Puberty Before Age 10: A New ‘Normal’?

[kenny]

Some blame hormones in our foods for third graders menstruating now.

Fascinating NY Times article.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/01/magazine/puberty-before-age-10-a-new-normal.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all

 

[iLander]

Ugh, I want to read this article, but I am over my NYT free article limit for the month. I really should spring for a subscription. That's okay, I'll read it tomorrow- new month!

Several years ago, I took my daughter off of all inorganic dairy and she lost weight, and slimmed down. All her friends still drink regular milk (school lunch milk is the WORST) and they are all huge and tall. Not privvy to their puberty, but I suspect that might also be at play here.

We also drink only reverse-osmosis water because I think there are hormones in the water (there was an article about fish having secondary sexual characteristics of both genders that freaked me out) from all the hormones from medications that people pass in their urine. The earth is a closed system. It's not like any of this stuff is going anywhere.

There are freshman boys in her school that I mistook for teachers; they were huge, hairy and muscular. I also wonder how much childhood obesity is caused by all the hormones.

Something's wacko, alright.

 

[PinkTower]

I'm a teacher and it is state law that we offer milk at lunch. Our school only serves organic milk; the extra expense is worth every penny. I would not want my young daughter served inorganic dairy products. Thanks for reminding parents to be vigilant about this.

 

[Pandora II]

The real issue with milk is not organic/non organic but what stage of pregnancy the cows are milk until. In countries like Mongolia they stop milking a cow 3 months into a pregnancy. In Western countries we stop milking very late on in a pregnancy thus vastly more oestrogen in present in the milk.

Purely anecdotal, but my two sisters both consumed huge quantities of milk as children - both hit puberty at 11, I loathe milk and have never drunk it... I hit puberty at 16.

There were very interesting studies done in Japan - before 1946, milk did not form part of the Japanese diet. After the war, milk consumption shot up - within 15 years, girls were 9lbs heavier on average and were hitting puberty a full 3 years earlier than the previous generation.

 

[soocool]

Growing up in the late 60 and early 70s, I had a few friends who got their periods at ages 8 and 9. One of them did not know what was happening to her and thought she was dying. We can all laugh at it now though. I also knew guys in high school who looked like they were still in grade school and other guys who had full beards at 15.

When my DD was in high school I did not see much difference in the guys that I knew growing up. The girls, however, with all the makeup and mostly exposed skin and barely there clothing are much different from my generation back in the 70s. I know some of DD's schoolmates were on birth control when they were 12 " just in case" according to their mothers. These are the same mothers who let their daughters out of the house with next to nothing to wear.

What I think is that there were always girls who started puberty earlier than others, but mothers did not rush them to the doctors to see what was wrong. You just accepted it and did not talk about it. Now if your child does not fall within the acceptable ranges of development, parents rush them to the doctors for all sort of tests to find out what is wrong.

 

[DivaDiamond007]

Growing up in the late 60 and early 70s, I had a few friends who got their periods at ages 8 and 9. One of them did not know what was happening to her and thought she was dying. We can all laugh at it now though. I also knew guys in high school who looked like they were still in grade school and other guys who had full beards at 15.

When my DD was in high school I did not see much difference in the guys that I knew growing up. The girls, however, with all the makeup and mostly exposed skin and barely there clothing are much different from my generation back in the 70s. I know some of DD's schoolmates were on birth control when they were 12 " just in case" according to their mothers. These are the same mothers who let their daughters out of the house with next to nothing to wear.

What I think is that there were always girls who started puberty earlier than others, but mothers did not rush them to the doctors to see what was wrong. You just accepted it and did not talk about it. Now if your child does not fall within the acceptable ranges of development, parents rush them to the doctors for all sort of tests to find out what is wrong.

I agree with the bolded part.

It seems like so many parents run off to the doctor at every little sniffle to see what's wrong, when there really isn't anything wrong to begin with. Some people just develop earlier; some much later. PEOPLE VARY.

I was born in 1982 (i.e. a few decades after socool) and had the same school experience - some girls got their periods in like 4th grade (age 9ish) and others not until highschool. Also had the same experience with the boys. Some of them were tall and burly while others were still looking pretty young when we graduated in 2000.