Lost innocence or hormonal hazard?

Posted on Wednesday, April 30, 2008 6:02 PM PT
Filed Under: ,

By Dr. Billy Goldberg and Mark Leyner

 

Dr. Billy Goldberg:

I was working overnight in the ER last week and I saw a simple case that left me rattled and worried. This wasn’t some gruesome trauma or a heart-wrenching medical story. It was simply the case of a 10-year-old girl whose parents brought her in for what turned out to be her first menstrual period.

 

What disturbed me was when the pediatrics resident mentioned that they consider the normal range of menarche, the onset of menstruation, to be anywhere from 8 to 14 years. Eight years old!

 

I have mentioned in this blog that I have two young children at home – a 2-year-old boy and a 3-month-old girl. Eight just doesn’t seem that far away. This sent me on a quest to investigate what happened to the innocence of youth.

 

It turns out that experts agree that the average age at menarche has dropped by 2.5 to 4 months over the past 25 years – and is now 12.5 years. Eight is still very early but it doesn’t necessarily get doctors scurrying to search for a cause of what is called precocious puberty.

 

There are many theories about what is causing earlier puberty. Pre-pubertal obesity has been shown to lower the age of menarche. Also linked to early menstruation are chemicals such as phthalate esters, which are added to vinyl to make it flexible, and are found in toys, vinyl floor and wall coverings, food packaging, pesticides, detergents, pharmaceuticals, and personal care products such as nail polish, sunscreen, shampoo and lotions. Hormones in meat and milk, and other “environmental estrogens” have been implicated.

 

One of the most intriguing theories is that stressful family situations can lead to early maturation and puberty. The evidence isn’t overwhelmingly strong for some of these theories, but that doesn’t keep me from worrying about my little girl.

 

Earlier onset of puberty is associated with health concerns beyond the loss of youthful innocence. Girls with premature puberty are at a higher risk for developing obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease. Early age of menarche also is a risk factor for breast cancer. Young girls with early puberty are also at risk for early sexual activity, potential sexual abuse, and a variety of behavioral disorders during adolescence.

 

Well, maybe for now I will try not to be alarmist and just focus on getting my little girl to sleep through the night.

    

Mark Leyner:

Billy recently broached this whole subject of precocious menstruation and the early onset of puberty and I’ve been thinking about it ever since. There is this pang you feel… this notion of lost innocence. 

 

Most of us think of childhood as something precious and idealized. We talk about childhood as something that can be “stolen” from us. Many of us ardently long for this time of our lives as a kind of ancestral homeland – pastoral, idyllic. Some of us might even be guilty of the Disneyfication of our own childhoods. The sublime consciousness of childhood can be a powerful force to the increasingly sclerotic consciousness of adulthood.

 

Although our culture promotes sexual awakening as a kind of “liberation,” seen in another light, being sexual can be a restrictive and regimented way to live, especially compared to one’s life as a child. In a sense, one’s burgeoning sexuality is really like being “on drugs.” In puberty we marinate in our hormones – all those estrogens and androgens. We become more similar in the ways we behave and in the ways we view the world. 

 

A friend, a single woman in her mid-40s made me realize how much more expansive the consciousness of a pre-sexual person might be. She is absolutely fixated with finding a boyfriend and completely appraises her happiness based on whether or not she is in a relationship. She is oblivious to the infinite splendors of the world because – like many adults – she cleaves to the sad paradigm of shopping and relentlessly striving to enhance her appearance so that she’ll be more attractive when she’s out foraging for potential mates.

 

When does this dismal state of affairs kick in? Puberty! The incipiently sexualized adolescent is the capitalist’s dream come true. What can’t be sold to a teenager? He or she is the world’s most vulnerable consumer.

 

In a culture as perverse as ours, sexual awakening is polluted by the pornography of merchandising and celebrity culture, a pornography that literally drives people crazy by producing all sorts of unsatisfiable desires and thwarts those very desires with pervasive images of unattainable bodies and luxuries. The result can be self-loathing and obsessive shopping.

 

So this phenomenon of precocious menstruation, for me, conjures up immediately all sorts of paranoid fantasies of corporate conspiracy. THEY are putting SOMETHING in the water. Perhaps it’s the phthalate esters. Or more likely, it’s our culture’s campaign to colonize and establish new markets in the psyches of our children that’s causing this dispiriting phenomenon of early-onset puberty.

 

Weigh in, parents: Are you concerned about precocious puberty in your precious daughters?

 

Comments

I agree with Jane, I too began my period at age 9. I was the youngest of three girls, one 4 years older, the other 8 years older. I was treated as an every day event. Thanks to my parents, I continued to have a wonderful childhood that I couldn't have rewritten any better. I didn't awaken sexually and maybe the people who are thinking in that respect should rethink their thinking, maybe they have a problem, not the young ladies that start their periods early.

Carol, Cochran, GA (Thursday, May 01, 2008 6:47 PM)

Thank you for writing about this important topic. A great resource to learn more is a recent report by the biologist Sandra Steingraber, "The Falling Age of Puberty: What We Know, What We Need to Know." http://www.breastcancerfund.org/site/pp.asp?c=kwKXLdPaE&b=3266509
The report explores the factors linked to early puberty noted by Dr. Goldberg, and discusses the disturbing social and health problems associated with early sexuality. The falling age of puberty is especially a problem for African American girls. This disturbing trend must be addressed by taking a precautionary approach, and reducing the use of hormone-disrupting chemicals in food and household products. Thank you.      

Stacy Malkan, Berkeley California (Thursday, May 01, 2008 10:05 PM)

The last five generations of women in my family werehaving regular cycles by the time the were 7. My younger sister began in first grade. This is sometimes regulated in part by ethnic backgroung. We are Safardic, it is not at all uncommon in our families and our girls are not sexually active at an early age, nor under great stress. It is just nature.

Aziza Malayer- Mooresville, IN (Friday, May 02, 2008 12:47 AM)

It was very interesting to read this article which expressed a variety of emotions ( from disbelief, anxiety, and awe) from both the original author, and the respondents. Some events in life are down right incredulous. The subject material sparked my memory that recalled a scene in the movie "Carrie", with Sissy Spasick, where  her character was in the shower, at high school, with her other classmates and she started her 'initial period'. Unfortunately, her character was naive about the "signs"/events that marked the transition from childhood into adulthood as a young female. Consequently... because she was both uninformed by her Mother and unaware that she was going to bleed, as a result of maturation, she  became ultimately terrified, and felt she was going to die. To make matters worse her classmates stripped her of her dignity, and she was very humiliated their resulting actions toward her... throwing female hygiene products at her. I sincerely hope that the 10 year old girl in this story, that was brought into the ER, did not experience an event similar to the one I mentioned. As I read more of the article, it went on to discuss current theories thought to be responsible for triggering this early maturation...obesity, phthalates esters ( added to vinyl for flexibility, found in toys, vinyl flooring and wall coverings,food packaging,pesticides,detergents,pharmaceuticals,and personal care products such as nail polish, sunscreen,shampoo, and lotions...also found in hormones in meat & milk, and other "environmental estrogens" have been implicated...and stressful family situations lead to early maturation and puberty). I recapped all of these theories to illustrate my upcoming counterpoint. Several years ago while I was in a library, near where they kept all the newspapers, a picture on one of the newspapers caught my eye. It was a picture of a  little Black girl holding a baby. Since the apparel wasn't reflective of the majority of (United States) our culture, and the small girl was holding a baby, my curiosity lead me to investigate the story behind the picture.   The picture was taken, in a village in AFRICA, may be in Botswana, or Rhawanda. Regardless, the small girl was 9 years old and the baby she was holding was hers. I said to myself,with disbelief, 9 years old and she is a mother. I believe the article was written because it was a new "Guinnes World Book of Records" for the youngest woman to give birth (look it up to verify ).  I then thought to myself, what was I doing when I was 9 years old? I was invincible, finishing up third grade, into little electric racecar tracks with the handheld speed controls and just plan enjoying my family,friends,and playing in the St. John's River, in Florida. In my wildest imagination could I fathom being a Father and the responsibilities involved in such a role. When I read the suspected theories/causes, thought to be responsible for the early maturation of females (did not mention other geographical areas), in the USA, the only one mentioned that might explain the birth of a child to a child ( 9 year-old in Africa ) was "stressful family situations" our probably just stressful living conditions. From the picture, it appeared that her living conditions were quite harsh.  I say this because... where this child lived...the suspected "environmental elements", overall, are absent and just not present. She lived in a mud house with a grass roof. For example, no vinyl products, detergents, plastic products, sunscreen, shampoo,hormones for beef/milk. Primary diet chicken/goats/wheat/rice. Granted, science is, itself, a very powerful discipline that helps account  and explain endless phenomenons on this "Earth Village." I am hopeful that "we" haven't poisoned our environment so much so that phthalates esters are responsible for the early onset of Menses in North American females. Other female respondents discussed their life experience with their early onset of their period, and how they coped and dealt with the event. Fortunately, they had loving parents that supported them,and helped them understand and cope with these changes. I also wonder if early menstruation is an adaptation that is occurring across the species that marks some aspect of human evolution to adapt to our rapidly changing environment.              

H. "Roaddogg" North, Burlington, Vermont (Friday, May 02, 2008 3:32 AM)

I am happy that we are able to talk about puberty and periods openly. I am 28 years old and did not get my period until I was 16 years old. My older sister was 14. Surprisingly, being the last one to get it, I was the one being made fun of. I had one friend, that got her period at 9 years old and started to wear a bra at the same time. I know that she was treated differently at school, with the boys, because she was developed and I wasn't. This can affect a child from both sides of the fence. I understand that most parents do not want their child to grow up too quickly, but we need to think of the late bloomers too.

Melissa Pearson, Jessup, Maryland (Friday, May 02, 2008 10:25 AM)

Blame, guilt, blame, guilt ad infinitum. Stop it now! Yes, there may be exceptional circumstances with early 'maturity' that merit informed medical evaluation... Nevertheless, above are posted several rational, synoptic, and coherent perspectives by supportive parents such as Dan Gage and J. of Austin, TX. Basically, love your children unconditionally, communicate and inform endlessly, and rejoice in infinite support on the endless variation of our human biology. Family Physician

Family Physician, on call (Friday, May 02, 2008 10:51 AM)

I was 10 when i first got my period, and i had no clue in the world what it was. I was worried, cause i was bleeding and didn't know why. I lived with a single parent, my dad, and he saw the tissues in the bin, and surprised me by saying, "Are you starting your period?". I was like what, what is that? He explained it all to me.
So granted, there are men out there who know what what it is, why it happens and deal with it. I know a lot of girls who got their periods early in life like that, not surprising really. Maybe because im a girl, and thats something almost every woman knows, and men, not so much.

But it's nice for you to know, at least you learned something that's always been around.

Jane Doe (Friday, May 02, 2008 3:43 PM)

I agree with a previous post that it is not "innocence lost" it IS a normal bodily funtion; just like breastfeeding is normal but for some reason many girls grow up to think its GROSS....wonder why THAT is. Anywho, I think that girls starting their periods younger may also be related to the hormones being put in milk. I started buying nothing but hormone free organic stuff just in case:)

Jen, NC (Friday, May 02, 2008 5:51 PM)

I started my period when I was around 12. My mom and dad were both very supportive of me, giving me the whole "talk" and giving me all the information that I wanted to know. I was fully prepared for it, and honestly, almost eight years later, I can say that it's not a big deal. Sure, it can be annoying, but it means my body is working normally.

Jenny, Minneapolis, MN (Saturday, May 03, 2008 1:21 AM)

ANother theory undiscussed is the simple overabundance of calories triggering early puberty.  There are studies that show that alone can make other animals both mature faster and die younger.

LLRich (Saturday, May 03, 2008 1:49 AM)

I'm 21, and have had my period for about 10 years. Getting my period at 11 wasn't a big deal for me, I actually thought I was  very old, especially since I hadn't really developed much in the way of breasts etc. Turned out that by 13 I had finished puberty for all intents and purposes, and I still didn't look like a woman. To this day I still don't feel I look like a woman, I actually have to fight very hard for other adults to take me seriously.

My point is, early periods don't really signal an onset of anything more than an early period. I wasn't sexually active for a very long time, and I had no desire to be. I wasn't "marinating in hormones" - if I was, I let it out on the Backstreet Boys. I had a boyfriend at age 13 but didn't become intimate with him until I was 18. I still felt like a child, and I still feel like I'm growing up today. Part of the reason for that is because I didn't have any of the sexual hang ups and associations with my period that a lot of the mothers on this board seem to have. I have to thank my mother, a paediatrician, for that.

Z B (Sunday, May 04, 2008 6:54 PM)

My daughter began developing pubic hair at age 7.  After many sleepless nights, I badgered my pediatrician into talking to a pediatric endocrinologist.  The pediatric endocrinologist stated what has already been written above:  earlier onset of puberty is common, obesity is a factor, etc.  My daughter eats a very healthy diet, is extremely physically active and is thin, tall for her age,  and physically fit.   However, since the acceptable beginning of puberty is considered to be age 8, and my daughter was 7, they would run some blood tests.   The blood tests came back with endocrine levels that were off the charts.  The blood tests were repeated, with the same results.  She was eventually diagnosed with Non-classical Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia, also called Non-classical CAH.  It is absolutely astounding to me that after numerous doctor visits, many doctors are unfamiliar with this disorder.  This disorder, from what I have learned & researched, is often misdiagnosed as precocious puberty or never diagnosed.  My daughter is now regularly monitored by a pediatric endocrinologist and is on a daily dosage of steroids to treat her disorder.  It is believed that the steroid treatment is correcting a failure of her endocrine system to produce cortisol; she is now 9 years old and her blood levels have stabilized.  I would recommend to any parent whose child is showing signs of "precocious puberty" to look up Non-classical CAH online, and the best resource available is the CARES Foundation-it was started by a mom whose daughter was diagnosed with Non-classical CAH.  After my daughter's diagnosis, I was in a state of turmoil and I did not know what to do or where to turn.  The CARES Foundation is an excellent resource.  Non-classical CAH is an inherited genetic disorder, both my husband & I eventually tested positive as carriers.  It is one of the most common inherited genetic disorders.  Please look up Non-classical CAH if your son or daughter is showing signs of early puberty.

Amy, NY (Sunday, May 04, 2008 10:54 PM)

There is one significant issue involved with early onset puberty that no one here as mentioned (I don't think).  Girls generally stop getting much taller when they go through puberty.

It is for this reason that we chose to put my almost 10 year old daughter on hormone supression therapy.  It's not a lot of fun, believe me.  She has to have a very expensive $750 shot every 28 days.

My daughter is adopted, Cambodian by birth.  She was born with multiple birth defects and has a benign growth in her brain on her hypothalmus. She started exhibiting signs of puberty a few months before her 9th birthday. The problem is that she is very tiny for her age - she's the size of a 6 year old.  If we had allowed nature to take its course, she would have only grown to a few inches over 4' at adulthood.  

So in addition to the puberty supression therapy, she's on daily growth hormone shots.  The good news is that we have a good shot at her getting to be at least 5' tall!

Adoption Ally (Sunday, May 04, 2008 11:00 PM)

Look, I'm 41 and I started my period at the age of 9 (and, no, I was nowhere near obese - not even slightly overweight).  It's nothing new.  Every girl walks a different path to maturity. Mine just started earlier. All we can do is prepare our daughters for the eventuality and make sure we don't emphasize the connection with sexuality. It's certainly not "innocence lost" or any other romantic notion like that. It's just a natural function of our bodies.

Also, Dave from Clarkson, you'd have to be very old to remember 12-14-year-old girls enjoying dolls and tea parties because that was not part of the "tween" scene for the average girl even in the '70s and '80s. Think makeovers, sleepovers, sneaking into R-rated movies and middle-school dances.

Gina, Dresden, Germany (formerly Mesa, AZ) (Monday, May 05, 2008 4:41 AM)

I'm glad that two doctors are willing to speak out about the gradual, hardly noticable changes in a population's development. I didn't start as early as some (12), but I know full well the reactions from both parents. My father STILL is not comfortable with my body, let alone my bisexuality, and my mother for the longest time did treat me as a very real rival...until the fights with Dad. I hope, honestly, that others will not go through that painful separation, purely based on the fact that your body is changing...It can effect you for so many years afterwards, and it's a wound that doesn't truly heal.

C. Smith, McPherson, Kansas (Monday, May 05, 2008 3:18 PM)

You people are crazy. Nature is Nature. Let it run its course. Do not let on to it being something to be ashamed about. Way to scare your kids. Idiots!

carl, hudson ohio (Tuesday, May 06, 2008 4:26 PM)

Yet another fanatic and hysterical development in America's further journey towards making sex, children and biology in general as scary and incomprehensible as possible. NEWS FLASH! NEWS FLASH! Wide varieties of people are different and develop at different rates!!! Ridiculous. You want to know what destroys innocence- I will give you a hint- it ain't the early onset of puberty in some children.Somehow i think abuse and a highly sexualized media along with inattentive parents have a lot more to do with that than the  far more natural, physical development of children. And I somehow HIGHLY doubt it is a new phenomenon, but i have nothing to back that- everything else I think is common sense when your not a hysterical throwback to puritan BS.

JSNQ (Tuesday, May 06, 2008 5:55 PM)

I started my menstration when i was fifteen. I feel that it is sad that girls so young as eight could have to start dealing with the cramping and the sanitation pads, etc. At that age i did not really know what menstration was, i knew my mother had one, she would say "my horns are out", but for girls to have to deal with that. I have an eight year old sister, and to imagine her starting pubertry is scary. Mentaly she is not ready, i don't think any eight year old is. On the same topic, i believe i started too late. I felt out of place, all of the other girls had there's. I felt like the ugly duckling. My mother was worried, but she also started late, so we were waiting.  

Emily Sommers (Tuesday, May 06, 2008 8:58 PM)

I think its a govegnment conspiracy,they controls everything that is going on, its become communist nation, where government control food, what they put in food, and other things.People that going to run this country already in best colleges already doing what needs to be done , its funny that people still beleive in this illusion tha you can be any thing you want to be you know what you will be lucky if you get SECURE good paying job and not worry about being laid off.And most likely if your parents will not leave you a millions, the chances you will not be rich. Pretty depressing? yeh... I know for me and my family if we don't make the money by the time we are 55, than my kids is going to be strugguling just like us, and with each generation its harder to make money and start from beginning, yeh America is not what it used to be.

alexia (Tuesday, May 06, 2008 11:10 PM)

There was this study being done by Canadian Biologist regarding male fish changing sex due to horomones found in the water (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080216095726.htm).  Although I do not have a PHD, I whole-heartedly agree that there is something in the water.  The study suggests that the horomones used in birth control pills and HRT, when excreted through urination (or not being used and being flushed down the toilet) go into municipal water.  In addition, horomones found in consumables (meats, milk, etc.) can also be a contributing factor in this phenomenon.  I also remember hearing something in conjuction with soy products and hormonal balances in females (used in replacement for HRT).  I am not quite sure if soy products can induce "precocious puberty" (as before mentioned, I do not have a PHD).  I believe that instead of thinking that this is a conspiracy theory, we all have to step back and realize how much we are actually contributing to this problem and how we can make a change.  Regardless, more studies should be performed to determine exactly what is going.

Alison, Hamilton, Canada (Friday, May 09, 2008 2:14 PM)

My daughter is 10. She started showing signs of precocious puberty at 5. She had x-rays (to determine bone growth which was advanced), blood tests and a CT scan to make sure she didn't have a tumor. Her hormones were high. Her father and I took her to a pediatric endocrinologist who prescribed Lupron injections monthly. We did that from 7 - 8 years then stopped because she developed seemingly overnight severe panic attacks, and anxiety. I believe the Lupron did that. She's almost 11 and although looks older and is tall she hasn't started periods yet. Her panic and anxiety are minimal. If I could do it over again... I wouldn't inject her with anything. What's worse than a hormonal 8 year old? A hormonal 8 year old with panic attacks.

Peggy, Los Angeles, California (Friday, May 09, 2008 7:29 PM)

I thought early puberty was tied to better diets and healthcare, which absolutely makes sense.

teannah, st louis, mo (Friday, May 09, 2008 11:09 PM)

By the way, I agree totally with J, austin tx.  These girls are not sick, they are just growing up.  All children are growing up earlier today, it's just that girls have actual physical signs.

teannah, st louis, mo (Friday, May 09, 2008 11:13 PM)

Sheesh! Maybe it's caused by flying saucers!
Think like mother nature folks, for a clue.
There are good years, where there's lots of food, and young mothers have lots to eat, and lean years, when there's barely enough to keep one person alive, much less two. When do you want mothers to bear childern? In the fat years, of course. Much healthier children, much better survival rate. And how do you tell which years are the fat years .... well, fat says it. If a young woman has lots of excess fat, then this must be a good year, so lets get on with sex while the getting's good! Next year might be starvation time... if it weren't for the modern invention of supermarkets. But mother nature doesn't know about Kroegers.  

James Francis, Houston, TX (Saturday, May 10, 2008 12:36 AM)

If innocence was defined as oblivious to the natural process of puberty, then I'd say yes, they lost that "innocence".  But come on people!  Puberty is to be celebrated whether it's before you expected it, or not!  This is a grand opportunity to talk to your kids and lay and a foundation for positive body image that will last for years, maybe a life time.  Don't do them a disservice and try to hide it or somehow mourn this event.  Talk and celebrate!

Penny Silver, Maple City, Michigan (Saturday, May 10, 2008 10:07 AM)

I started my period when I was 10.  I wasn't overweight in the least and the food we ate was what most in the 70's/80's ate, but we RARELY ate fast food.  It didn't scar me to start at 10, I didn't become a 'woman'.  I was still a little girl and thankfully, the pad companies came out with pads that stuck in my underwear rather than those STRAPS my sisters and mom used to wear.  

 Nowadays, I look at my soon to be 9 year old daughter and hope she gets genes from her dad's side and doesn't start until she's a bit older.  
As far as food products and obesity, we eat fast food around once a week and I make sure the milk I buy says 'no hormones'.  Those hormones affect BOYS as well as girls, MEN and women alike.  I wish they'd ban them, but money is money and the more they make the better I suppose, regardless of how it all trickles down to you and me.

dianne, lagrange, indiana (Sunday, May 11, 2008 4:48 PM)

Wake up and smell the coffee people..........it is a part of life.  I started mine at 9 (I am 42), my daughter at 10, my mother at 10, and my grandmother at 9...........This is nothing new.  Don't sweat the small stuff.........Worry about drug and alcohol.

Lori, Parket AZ (Monday, May 12, 2008 2:15 AM)

I started my period at 11, and my mom started at 12 (in the 1950s).  There's nothing early at all about that.  At least for a while I was one of the taller girls in my class, and I enjoyed it.  :)

BV, Joliet IL (Wednesday, May 14, 2008 6:58 PM)

It is growth hormones in food especially milk and meat. That is causing our children to mature early as it does cattle. Buy organic food and slow down your childs maturity

Patricia Denney Nevadac (Thursday, May 15, 2008 10:55 AM)

This girl started her menarche at 8 months and gave birth to her first child at 5 years old (by her very very sick father). She was born in 1933. Some people just start younger than others.
The change in the average age isn't large enough to prove anything because there will always be some variation. It also has to do with record keeping. People usually didn't talk about or report this sort of thing because it is just something women go through. We can't draw conclusions from incomplete information.

Jaymz, Clovis, NM (Thursday, May 15, 2008 11:51 AM)

I'm not a scientist- so I can't say hormones haven't made some difference, however my feeling is that age has always been quite variable when it comes to a girl's first period- even within a family.  My mom had her first period at age 8 or 10.  Yet, I didn't have my first period until age 16!! I believe lifestyle factors are more linked to the age becoming slightly younger and other factors- including obesity and other media related issues.

The difference now compared to when I was young is the media pressure for girls to be like their "idols".  This starts at much too young of an age.  I don't have a daughter, but if I did, I would closly monitor her exposure to the pressures of conformity to a certain "type" of person to be.  Even my son as a child was monitored closely as to what he was exposed to and watched on television.  Not any network programming and very little Disney or Nickelodeon, but things like Discovery, History Channel and Animal Planet.  (In addition- channels like Disney and Nickelodeon feature adverstisements that promote products not necessarily healthy for children- fast food commericals and junk food as well as the best and latest toys you just have to have because everyone else has it too).  My son not only was entertained by watching these more educational stations but learned as he watched and these were shows we could watch as a family.   Most television children watch gives them messages of poor social skills, materialism and an unrealistic view of "reality". Also, parents being available and able to discuss any subjects openly and honestly with their children is invaluable.  

My son, although far from perfect, has never been influenced by brand name sneakers or styles of dress, including letting his boxers and back end show because his pants hang around his ankles- even though he did start his puberty at a relatively young age.  He is making it through without too much turmoil.

Parents can make adjustments when nature tries to add to children trying to grow up too quickly.  Even if they are dealt an early puberty- parental checks and balances can help keep their mental age appropriate to their birth age.

Dede- Wellington, Florida (Thursday, May 15, 2008 2:50 PM)

i work for an ob/gyn md. i complete and review all pt. medical histories with include age at menarche. our pt. base has a very wide spread of ages. i can honestly say that i see no increase of early menarche in our younger pts. many of our elderly pts. began menses at what may be considered an early age. as a result of my observations, i do not think that this issue is a new phenomenon but rather has been ongoing and only recently noticed. i certainly do not think that onset of menses results in sexualization at any age.

nancy nichols ohio (Thursday, May 15, 2008 4:48 PM)

re: Lost innocence or hormonal hazard?

In answer to some comments:  Societies in which girls marry at puberty have a high death rate among these young girls(and their babies), as their bodies are not developed enough to give birth.  They also have tissue damage, as their vaginal tissues are not tough enough yet to bear with sexual activity.  There are international efforts to raise marriage ages to 18, so girls' bodies at least will be developed enough to bear a child safely, and so that they can stay in school and learn to read and have skills, and not just be the ignorant slave of a man.  In too many countries, pubescent girls are often married against their will to older men; but just because a practice is widespread or historical, does not make it right.  Just because someone can have sex, does not mean that they must.  
I remember an old program on PBS that credited human intelligence to the "long childhood" of humans (as compared to other animals).  The normal pre-pubescent child (that is, one who has not been abused) has a sense of wonder of the world, an open-ness to learning, and is free of the social pressures that puberty brings.  But even with the raging hormones that make focusing difficult, a supportive family can help children with early-onset puberty realize that being happy with yourself is still more important than attracting a mate at 10, 12 or 14 years old.
Another concern of early puberty, is that it may slow down growth, so that the child is shorter than she (or he) could have been.
I agree these children need adults to look after them: Until their emotional and intellectual maturity catches up with their bodies, they may be vulnerable to those among us who view sexual maturity as making someone "fair game".

Elle M., Providence, RI (Thursday, May 15, 2008 6:45 PM)

Okay, I am thirteen years old and I started menstruation when I was elven. I am not "traumatized" because of this. I am fine. Yes I have pubic hair and budding breasts. I am fine. I have friends I am a healthy weight. I eat right and excersise. My innocence has not been "stolen" as some of you people have implied. We have more serious things to worry about then our daughters needing a box of tampons every month. What about the economy, the war on terror, crime, and drugs. Grow up people, your children are so why aren't you?

Caitlin (Thursday, May 15, 2008 8:25 PM)

To the person that stated the average age of starting periods was 19 in 1900, oh please, that was just the time females were getting married off and having babies at 14 or 16  , even younger sometimes,and not just in this country, all over the world. I'd like to know where you get your information? My own great grandmother was very young when she came here from Europe and was married and had children.

Jo Rown, phoenix az (Thursday, May 15, 2008 11:57 PM)

When I was in the 4th grade a classmate of mine told me that she had just had her first period.  I had no idea what she was talking about at the time.  She was not overweight.  That was almost 30 years ago.

Gayle, Hood River, OR (Friday, May 16, 2008 12:29 AM)

I started puberty at the age of 7. There was no sexual awakening at this age, as someone else mentioned, nor did it happen in my early teens. I was nearly an adult by that time.

It was at times awkward and embarassing to be treated much older than I was. If this is the case with my daughter, I will not expect her to be all grown up and just let her be a kid like I wish I was allowed to be!

Gemma W. Austin, Texas (Friday, May 16, 2008 5:48 AM)

My daughter was 11 around the same time I started mine. She took it much better than I did at that age. We were both going through our clothes and trying on stuff to see what we still fit in or wanted to keep, and I noticed it and I just said "oops, I think you got your little friend," then I went to get her a pad. When I handed it to her I said take this little mattress and I pray you know what to do with it! She giggled.. I told her I was scared when I first got mine, but really it's no big deal after a while, and that all her friends will get their or even have theirs already. Then I told her how I really hate to keep getting mine once a month, and how I know that God has to be a man because they don't get them! We laughed about that and  she gave me a hug and I told her she will always be my little girl no matter how old she is! Then she told me that it's no big deal her best friend already had hers and she knew she'd get hers soon too. She said she was worried that I would freak out when it happened, but she was shocked to see me happy, possitive and joking around and light about the subject! I guess that when I was her age I felt too distant from my mother and couldn't really open up and feel comfortable talking about much, that made me feel really alone and afraid. I'm glad that my daughter feels comfortable with me and can talk about anything. She's 15 now and my son is 18, they both are able to talk to me easily. To this day I can't really talk to my mom since she shuts out emotion, has negative responses, judges or labels everyone, turns her back, and never gave hugs or held us except when we were really little. It was really hard on me since I was the sensitive one and was always so emotional. (I was adopted and never fit in!) It's important to stay close to your kids and be a friend. Live, Love & Laugh..Together!

Betty (Friday, May 16, 2008 6:31 AM)

Steriods and hormones in the food we eat affect our bodies everyday.  They have a profound effect on children whose bodies are still growing/maturing.  I don't think a menstrual cycle is dirty or a "loss of innocence", but it is a sign that the body is maturing at a faster rate than expected (in an 8 year old at least). We are going to have to come to grips with the long term effects of wanting more meat, bigger eggs, larger chicken legs, larger turkeys, etc;.  In 20 years we will have kids who are now sexually attracted to one another because their bodies (hormones) have turned on much faster than we expected.  The price of Gluttony!  

DragonRich, Virgin Islands (Friday, May 16, 2008 9:58 AM)

Ok I started my period when I was 9, and no I was not overweight... but I knew it was coming, my mother and all 6 of my aunts had started between the ages of 9 and 11, i'm 24 now and I remember my mother being super excited and supportive. But even with the support at home I felt very self conscious at school, and I took extreme lengths to hide the fact... I certainly had no interest in boy and in fact I started to dislike them even more to try and make myself act younger with the whole "little girls hate little boys" mentality. Eventually my mother noticed how secretive I was being during that time of the month and had another talk, and we decided it was better if I just acted like myself, other than how I thought I should act. So I went back to playing my 4-sqaure and tether ball, and just let nature take its course. And even then it wasn't until 7th grade that I even decided I wanted a boyfriend, and even then it was just holding hands in public, and maybe an embarrassing kiss when our friends weren't watching. But things have definitely changed now, where my 8 year old niece has several boyfriends, but even she doesn't want her period, and she thinks having a boyfriend is holding hands and maybe a kiss on the cheek, And as for being overweight being a factor, I noticed that all of my "heavy" friends didn't start until high school, and that was at least 4 girls that i've known since kindergarten... but its possible they were outliers

nicole, michigan (Friday, May 16, 2008 11:29 AM)

I used to believe there was something wrong with me, that I'd offended God (Catholic Guilt) so his punishment was to make me an adult on the outside. My breasts began to develope when I was 6 years old in 1968, in 1970 my periods began and I had a growth spurt by age 9 I was 5'2 and as tall as I'd ever be. My natural breast size was and still is a 40D before I was 10. Here I was with a child's mind and the body of an adult. Grown men made passes and I didn't understand what they meant. Male relatives molested me and I had no friends. To say my childhhod was a nightmare is more than an understatement. My father, a doctor, died when all this began and my mother never tried to understand, or explain. When I got my first period I was at school and thought I was dying. The school nurse explained what was happening and helped calm me. She then called my mother to come bring me home. Mom refused, she said I was the one who couldn't wait to grow up! My childhhod ended when I was 6 years old and my adulthood began at the same age. Precocious puberty is misunderstood by parents and peers, it's even harder to live with since you are caught between two worlds, that of childhood which you lose far too young and adulthood that you enter far too young. I was raped at 16 and got pregnant, the baby lived a week and everyone blamed me because I was always different. My husband also had Precocious puberty, we met on a blind date and wed 2 weeks before my 18th birthday. That was 28 years ago. Today I am 46 and he is 50, neither of us were ever children so when we had children of our own we took parenting classes. He and I understand each other in ways no one else ever can. We married for love and gained a friendship unlike any other, but it doesn't erase our past. Precocious puberty makes you old before your time and more parents should be made aware of how it effects their kids. Thankfully when it struck our son we knew how to deal with it to help him, also thankfully it did not strike our daughter. We made it through the rain as Barry Manilow wrote in my favorite song, and we are still standing as Elton John sang about, but it was a long hard road and one we'd never wish on anyone. Education of this disorder is the key to saving other children from suffering as we have.

Katharn Gaylor-Clawson, Carbondale, Illinois (Saturday, May 17, 2008 7:59 AM)

It's sad when people think that puberty causes a loss of innocence. It's sad when people try to hold their children back so that they cannot blossom into wonderful human beings. No matter what happens, our kids will have to grow up, whether it's in late teens, early 20s, or (as of late) 30s and beyond. Instead of worrying about how horrible it is your child started puberty at 8, how about celebrating the fact that they will eventually know the joy you did when you found out you were going to be a parent? How about you buck up, stop fighting nature, and actually teach your kids about their bodies. Not just sex, but everything. Most young female adults, even, don't know anything about their cycle except that they bleed for a few days. Society has even twisted that... now it's a horrible secret you have to hide when you're on your period. Girls are filled with such shame with their bodies.

Parents are completely dodging the subject of sex too because they think that sex is dirty, that their children will be a whore if they even so much as know about it-until of course they're what our society calls adults, which is magically 18.

And if you're worried about your teens not being mature enough to handle being sexually active, you've obviously done something wrong. Teach them about not only abstinence, but also using condoms when they do decide to have sex, because it is a completely natural human desire. Help them find contraceptives instead of keeping them from having sex, because that's where most prom night dumpster babies come from.

To sum it up, be the parent and GUIDE them, don't try to CONTROL them. You'll be much happier and so will your kids-they'll also be stronger adults when the time comes. Celebrate their milestones, and not just the academic ones. I hate to say it, but school isn't everything. Sometimes it just takes good old hard work.

Ashen Phoenix, Seattle, Wash. (Thursday, May 29, 2008 11:01 PM)

I am twelve, I started last year and I'm not freaking out like you people are!!! like jeez if it doesn't bother your children please get over it and focus on better things intsteand of mother nature being horrible for causing purberty:P

m. missouri (Friday, May 30, 2008 12:28 AM)

My daughter is 10 and we had our talk. Which I was scared to death. I kept thinking, please god help me say the right thing and not confuse her. My mother never had the talk with me. She just said you don't have sex until you are married.What was that? My daughter is going through puberty, breast, hair in areas she is not happy with. Some of her friends at school have not experienced puberty yet. I started my period at age 11, I still remember that day. My daughter has not started, but we will get through this together as a family. My husband is supportive a 100%. We also have 7 yr old daughter and 6 yr old son. I feel we are giving our children a much better support system than when I was a kid.

R Parker, Jacksonville,Fl (Monday, June 02, 2008 11:13 AM)

Interesting that 8 years old is in the range of time of getting a menstrual cycle. When a child that young and even younger starts getting their period, sometimes it is because of sexual abuse. Not always, but this has been the case in some instances of early onset of the menstrual cycle.

Brandi, New York (Friday, June 06, 2008 12:39 PM)

Environmental estrogens are pervasive and potent. When the hormonal ingredients are present, emotions and desires are present - long before the brain has matured enough to understand the full consequences of sexual behavior.  So what is the response of our government/school system?  (Proven ineffective)Abstinence education, of course: blame the girls and stigmatize them for early sexual activitiy, restrict birth control, and so on...  Do we go after the industries profiting from pumping the chemicals into the environment?  Absolutely not - they contribute heavily to political campaigns.

EDAvey, Canandaigua NY (Friday, June 13, 2008 8:14 AM)

All these people blaming Bovine Growth Hormones - how barbaric! You do know that menses occurred at an early age all through history, don't you. Who was putting hormones in the food back then? There are way too many variables in this equation. And menses does not equate to loosing your innocence.

HM, Napoleon, OHIO (Friday, June 13, 2008 9:30 AM)

     I am a woman in my mid twenties, who experienced my first menstruation at age 8.   I was already familiar with the idea of menstruation (my parents had explained this as a normal biological process, that did not have any emotional/social implications in terms of "innocence" or "maturity").  Because of this, the early experience was not in the least traumatic.

     However, I soon found that certain adults around me, teachers and sports instructors in particular, reacted in ways that made me feel uncomfortable and ashamed.  I was often treated with pity, or curiosity, and singled out from other children.  While all girls were forced to change together prior to swimming classes, I was not allowed to do so, for fear that my "unusual" body would scare other children.  Furthermore, there were practical difficulties that made it very difficult to be discreet about menstruation.  For instance, if I got my period early one month, it was impossible to buy or borrow sanitary napkins in school.  I was only able to reconcile myself with menstruation in high school, where I was no longer singled out as different.  

        I feel that as public awareness about early onset puberty increases, this phenomenon will cease to be a problem entirely. Once appropriate facilities - such as safety disposal boxes in public bathrooms, and free sanitary napkin dispensers in bathrooms - and support systems - such as teachers who have been educated to think of menstruation as normal and acceptable, and to make this clear when dealing with children - there will be no reason for menstruation to be stigmatized.   It will become a small and unremarkable event punctuating the lives of girls and women.  There will be no need to be scared,  ashamed or sad about early onset puberty.

genclarck@msnbc.com (Friday, June 13, 2008 12:27 PM)

I had my first period at 9 - and my first sexual partner at 20 yrs old. I eally think that it is way off base to make the assumption that early menarche leads to earlier sexual activity. Furthermore, recently I discovered I have a genetic 'molymorphism' - CYP3A4 *1/*1B, which is associated with early menarche (and more worryingly with a higher risk for breast cancer) I am very interested, and worried about the part envoronmental factors play -  but my opinion now is quite simply that the onset of puberty is, quite simply, determined by your genetic makeup.

Lynne Reid. London UK (Saturday, June 21, 2008 8:09 AM)

There was a study that found correlation of earlier onset of puberty with body mass. The kids just move less and eat more. Other factors as oversexed culture matter too, however, these are hard to quantify. I wish doctors were in a habit of reading medical journals, very few do.

Jane Doe, Knoxville, TN (Wednesday, July 02, 2008 12:03 PM)

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Insights and ruminations on the strangeness of all things medical, pharmaceutical and biological.

Msnbc.com writers and editors will muse upon the wonderfully weird human body and the medical curiosities that make you go huh, ewww or ouch! Looking for informed, unhinged meditations on everything from dubious diseases to recipes for ersatz mucous? Well, this is the place.

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