Sex Education Resources
Puberty & Development
Puberty is a Process
It occurs for several years.
Average Start:
11 Years Old
For girls, puberty usually starts
around age 11.
But it can start as early as
age 6 or 7.
Average End:
14 Years Old
Most girls finish
puberty by age 14.
Average Start:
11 Years Old
For girls, puberty usually starts
around age 11.
But it can start as early as
age 6 or 7.
Average End:
16 Years Old
Most boys finish puberty
at age 15 or 16.
Precocious Puberty or Early Puberty
Precocious puberty is when the signs of puberty start before age 7 or 8 in girls and age 9 in boys.
More Resources about precocious puberty:
Kids Health
WebMD
University of Michigan Medicine
Mayo Clinic
Teen Sexual Health
17 Years Old
On average, young people in the
United States have sex for the first time
at about age 17 *
55% by 18
More than half of U.S. teenagers
reported having had sexual
intercourse by age 18 **
Relationships
74% of female teens and 51% male
teens had a first partner with whom
they were in a relationship **
Not Ready
Teens who had not yet had sex, the most common reasons for abstaining were: it was against religion or morals, haven’t found the right person yet, and don’t want to get pregnant **
50%
Adolescents ages 15-24 account for
nearly half of the 26 million new cases of STDs each year **
2 in 5
sexually active teen girls have had
an STD that can cause infertility
and even death ***
8% HIV
diagnoses were among
young people (aged 13-34) in 2021**
*According to the Guttmacher Institute (2017)
**According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2017)
***According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (2019)
Consent Information
58%
of respondents had never had a conversation with their parents about the importance of “being a caring and respectful sexual partner.” Yet a large majority of respondents who had engaged in these conversations with parents described them as at least somewhat influential.*
70%
of the 18 to 25-year-olds who responded reported wishing they had received more information from their parents about some emotional aspect of a romantic relationship.*
65%
of respondents wished that they had received guidance on emotional aspects of romantic relationships in a health or sex education class at school.*
76%
of survey respondents had never had a conversation with their parents about how to avoid sexually harassing others. *