An index of tropes relating to puberty, the time in a human being's life in which their body starts to mature and become capable of sexual reproduction.
Most commonly beginning in girls around the age of 10 and boys around 11, puberty is a rollercoaster of changes, emotions, and hormones.note
Although commonplace to begin as early as third grade, it really starts to become prominent starting with the beginning of Middle School, at which point one begins learning about the specifics of sex, extending beyond the average puberty and reproduction-related information previously learned in elementary school.
For the stereotypical psychological, social and cultural changes associated with puberty, see Teenage Tropes. May vaguely overlap with Youngsters. See also this Useful Notes page on puberty, for a basic understanding on the subject, including an examination of common myths about it that arise from fiction.
Tropes:
- 13th Birthday Milestone: A supernatural puberty-related event may occur on the birthday marking a child's entrance into their teen years.
- A-Cup Angst: A young lady who's self-conscious about her lack of breasts.
- "All Grown Up" Remark: Puberty caused someone to age well, and it doesn't go unnoticed by others.
- All Periods Are PMS: All periods are accompanied by PMS irritability.
- Appearance Angst: A character is upset by the physical changes of puberty...or the lack thereof.
- Fake Period Excuse: A girl fakes being on her period to get out of a situation surreptitiously.
- First Period Panic: Girl treats getting her first period like a major crisis.
- Hormone-Addled Teenager: An adolescent who is ruled by their sex drive as their body is maturing.
- I Got Bigger: Character gets taller as a result of a growth spurt.
- Inopportune Voice Cracking: A boy's voice deepens at the wrong time, usually during puberty, making him embarrassed.
- Mating Season Mayhem: While not exclusive to puberty, it's not uncommon for it to be a counterpart to a first menstrual cycle.
- Menstrual Menace: Supernatural forces ensue following a girl's first menstrual cycle.
- Nocturnal Emission: One of the early signs of puberty in a boy is ejaculation during sleep.
- Not Growing Up Sucks: The only thing more awkward than hitting puberty is not hitting puberty.
- Period Shaming: A girl who gets her period has to deal with people - often her immature peers - freaking out or humiliating her over it.
- Puberty Superpower: Being pubescent grants one powers.
- Pubescent Braces: Kids wear braces to portray them in that awkward puberty stage.
- Rise of Zitboy: Character notices their first case of acne.
- The Talk: A parent has to explain sex to their child, which will often include discussions on how the body changes during puberty and may occur when the child is starting to enter puberty.
- Vocal Evolution: A character's voice changes despite still being voiced by the same voice actor. In the case of child actors, this can be a result of hitting puberty.