Why is my voice at stage 4 but the rest of me is at stage 3?

Last updated on October 11, 2020

Question:

Hello,

I recently used your Tanner stage development calculator and it put me at 3.6, which makes sense. Yet some of the stuff that supposed come in Tanner stage 4 is happening in Tanner stage 3. Like it says that your voice gets deeper in Tanner stage 4, but mine has got deeper already in tanner stage 3.6. And acne is supposed to come in Tanner stage 4 according to your Tanner stage calculator, and I have that in Tanner stage 3. Are all of these normal? I am also 13.5 years old.

Answer:

Being in the middle of state 3 at the age of 13.5 is right at the average for all boys.

Think of your body as being a set of systems. You have your height, your body hair, your facial hair, your genitals, your internal organs, etc. All of these change as you grow, but they can’t all change at the same time because you don’t have the energy to change them all at once. Therefore, the body works a little on one system and then moves to another system. Each system goes in a set sequence, but the order of changes between the systems varies a bit. So while your body overall is in the middle of stage 3, your body has gotten ahead a bit on your voice box and the oil glands on your skin. These will slow down and your body will focus on getting the other systems caught up.

This is why the calculator asks a whole bunch of questions about the various systems and then gives a composite score.

Response:

Thank you so much!