Merciful 1/Merciful - Disc 1.iso/software/b/birds_&_bees/bird&bee's.dms/bird&bee's.adf/develop2.boy

Text File | 1986-06-21 | 10KB | 307 lines

    1You may remember that everybody
grows at different rates.] Girls often
grow faster than boys, but the boys
catch up later on. Some people are
"early bloomers" and some are "late
bloomers." You will grow when your body
receives the message from the genes
that it is time to grow. There is
nothing you can do to change your own
body's plan.
    Sometimes you may wish you would
grow faster, or slower, or maybe even
not at all. But your body knows the
best way for you to grow up, even
though 2you will sometimes feel funny
about the changes which happen. It is
OK to feel funny.] Just remember that
everyone feels this way when going
through puberty. The next two lessons
will talk about your genes and their
influence on how you develop. Following
that will be two lessons describing
more of the changes you will experience
as you start to mature.

*
1Does everyone develop at a different
rate?
$
1Can puberty can be a tough time?
$
@
    This lesson is about your genes and
how they carry the plans or blueprint
for your own unique development. You
may have learned that every single
snowflake is different. Well, every
single person is different, too. The
reason for this is our genes.
    You remember that a baby is started
when a sperm and an egg get together.
Every sperm carries information from
the father, and every egg carries in-
formation from the mother. When the
sperm and egg combine to make a new
life, they also join information from
the mother and the father. 1This is why
you may look like or take after your
mother in some ways, and your father in
other ways.]
    The information we are talking
about is everything from hair color, to
how tall you will be, to what kind of
voice you will have. It is organized in
very, very tiny parts called genes.
Since you are such a wonderful and
complex human being, 2it takes millions
of genes to carry your own special plan
(blueprint).]
    3The genes are organized in a
special way for the body to understand
them. They are divided up into twenty-
three pairs of chromosomes.] It is
helpful to think of a pine tree with
branches on each side. Along each one
of the branches are many different
genes, telling the body what to do.
Every cell in your body carries your
blueprint in the form of these pairs of
chromosomes -- with one very important
exception.
    Remember that each sperm and each
egg carry genes from the parents. Not
only are the genes in every sperm and
every egg different, but each sperm and
each egg carry only one of each pair of
twenty-three chromosomes. That is,
instead of carrying pairs of
chromosomes like every other cell in
your body, the sperm and egg each carry
single chromosomes. Then, when the
sperm and egg meet, they join their
single chromosomes to make pairs of
chromosomes. This makes a new and
unique person!
    It is important to remember that
every sperm and every egg carry differ-
ent combinations of genes. This is why
children who have the same parents can
be so different from each other. But
since the genes have come from the same
parents, brothers and sisters also have
many similarities.

*
2Is it normal for boys to take after
their fathers, and girls to take after
their mothers?
$
2Is how a child develops totally deter-
mined by a few genes?
$
1Do males and females of all ages have
pairs of chromosomes?
$
@
    You may be wondering how the genes
decided to make you a boy or a girl.
This important set of instructions is
decided by the genes which come from
the father. There is a special chromo-
some which determines sex. If it is a
female chromosome, we call it the "X"
chromosome. If it is a male chromosome,
we call it the "Y" chromosome.
    1All eggs in a mother have female
(X) chromosomes.] But the sperm in the
father can either have a female or a
male chromosome. When a sperm joins an
egg, and the sperm has a female chromo-
some, the resulting embryo will be
"XX," or female. If the sperm has a
male chromosome, the resulting embryo
will be "XY," or male. This is how you
became a boy or a girl.
    You may remember that most of the
time, women produce one egg per month.
If that egg is fertilized by a sperm,
it starts a baby. If it does not join a
sperm, which is what usually happens,
it is cleaned away with the menstrual
flow. Now also remember that men are
always making sperm, and that in every
ejaculation there are millions of
sperm. Only one sperm is needed to join
with an egg to start a baby.
    2Sometimes, a woman may make more
than one egg per month.] When this
happens, it is possible for two differ-
ent eggs to be fertilized at the same
time. But since the eggs are different
and the sperm are different, the two
babies will also be different. One
could be a boy and one could be a girl.
Maybe they will both be boys but will
look different. Since they have two
completely different sets of instruc-
tions (genes), anything could happen.
These are called fraternal or non-iden-
tical twins. 3Fraternal twins aren't
any more likely to look like each other
than any other brother or sister be-
cause they have their own set of
genes.]
    Identical twins, however, are a
different story. In this case, only one
egg and one sperm join to start a baby.
But soon after they join (fertiliza-
tion), the newly formed embryo splits,
making two embryos which have the very
same genes. This is why identical twins
look exactly alike: they have the same
blueprint. But it is important to
remember that identical twins are two
people, who have different experiences.
Just because they have the same ins-
tructions for their bodies does not
mean that they will live the exact same
lives. 4They are two individuals who
just happen to have the same genes.]

*
2Can females have a "Y" chromosome?
$
1Can women produce more than one egg
each month?
$
1Must a set of boy-girl twins be
fraternal?
$
1Even though twins may look alike, are
they two different people who deserve
to be treated as individuals?
$
@
    You have already learned that
during puberty, you will notice hair
starting to grow around your penis and
scrotum area. This area is called the
pubic area. 1At first the hair will be
straight and soft, but later on it will
get curly and thick.] At about this
time, your voice may start to change.
Sometimes your voice will be high and
squeaky, sometimes it will be low, and
sometimes there will be no change at
all. This can get confusing, and some-
times embarrassing, but your body will
eventually get used to making the lower
voice all the time.
    2You will also notice that your
penis and testes are starting to grow.
This is because the body is practicing
making and storing seeds. These seeds,
which can someday start a baby, are
called sperm] and are in a fluid called
semen. The semen is what comes out of
the penis during ejaculation.
    You will begin to ejaculate at
about this time. Ejaculation is the
discharge of semen from the penis, so
new sperm can grow and be stored in the
testes. 3Sometimes the semen comes out
at night while you are asleep. This is
called a wet dream or a nocturnal emis-
sion. Very often you won't even know it
happened until you wake up. This is
normal], but it can be pretty surpris-
ing and embarrassing. It is OK to tell
your parents when this happens because
they know it is normal.
    You will also notice that you are
getting erections. This hardening and
stiffening of the penis can happen at
any time. Sometimes this is embarras-
sing, because it happens all by itself.
There is nothing bad or wrong about
getting an erection. When you are older
you will get erections only when you
are sexually aroused or excited. Now,
however, 3your body is "practicing" and
you may get erections at awkward times.
This is normal], and will eventually go
away as the body gets used to being
mature.
    With all of this happening, many
boys (including you) become curious
about how their penis works sexually.
You may experiment by touching it and
finding out what feels good. This is
called masturbation. By "playing with
yourself" you may ejaculate. There's
nothing wrong with that. People don't
talk much about it (or do it in public)
because it is a private, personal ac-
tivity. However, 4it is perfectly nor-
mal to explore your body; people of all
sexes and ages masturbate.]

*
2Does pubic hair grow in the same way
as the hair on our head?
$
1Are the testes where the sperm are
produced?
$
1Do all boys have erections and "wet
dreams"?
$
2Are boys who masturbate (play with
themselves) considered weird?
$
@
    As you already know, girls also go
through some noticeable changes during
puberty. First, their breasts start to
grow, and may become tender. If this
happens early, a girl may feel embar-
rassed to have breasts so soon. If it
happens late, a girl may feel embar-
rassed about not having breasts. This
is natural. Just like you and the guys
may compare penis size, girls are very
self-conscious about their breasts. As
the breasts start to grow,  1girls will
grow pubic hair between their legs.
After a while it will get thick and
curly, just as it does for boys.]
    Girls may want to explore their
genitals just as boys do. Masturbation
is a way for them to get to know their
own body. It is just as normal for
girls to masturbate as it is for boys.
Most grown women continue to masturbate
in the privacy of their own bed.
    At about this time, a girl may get
her first period. Remember that periods
are also called menstruation. 2Menstru-
ation happens when the soft lining of
the uterus gets cleaned out.] The body
is just practicing for growing a baby.
The menstrual fluid comes out the vagi-
na, which is the same opening from
which the baby is born. As a girl is
expecting her first period, she may
want to have some pads ready so she
won't be caught unprepared.
*
1Will both boys and girls begin growing
pubic hair as they reach puberty?
$
1Does girls' monthly menstruation have
a cleansing purpose?
$
@
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