Ask Sam letter

Hi there

Puberty is a series of changes your body goes through during your teens. There are lots of changes like growing pubic hair which happen to both boys and girls, and other changes like starting periods for girls or developing a deeper voice for boys.

Puberty is different for everyone and people develop at different speeds. It often begins around age 13-14 for boys, but it’s also normal to a start a little later or earlier. Whatever age puberty starts, it takes about 4 years for all the changes to happen.

Some changes happen more quickly than others and are more noticeable. Boys might first notice getting taller, growing hair on their chest and face, or sweating and more and getting spots. Your voice breaking is one of the later signs of puberty for boys.

It can take time for your voice to “break” and become permanently deeper, so it might be very high one minute and very deep the next for a while. It can feel frustrating or embarrassing when this happens as you can’t control how your voice sounds.

Try to stay calm and not take it too seriously when your voice sounds different to how you expected. It can help to remind yourself that it’s normal for this to happen and most men have experienced it.

Everyone's different and it’s important not to compare yourself to others, even when changes are happening to you a little later on than your friends. Remember that they've been through this too and know what it’s like to have to wait for their voice to break.

Talking to an older male relative like an older brother, uncle or cousin about their experiences can help too. They also went through puberty and had the same worries and questions as you do now. If you think talking face to face might be difficult you could send them an email or a text saying you’d like to talk.

You can talk to a [](http://Childline counsellor)Childline counsellor for information and support anytime. You might also find the puberty for boys message board helpful.

Thanks for writing to me.

Take care,

Sam