Physical Changes in Puberty

Different puberty games:

1. The flag (physical change: body hair)

• The players run around with ribbons under their armpit or in front of their pants.
• They try to steal each other's ribbons.
• The player who ends with the most ribbons wins.

2. Balloons (physical change: breasts)

• Blow up some balloons and form groups of two.
• Each duo receives two balloons. They can only keep their balloons from dropping by using their chest.
• They need to run to the other side of the playing field and back as quickly as possible without loosing the balloons.
• If they drop one or both balloons, they need to start over. If a team pops a balloon, they are out.
• The first team to make it back with both balloons intact wins the game.

3. Tied up (physical change: the growth spurt)

• Tie two players to each other, back to back.
• Let them walk an improvised track as fast as possible.

4. Who said it? (physical change: break voice)

• One player stands in front of the group with his/her eyes closed.
• Somebody else from the group says something with a changed voice.
• The player in front of the group has to guess who said it.

5. The slide (physical change: menstruation)

• Make a slide from a table, a wall,... towards the ground.
• Give the players marbles or small balls to put on the slide.

6. Smells (physical change: body smells)

• Look for objects with a specific smell (e.g. an, onion, perfume, …).
• Blindfold the players.
• The players try to recognise the smells without looking at the objects.

7. Ibble dibble (physical change: acne)

• Gather the players in a circle.
• The first player starts with the sentence: "I (name) ibble dibble with 0 ibble dibbles call (name) ibble dibble with 0 ibble dibbles, how many ibble dibbles do you have?"
• The player who was named says the same sentence but names someone else.
• Whoever makes an error gets a spot on the forehead with chalk or paint. From this point on, the quantity of spots that the person says in his sentence changes to 1.
• Continue the game until everybody is full of spots.

8. The circle of trust (physical change: erection)

• The players form a circle and stand really close to each other.
• One player stands in the middle of the circle, as stiff as a board, hands crossed on his chest. He/she closes his/her eyes and lets him/-herself fall forwards or backwards.
• The players in the circle need to prevent the player in the middle from falling by guiding and pushing the player softly around the circle.
• The player in the middle switches with an other player in the circle.
• The game ends when everyone has been in the middle.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This activity is a part of the StreetSmart sexuality package. The package aims to give youth workers the tools they need to address the topic of sexuality in a playful way with the children and young people they work with, so they can learn to make conscious, healthy and respectful decisions.

Sexuality is a very broad term, encompassing various subtopics. Here, you can find a list of all activities included in our sexuality package to address these different topics:

1. Sexuality in general: The Sex Alphabet, The Sexuality Goose Game, Yes or No Circle, Sexuality Statement Game
2. Body (development): Anatomy fundamentals, Who has what?, Physical changes in puberty, Emotional changes in puberty, Life Cycle
3. Boundaries: Stop!, People to People, Kiss the Teddy Bear, Body Carrousel, (Not) Okay?, Body Twister 
4. Relationships: Choose Your Relationship, My Ideal Partner, In The Worst Way Possible
5. Gender & sexual orientation: Labels, Sex Change, Who does what?
6. Safe sex: The Synonym Game, Condom Smugglers, Goodie Bag, STD-Roulette, Can I get pregnant?
7. Sex & media: Who is responsible?

"Who has what?" is a good introductory game for this activity.

• Learn about the different physical changes that happen during puberty. 
• Learn about the similarities and differences between the changes in boys' and girls' bodies during puberty.