. 

However, before puberty, the shape and structure of both male and female hormonal levels are the same. However, during puberty, the level of hormone rises and differences start appearing.

The development of genitals or sexual organs in the male results from an increase in testosterone levels. When the testosterone level rises, the brain sends signals to the genitals for development.

Moreover, changes in breast size are proof of when girls do stop growing. The overall development of the female body is responsible for the secretion of two hormones: Estradiol and Estrogen.

Estradiol is a sex hormone responsible for secondary traits. It works involve the development of breasts, regulation of menstrual and oestrous cycles in females.

On the other hand, Estrogen is a significant hormone that helps to stimulate sexual drive in females. This hormone also helps in breast manifestation. A larger breast means the secretion of higher-level Estrogen. Also, this hormone makes some other changes in the female body. For example, increase in the body fat in some areas such as breasts, hips, thighs and buttocks, widening of the pelvis, development of uterus(making it able to menstruate).

Lets us check out the secondary sex traits in Females:-
  • Body hair growth, especially in the underarm and on the genitals(pubic hair).
  • Nipples erection and breast enlargement
  • Hips widening results
  • Smaller waist size than males
  • Changes in Labia Minora. It may vary in size, colour and shape from person to person.

Now, we will discuss in brief the Secondary sex traits in Males:-

  • Body hair growth, especially on the areas such as chest, underarms, abdomen and genitals.
  • Facial hair growth is the leading secondary sex characteristic.
  • Manifestation of Adam’s apple as the larynx grows.
  • Voice deepening
  • Heavy bone structure
  • The growth of muscle leads to strength and mass.
  • The shoulders of males are more expansive than their hips.
  • Chests get broader
  • Oil and sweat glands secretion increased.

I hope, as of now, you got the term “Puberty”. Now the question is, what is Adolescence. Let’s start with the discussion, shall we?

Adolescence

Image credits: SlideShare

Adolescence is derived from, Adolescere, which means to grow up. Adolescere is a Latin word. It is the age of transition which occurs during puberty and may last to adulthood. Adolescence is a series of changes in the human body physically as well as psychologically. 

With the help of puberty, we got to know that the changes occur to the human body to achieve adulthood. But, not only the changes happen in the body but also mind. Our body fluids and organs work together to make these changes. Thus, during the early teenage years, a typical male and female are more emotional, angrier, rude, and arrogant. This happens due to the secretion of hormones in the body. 

These hormones not only change the state of the body but also affect the state of mind. During Adolescence, the emotions of a typical human being are not in control, especially males. Due to the increase in strength and muscles, the boys become stronger and exhibit more rude and emotional behaviour.

See also  How to treat Sunburn?: Check out the leading causes of Sunburn and some home remedies to treat them!

However, it is a known fact that females achieve maturity earlier than males. This happens because the physical and mental changes start occurring in females at preadolescent age. 

This means the women complete their series of changes and achieve adulthood at 15 or 17. This is when the girls do stop growing. However, this is not the case in males. They go through a series of changes and yet not achieve adulthood quickly. The puberty period starts in males at the age of 15. However, they do not reach Adolescence and become mature till their early twenties.

Mental or Psychological Changes:-

In 1904, G. Stanley hall published Adolescence which leads to the study of psychological changes in adolescents. G. Stanley Hall became the American Psychological Association’s first president. They began the study with the idea of understanding human behaviour during puberty. Also, they took the help of Darwin’s theory of Evolution and Freud’s theory of psychodynamics to study the cause. They concluded that Adolescence represents the growth of ancestors from ancient and old culture to a new and civil society. This theory of G. Stanley remained undebatable till the 1950s. In 1950, Erik Erikson and Anna Freud, two psychologists, started studying and proposing their adolescents’ ideas. 

Adolescence and puberty go hand in hand. Do you ever wonder, “What is the difference between Puberty and Adolescence?’ Let me help you with that.

Puberty and Adolescence: Difference

Puberty is the time in which the hormonal changes. During puberty, the physical as well as sexual traits of a human being mature. However, Adolescence is the time between puberty and adulting.

Mensuration(Menstrual Cycle):-

This is the exact reason when girls do stop growing. When the girl enters at a certain age and Puberty reaches, they start menstruating. Breast enlargement is the first sign of Menstruation. However, Menstruation is the sign that the body of the girl is growing.

Menstruation or Menstrual cycle occurs every month within 28 to 32 days. Initially, Mensuration can be irregular due to hormonal changes. You may get early periods before 28 days or late periods after 32 days. However, it is very typical during puberty.

Let us discuss the medical explanation for Menstruation.

Since a girl is born, her ovaries start storing eggs. When she menstruates, Ovaries release these eggs every month. These eggs(Called Ovum) travel through the fallopian tube and reach the womb.

This Ovum when reaches the womb, the lining of the womb thickens with fluid and blood. Thus, Ovum stays in the womb and waits for fertilization. If it gets fertilized, the baby starts developing in the womb. This situation is termed Pregnancy.

However, if it does not get the sperm for fertilization, Ovum dissolves. The thick lining of the womb also dissolves and comes out of the vagina in the form of blood, mucus etc.

Premenstrual Syndrome:-

As the girl starts growing and starts getting periods regularly, she starts developing PMS(Premenstrual Syndrome). Premenstrual Syndrome is the physical and emotional changes a woman goes through during Menstruation. She feels pain in the lower abdomen and back, and her mood continues to change. Also, her stomach bloats, and she feels puffy.

Conclusion:-In the end, I hope this article answers everything you are looking for. Also, it will help you understand your child’s behavior and anger issues well. Thank you for reading the article and take care! Stay safe and stay home in this pandemic!