Jörg Müller - When Boys and Girls Become Men and Women: Everything You Need to Know about Growing Up

First English translation copyright 2020 by Skyhorse Publishing, Inc.

Published by arrangement with Loewe Verlag GmbH.

Title of the original German edition: Ganz schn aufgeklrt!

1993, 2012, 2015 Loewe Verlag GmhH, Bindlach

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without the express written consent of the publisher, except in the case of brief excerpts in critical reviews or articles. All inquiries should be addressed to Sky Pony Press, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018.

Sky Pony Press books may be purchased in bulk at special discounts for sales promotion, corporate gifts, fund-raising, or educational purposes. Special editions can also be created to specifications. For details, contact the Special Sales Department, Sky Pony Press, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018 or .

Sky Pony is a registered trademark of Skyhorse Publishing, Inc., a Delaware corporation.

Visit our website at www.skyponypress.com.

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Manufactured in China, December 2019

This product conforms to CPSIA 2008

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.

Cover provided by Loewe Verlag GmbH

Cover illustration by Dagmar Geisler

Print ISBN: 978-1-5107-4656-5

Ebook ISBN: 978-1-5107-4667-1

Table of Contents

For Your Parents

Kids have many questions and always want to know everything. Sometimes this isnt so easy for parents. Especially if their children arent little boys and girls anymore so much as young men and women. Thats why weve created this book. It should accompany kids and parents on the long road to becoming adults. We want to help both sides explore this new territory step by step.

The Small Difference

Its Good That Everybody Looks Different

Theres a well-known Swedish fable about a race between a hare and a hedgehog. The clever, prickly fellow with short legs won the race because his wife looked identical to him. And the hare never noticed that there were two hedgehogs. But that only happens in folktales. In real life, it is very rare that two people look so alike as to be confused for one another.

The difference between a man and a woman can almost always be identified immediately. Thats what well focus on for the next few pagesalong with the differences you cant see immediately because they are hidden under pants, sweaters, and dresses.

Each Has Its Strengths

Sometimes you hear a lot of nonsense when it comes to differences between boys and girls or men and women. For example, its often claimed that boys are strong and girls are weak. Or they say that one gender is dumb and the other is clever. Whats interesting is how these silly prejudices came about.

Lets take the prejudice of intelligence and stupidity. Historically, it was almost entirely sons that went to school or learned a profession in order to earn money and support a family of their own. The daughters often received no vocational training at all. They learned to make handicrafts or to play a musical instrument. If they worked, it was at most as a nanny or a factory worker.

Youll be married soon anyway. Then youll have children and must keep the house. Why then should we pay for an expensive education? many parents thought at the time.

Today it is very different: Girls have the same opportunities as boys if they want to study or learn a trade. And anyone can see that girls are at least as smart as boys. You only have to look at their grades in school.

Even when boys say that girls are physically weaker, that is not entirely true.

Although men are usually stronger, taller, and heavier, women, however, are often more tenacious and have more endurance.

Additionally, men are much more sensitive to pain than women. A man, for example, might not withstand childbirth. As such, each gender has its strengths .

Lets Take a Closer Look

One thing that really is different in men and women will only stand out when each one is naked: Between the legs, there are very clear differences!

Boys and men have a scrotum hanging there, which looks like a small pouch, and in front hangs the penis.

Girls and women have an opening between the legs called the vagina. They have nothing hanging between their legs. Yet women and older girls have on their upper body something men lack: breasts.

When someone has something that you yourself do not, it is an exciting thing. But: How can one figure out the secret behind these differences? Many children try to discover it for themselves along the way, especially if they enjoy to frequently disrobe while at home.

Of course, parents mostly arent too thrilled when everyone is hopping around the room naked.

So what good is it if you can see whats different but not know why? Theres so much happening inside the bodies of boys and girls that you cant see; inside there are many more interesting differences.

Whats Hanging There Between the Legs?

Whats Hanging There Between the Legs?

Hanging between their legs, men and boys have a scrotum and a penis. The tip of the penis is called the glans. The long part is called the shaft.

There are no bones in the penis. It consists only of skin, blood vessels, erectile tissue, muscle fibers, and nerves. The blood vessels are tiny, flexible tubes through which blood flows. They are surrounded by muscle fibers and form the erectile tissue. There are three parts of the penis shaft.

One is the urethra. It runs like a small hose through the penis shaft into a mans lower abdomen. There it flows into the bladder, where fluid from food and beverages accumulates. This fluid is called urine. When a boy goes to the bathroom, urine runs out of the penis through the urethra.