Any mom of a little girl will tell you that one of the things she dreads most of all raising a daughter is puberty. It isn't that we don't want our little girls to grow up. We do. We just also want them to be smart and ready to deal with the changes, which is why last weekend's New York Times article on early puberty has many parents running scared.
According to the article, it isn't so much that girls are having their first period earlier -- 12.5 is still the average -- and more that the other signs of puberty, like pubic hair growth and breast budding, are starting earlier. Scary stuff, no?
The reasons are varied and not entirely clear. But the one thing that is clear is that girls as young as 7 are starting to grow breasts and that is terrifying.
The girls who start puberty earlier are at-risk children. They are often more promiscuous, have lower self-esteem, and risk eating disorders. They are also in danger of having their bodies be far more developed than their minds, which makes them easy prey to someone who would want to take advantage.
No mom wants this for her child. I look at my little girl who is only 5 and I think of myself at her age, just as innocent, just as curious and full of confidence and excitement and totally unaware that in a few short years, she will be full of angst and anger and confusion.
I would like, as a mom, to keep puberty at bay. I was a late bloomer, which at the time was awful -- starting your period at 15 is hugely humiliating -- but now is a blessing. I had all those years to develop my mind over my body.
Once I did grow breasts and all that, everything changed. That time before was a more innocent time. So I will make sure my daughter isn't exposed to BPA (the estrogen in BPA is one of the suspects here), ingests only organic, growth-hormone-free dairy and meat, and exercises as much as possible.
The fact that I was insanely skinny as a little girl may be the reason puberty was staved off since body fat is one of the culprits, according to the Times. It just makes good sense to try to keep my daughter young as long as possible.
When you are 5, it seems like it will take forever to grow up, but 30 years later, you know it happens in the blink of an eye and childhood is a blip in a (hopefully) 95-year lifetime. I want her to be young as long as she can.
Does this scare you?
This Hot Dad Wants to Do Your Ironing
KStew Refuses to Shower
This Hot Dad Wants to Cook You Dinner
This Hot Dad Cooks AND Does the Dishes
Comments 43
It isn't medically clear?
Actually, it is quite obvious and there is A LOT of research that tells us exactly why this is happening. Chemicals in EVERYTHING alter your body. The exposure your mother has on her body will effect yours as you develop in the womb... the food and environment you are exposed to as a young child will effect your body as you grow. Hormones and hormone altering chemicals are everywhere in the world and we accept it as normal. THIS is why our little girls bodies are changing early. This is why cancer is growing and THIS is why we have so many health and mental problems. Our bodies are actually quite sensitive to the world around us and we continue to ignore and abuse them.
There is a mathematical ratio between body weight and the onset of puberty... and our larger little girls are prone to earlier periods because their hormones are set to trigger when this ratio comes to play.
It is no mystery to people who are aware. Only to those that blindly walk through life in blissful ignorance.
I'm scared for my dd because I got my first period when I was 10yrs old, by the time I was 11 people thought I was 16 because I was fully developed. It sucked because people treat you way older than you are and I even had a few guys that were 17 hit on me because they thought I was older until I told then I was only a kid.
Its what our moms and dads put into our bodies plus the fast food market that most of us fell for as a teen. Our grandparents are partly to blame for the same thing our parents did. An ll natural diet in all natural foods is the only way to correct the problems and to stop girls from starting up earlier. Its all the horomones and chemicals like HistoryMommaX3 said.
Im the same Winterbaby, I got my period at 10 and was the first girl to wear a bra in fifth grade. the first time I wore a white shirt with my bra, I remember standing in the hallway of my school while a boy laughed and whispered about it to those aorund him. It was humiliating, and i will never forget it. unfortunately now, I pretty much dont need a bra at all LOL.
My 5 yr old is built like my mother, who had a C cup in 4th grade. The drs have all said my daughters hormones are fine. She will just be short, and large chested. There are no other signs of early puberty.
Sometimes, breasts, are just breasts. Nothing hormonally/chemically crazy, just breasts
Its not always being overweight, or ingesting hormone filled crap. My kids don't get 90% of the things other kids eat.
If ur kid has early puberty, don't freak out. Just take them to the dr to have hormones tested, weight & diet assessed, and make sure they're healthy
HistoryMamaX3...you hit the nail RIGHT on the head!!! This is terrifying!! I'm pretty sure I was 12 or so when I first got my period, and as far as breasts go, I have yet to dfevelop those still! So I guess I got lucky! lol ;)
My one daughter was 10 when she got her period. She was and still is a skinny as a rake. However, she was fortunate that her breast developed but not so much that it stood out (sorry for the pun). My other daughter started her period at 12 and very rapidly developed large breasts. She hates them. She says teenage boys never talk to her face and I have personally watched grown men gawk at her chest. Was it chemicals, hormones, genetics? Who knows. As long as they are healthy I am happy.