How Do You Know When You Hit Puberty? 13 Telltale Signs for Boys

Your testicles start to get bigger.

Growth of the testicles is often the first sign of puberty. When puberty starts, hormones from your brain send messages to the rest of your body that cause both physical and emotional changes. One of the first physical changes that’ll likely happen is that your testicles—the sack-like growth at the base of the penis—will get larger. By the end of puberty, they’ll usually have doubled in size. The testicles are responsible for making sperm, which is the male reproductive cell. They also produce a hormone known as testosterone, which causes male sexual development. It’s completely normal for one testicle (usually the left) to grow larger than the other and hang lower. For some, puberty can start earlier (before age 9) or later (after age 14) than normal. The key sign of delayed puberty is that the testicles and penis haven't grown by the age of 14. While early or delayed puberty usually doesn’t cause a major issue for many people, talk to your doctor if you believe you’re experiencing puberty early or late.

The skin of your scrotum gets thinner.

As your testicles grow, the skin around them will start to thin. Before puberty, the skin around your testicles, which is called the scrotum, is usually tight and thick. Puberty causes the skin to loosen up and get thinner so your testicles have more room to grow. You might also notice tiny bumps starting to dot the skin on your scrotum. These are hair follicles that’ll eventually sprout pubic hair, and they’re completely normal to have. It’s also normal for the scrotum to get darker or take on a reddish color. As your testicles continue to grow, your scrotum will hang lower from the base of your penis.

You start growing pubic hair.

Look for hair starting to grow around the base of your penis. Another early sign of puberty is thick, curly hair, known as pubic hair, that starts growing at the base of your penis and near your scrotum. As you grow older, this pubic hair will start to cover the entire pubic region and spread upward toward your thighs. It’s normal for a thin line of hair to also grow upward toward your belly button from your pubic region.

Your penis gets bigger.

The penis grows first in length and then in width. Some boys may develop adult-sized genitals as early as 13 or as late as 18. As you go through puberty, you’ll likely notice that your penis first gets longer before it gets wider. About 1 in 3 males also develop pimple-like lesions around the crown of their penis, but this isn’t anything to worry about. They’re completely harmless and aren’t a form of sexually transmitted disease (STD) like some may believe. There’s absolutely no reason to feel insecure about the size of your penis if you don’t experience the growth you were expecting. Its size won’t affect its sexual function, and the size can vary between when the penis is flaccid versus when it’s erect.

You become able to pee standing up.

Since your penis is growing, this makes it much easier for you to pee standing up, since your penis is now longer and easier to aim into the toilet or urinal. If you see more of your classmates using the urinals than they used to, that probably means they've hit puberty as well. There are two ways to pee standing up: into a regular toilet (putting the seat up), and into a urinal (these fountain-like things in the boys' bathroom that you may sometimes see other boys standing in front of). Urinals are quicker and more convenient, and were designed specifically for boys who pee standing up. Remember not to pull your pants and undies all the way down - zippers and flies exist for a reason. You may have some difficulty adjusting to using urinals, because they have less privacy than the stalls. Try starting out by using them when the boys' room is less crowded, then once you're used to that, you'll be able to do it even when it's more busy. It's okay if you still prefer to pee sitting down, even with your newly-pubescent penis. Every boy has his own free will.

You hit a growth spurt.

You might experience aches and pains as you grow taller. Between the ages of 9 and 16, you’ll start getting taller. Your arms, legs, hands, and feet can sometimes grow faster than the rest of your body, but eventually, everything will even out. You might also experience some aches in your arms or legs, which are known as “growing pains” and are common among many boys going through puberty. From ages 9 to 14, boys will usually gain about 2 to 2.5 inches (5 to 6 cm) of height each year. At the peak of your growth spurt, which may occur between ages 11 and 16, you might be growing up to 4 inches (10 cm) each year.

You become able to pull back your foreskin.

If you're uncircumcised, you will become able to retract, or pull back, your foreskin during puberty. The foreskin is the skin in the front of your penis. As you go through puberty, it slowly detaches itself from the glans (the "mushroom tip" of your penis), and gradually becomes able to be pulled back more and more as your journey to adulthood continues. Eventually, you will be able to reveal the entire glans by pulling back your foreskin. Once you're able to pull back your foreskin, you should wash underneath it every time you have a bath or shower, to prevent bacteria from building up under there. Eventually, your foreskin will pull itself back whenever you get an erection. This is normal, and it will restore itself when the erection goes away. Some boys prefer to pull it back while they go pee standing up, while others don't. It's your choice. Some boys even keep it pulled back all the time. Initially, it may chafe a little when your exposed glans touches your underwear. As you get more and more used to having it exposed, this feeling will go away. Try to keep your foreskin pulled back for indefinite periods of time semi-regularly, because this may help with the chafing. (For example, you may keep it retracted after your first pee of the school day, then put it back after the next time you go pee.)

You start having more erections.

An erection is when your penis gets harder, bigger, and points upwards. This may create a noticeable "tent" in your pants. Try to figure out the best ways to hide erections, to avoid embarrassment in the hallways. You may have erections before puberty, but they're barely noticeable. Sometime after you hit puberty, you will have your first full adult erection, where your penis nearly doubles in size. This may be embarrassing, but be assured; it will go away, and your penis will go back to its normal "flaccid" state after a while. You might also get involuntary erections randomly during the day. Spontaneous erections for no reason are quite common during mid-puberty, as your body is still figuring out how to make them work. Eventually, they will become less common.

You start having "morning wood."

You may sometimes wake up with an erect penis. This is normal and is a sign that your body is working as intended. It will go away, and it's a sign that you're growing up properly, and your first wet dream ain't that far away.

You start getting "pre-cum."

Pre-ejaculatory fluid is normal. Once you hit puberty, your penis may sometimes leak a clear liquid when you're aroused. This is normal, and means that your first ejaculation is on its way, if it hasn't happened already.

You start having ejaculations.

Ejaculation is when your penis shoots out semen, a white fluid that contains sperm. It comes from your urethra, the same hole that pee comes out of. This means that you can now get a girl pregnant. Your first few ejaculations will probably be more jelly-like in consistency, clear in colour, and may have a lower sperm content. Over about a year or two, your ejaculations will gradually change and become more liquid and white. About half of all boys have their first ejaculations (spermarche) in the form of a "wet dream". The other half get them from masturbating, or playing with their private parts.

You start having “wet dreams.”

A "wet dream" occurs when you ejaculate at night when sleeping. When you start going through puberty, you might start having these accidental ejaculations while you’re sleeping. Just remember that wet dreams are totally normal and they’re nothing to be embarrassed or ashamed of. As you grow older, you’ll likely have fewer wet dreams or stop having them altogether. While you can’t stop wet dreams from happening, keeping a towel nearby when you sleep can make clean-up easier. If you spend the night at a friend’s house, bring an extra pair of underwear if you’re worried about having a wet dream. Not all boys have wet dreams; about half never get them, and their first ejaculations come from masturbating. Usually, masturbating regularly causes the first ejaculation to come much earlier than it would if it were a wet dream.

Hair starts to grow on the rest of your body.

Hair usually grows under the arms and on the face, legs, and chest. Puberty causes hair to begin growing all over your body. It’s typical for boys to start growing hair under their armpits, on their arms and legs, and over their chest and back later on. You might even start growing facial hair and need to start shaving. For some boys, their body hair is very thick and dark. Others may not grow a lot of body hair, or it may be very light in color. Every person is unique, so don’t worry if you look a bit different from the other people around you.

Your voice starts cracking and gets deeper.

Your voice will mature and get lower as your vocal cords grow. A more awkward part of puberty is when your voice starts to get a bit squeaky and cracks every now and then. This is caused by your vocal cords getting longer and thicker. In the end, your voice will be lower, but you’ll likely experience these voice cracks often throughout puberty before you hit that stage. There’s nothing to be embarrassed about if your voice cracks. It happens to every male going through puberty. Puberty also causes a part of your neck to stick out near your throat when your vocal cords change. This is known as an Adam’s apple.

You start sweating more.

An increase in sweating can lead to body odor in some boys. Your hormones are working overtime during puberty, which can cause you to sweat more than you’re probably used to. When sweat comes into contact with the bacteria on your skin, it can cause a body odor that’s a bit smelly. To keep your body odor under control, bathe or shower regularly, especially after sweating a lot. Another option is to put on deodorant to cover the smell or an antiperspirant to help prevent sweating.

You start getting pimples.

Acne may form on your face, shoulders, or back. Unfortunately, pimples are a common side effect of puberty for many teenagers thanks to all of the hormones being released in your body. These hormones cause your skin to produce more oil, which can clog up your pores and lead to acne. The best way to fight acne is to wash your face and other parts of your body regularly to prevent buildups of oil and dead skin. Another way to combat acne is by using over-the-counter (OTC) products. Products that contain benzoyl peroxide are some of the most popular and effective. Products that contain salicylic acid can also help dry out pimples. If your acne is really severe, talk to a dermatologist or your doctor to see if they can write you a prescription for special acne creams or pills.

You start gaining weight and building muscle.

You’ll likely notice your chest, arms, and shoulders getting bigger. If you notice that you’re gaining weight, don’t worry. It’s a totally normal symptom of puberty, and it’s usually due to the fact that your shoulders are widening and you’re gaining muscle. You’ll likely notice that most of the growth is happening around your torso and shoulders, but you might also start developing muscles in your arms and legs too. Some boys can suddenly put on a ton of muscle, while others may only gain a small amount of weight. Everyone is different and will go through puberty at their own speed, so don’t feel embarrassed or ashamed if you don’t look exactly like your friends.

You might notice some swelling under your nipples.

Many boys will experience temporary breast growth. About half of all people going through male puberty can develop temporary breast tissue, which usually feels like a button-like bump under one or both nipples. These growths may also be tender or painful, especially if you accidentally hit them. In most cases, this swelling will go away after a few months or longer. This is known as gynecomastia, and it’s a completely normal thing to go through during puberty.

You experience emotions more intensely.

You might experience mood swings more easily. Thanks to all of these new hormones being released, your mood can also go through some changes during puberty. For example, you might get irritated, upset, or frustrated more easily than you used to. It’s also normal to feel a bit anxious during puberty since your body is going through so many changes so quickly. Just know that you’re not alone and that you can always talk to friends and family about what you’re going through. It’s also completely normal to start having more sexual thoughts about others or developing a crush on someone you find attractive.