LucreziaBorgia Posted June 9, 2005 Posted June 9, 2005 I am planning on asking the pediatrician at the 'yearly checkup' but figured I could get some input here as well to see if any other parents are experiencing this. Little B. is 8. She's always been tall for her age, but over the past six months to a year she has gotten up to 5 feet tall. She is developing some acne, and not too long ago she came to me about an 'itch' on her 'pee pee'. I took a look, and the 'itch' was coming from the beginning growth of pubic hair! She doesn't have any breast growth or anything, just the usual 'growing pains' in her legs. I don't recall when I first started all of this, but it seems I remember it being closer to 12. Anyone else got little girls going through what seems to be an early puberty? I'm about halfway dreading a really early period: because she is really not ready emotionally for that to happen - and I don't even want to imagine trying to work through the whole tampon/pad thing this early. I've already talked to her about puberty and the things that happen during it, and even though she is comfortable talking to me about it, she is not happy about it happening.
Merin Posted June 9, 2005 Posted June 9, 2005 Wow.. My daughter is 7 and I know for real, I'm so not ready for that yet! I wish I had more to offer here LB.. it does seem very early for your daughter to be reaching puberty at this age, like you I know I didn't start to see any changes in myself until around age 12.. Keep me posted to what your Ped's Doc has to say about this.
tiki Posted June 9, 2005 Posted June 9, 2005 Hormones in milk, hormones in plastic. Hormones are everywhere and puberty hits younger. And in a generation of nothing but sex, it's very common. I'm not surprised. I've heard that puberty hits at such a younger age than it used to.
MWC_LifeBeginsAt40 Posted June 9, 2005 Posted June 9, 2005 My daughter is also 8 but the size of a 6 yr old (sheesh I'm only 5'1" and she's only up to my boobs)! I do know a woman I work with has a daughter who is 8 1/2, and has shown signs of puberty (hair), so while it is early I don't think it is anything to worry about. There are always those one or two girls in a class who start their period at age 10 just like there are one or two who start at age 16.
Syncerity Posted June 9, 2005 Posted June 9, 2005 yea like sumbody said up there^^^ its the hormones in our milks,foods,etc...nothin is PURE nowadays, and all that hydrogenated,palm oils,etc affects how our bodies grow, and respond to things....i actually went thru puberty around the time of 8/9 myself period and all..so its gotta be the water, the milk, food,etc..the ages keep lowerin, next thing u kno u gonna have ya 2yr old daughter askin u where the last tampon at
quankanne Posted June 9, 2005 Posted June 9, 2005 I'm surprised, but not shocked -- my niece told me she started her period when she was 10! I was 13 when mine started, the same year she was born!!!! I agree about the "hormone in everything" theory; this child may have started earlier than me, but she didn't get boobs until she was like 15, whereas mine "came in" when I was about 11. Other thing that makes me wonder about additives to our food comes from a conversation with a college girlfriend. We both were griping about having to pluck "nubs" (the dark hairs) from our chin. Now, that runs in my family, women have that problem with facial hair, it may also be a Hispanic thing. But she's a Yankee with Irish and German and goodness knows what other gringo blend, and she's the only female in her family with the problem. We figured it was the hormones added to food that was making the problem worse (in my case) and creating it (in hers). Lu, just have a good chat with her pediatrician -- and your OB/GYN. I'm sure you'll find it's more common than you think, and they should be able to give you an idea how to approach this more confidently. You may also check with the nurse at her school campus to see if any other little girls have experienced the same thing, both close to her age and in general.
millefiori Posted June 9, 2005 Posted June 9, 2005 You take birth control pills and then you go the toilet. Et voilà. And there are also a lot of other substances that have estrogen-like effects, so-called xenoestrogens. Google a bit. The problems with these xenoestrogens not only arise with human beings, but it sadly also affects wildlife.
Skeered Posted June 9, 2005 Posted June 9, 2005 Ok I had to share because my daughter turned 10 in April and I'm so not lookin forward to having this "girl talk" with her. However I have started tellin her a little of what to expect and tellin her it's natural, it's a gift (blah blah blah) which we as women now can look back at our family member sayin it's a gift and want to flip them the bird..lol Of course I'm glad I have my daughter but it would be great to not ever have this "womanly right" lol... But to share a funny story just recently my daughter and I were in Walmart and I was goin down "the isle" and my daughter asked me "mommy what are Tame-pones" and I said what..she picks up a box of tampons..of course there is a lady standing 5 feet from her crackin up...she said oh you have fun with that...i just had that talk with my 12 year old and I said well you've done it already you wanna say it again...hee hee we both had a nice giggle..meanwhile my daughter is still wondering what the heck a tame pone is...I told her when we got home. I know that they have books out for just this situation to help explain to our young daughters that are having to deal with puberty much earlier than some of us did. I plan on getting some of these books and just really opening a line of communication about it with my girl... But please let us all know what your Pediatrician says..I am plannin on getting my daughter in for a physical soon as she has started getting the hips and rearend growth and seems to have lots of body hair...here we goooooooooooo....
blind_otter Posted June 9, 2005 Posted June 9, 2005 Maybe you should take her to an endocrinologist. This could be a treatable hormonal disorder that is becoming increasingly common.
SexKitten Posted June 9, 2005 Posted June 9, 2005 this happened to me when i was that young. and my armpits wuld hurt terribly, feel bruised, and then i noticed armpit hair-- i was like what the hell is this? ew! i was the only one in third grade who shaved her legs...i told nobody. i also started my period at nine. my mother did, and so did my grandmother. i even got it before my older sister, who was almost 12 at the time. sometimes you just start maturing more quickly. i am sure it can be caused by a problem, but most of the time, as long as there are no other issues, this should be normal. you'll feel better if you talk to a doctor about it anyway. good luck.
brashgal Posted June 9, 2005 Posted June 9, 2005 I remember getting pubic hair at 10-1/2 but not starting my period for another two years so you may have a little time. I do think 8 is pretty young and I have heard a lot about hormones in meats, milk, etc. causing early onset. I don't envy you.
Chris777 Posted June 11, 2005 Posted June 11, 2005 Last weekend my daughter(10) informed me she wanted this book on taking care of herself, well since she wants everything, i told her no as usual, she then persisted, and mentioned that my sister (13) had already started. I then got a bit nervous, and said I would think about it. I had her let me look through the book. "the care and keeping of you", and other than a 2 page tampon manual, i felt it would be ok. I was a bit nervous, about it, since it was illustrated, but I thought, the book was pretty tame other than that, and it unfortunately was something that would happen. And since my ex has apparently decided to go back to being the doormat, for the looser guy. I figured it would be acceptable. she didn't put it down until late. After she passed out I flipped through it again, just to make sure their wasn't something being pushed on her, as I heard several reviewers gripe about of other similar books. It was like 90 percent combing hair, brushing teeth, deodorant stuff. and like 8 percent bra/figure/shaving, and the 2 page tampon deal. the illustrations were the cutesy "arthur" type. I fared it pretty well, i recon, as I have been dreading it a bit, especially since my ex turned out to be so open(promiscuous). Luckily, for me, and unfortunately for my daughter, the ex gets sucked into her own lifes dealings, so mush that my daughter doesn't get to be around her much. I have told her some basic info, but I am still dreading the talk. Luckily she still talks to me about most things, and i plan on keeping it that way. Since I am in no hurry to replace her mother, she gets all of my attention. Though it would be nice for her to have another female model, besides my sister, and mother. as for the whole Developement issue, their are so many chemicals in the environment, they are inescapeable. I my self suffer from severe chronic pain, that i suspect to some degree is caused by environmental factors. I recently saw part of some special on pbs with Ed Norton, that spoke about chemical combinations, that occur in nature, that the manufacturing companies, don't bother accounting for. since the companies only test their own waste, not what their waste chemically combine with and poison us and the environment.
faux Posted June 11, 2005 Posted June 11, 2005 I am not yet a parent, but I can tell you that what your daughter is going through is slowly becoming normal for her age. I began puberty at the age of ten, and my sister, I am told, had her first period at the age of nine. I have spoken to several other parents that I know, and they claim that their children are starting puberty at what they consider to be alarming ages. My parents took me to an endocrinologist at the recommendation of my doctor, but that was quite a while ago. See what your daughter's doctor has to say about this. Most of all, just be there for her; you had to go through the same thing. At an early age, it may help to explain to your daughter what is happening to her, and that what she is experiencing is normal, and everyone else goes through the same things.
Mr Spock Posted June 11, 2005 Posted June 11, 2005 Books are WONDERFUL. Gawd, buy some BOOKS that are modern with illustrations on how your body changes and leave them out for her to read. Why does this seem so hard?? You can sit down with her and go through them even. What kind of insaniac denies their child reading material?? It's not hustler, it's hormones!!! It's nature!! Would you rather her learn on the school yard, or facts??
tonia Posted June 12, 2005 Posted June 12, 2005 My 8 year old has a step-mom and a ver recent ex step-dad. She loves them both dearly. I split mother's day with her step-mom whom she calls Mommy Glenda. Glenda and I tolerate each other but when my kid is with her- shie is Mommy and I respect that. She just mailed a dad's day card to my recent May 17th) ex husband. He is still her Daddy Terry and I will support that.
tonia Posted June 12, 2005 Posted June 12, 2005 My baby girl is 8 as well. She is developing very quickly too. It scares the mess out of me. I am already seeing acne, and the need for a bra. I'm glad I'm not alone. I was about 12 when it all came about. I hope someone has some words of advice and encouragment for us.
Author LucreziaBorgia Posted June 12, 2005 Author Posted June 12, 2005 Well, I'm going to the pediatrician tomorrow: for this (I'll post what my pediatrician says about it) and a lead test. We got our lead results back on our water and its nearly three times higher than it should be.
soccorsilly Posted June 12, 2005 Posted June 12, 2005 The book is outstanding and it is an American Girl Serioes Book called" The Care and Keeping of You: The Body Book for Girls" I think they might even have one for boys, and yes it is somewhat graphic but not too much--my 8 yr old looks at it with a passing interest andm y 12 yr old is beginning to show an interest. JOhn
hotgurl Posted June 16, 2005 Posted June 16, 2005 my daughter is 10. when she was nne she started getting acne, public hair, arimit order ect.. I got my period at ten so I expect he to get hers soon. It's starting younger and younger. On another note she had a itch in her pee pee it turned out to be pin worms migrating from her anus to vagina. But she would be woken up at night with it.
Author LucreziaBorgia Posted June 16, 2005 Author Posted June 16, 2005 Luckily it isn't pinworms. I had taken her in earlier about an itch before I noticed the hairs growing there and the doctor checked her out. The doc hasn't seen her since the hair growth, though. On this past Monday when I took her in, I didn't even get to see the doctor - they wanted to go ahead and get the lead testing out of the way - so it was mostly labwork. Still waiting on the lead results - that's pretty much taken the focus off the puberty stuff for now. I don't think the levels in our blood are high, but they were high enough in our water for us to be concerned. Mr. B and I both have to go get checked out too.
tinktronik Posted October 29, 2005 Posted October 29, 2005 Lb , I have a cousin whom is now grown. She hit puberty full on at six and a half years old.She began to develop breasts and grow pubic hair , her period began before she turned seven.Im only a few years older than her so I'd say I was about 12 and living with her family when this occured .I remember her Mom being a bit freaked about it ,but eventually it became normal for everyone.Her doctors said it does happen though not often .Shes in her very early 20's now in fact I dont think shes turned 21 yet ,and has developed normally since besides having enormous breasts ,she has had them reduced to a more normal size as she is only a little over five feet tall and her breasts were severly hurting her back.But all is normal now, her doc said this tends to run in families. Do you know of anyone on your or your H's side that has hit puberty early?
Author LucreziaBorgia Posted October 29, 2005 Author Posted October 29, 2005 As it turned out, it wasn't a matter of puberty - she had a strep infection which caused her to leak blood out in her urine and it was staining her underwear. She was on antibiotics for a while, and it cleared up nicely. She is growing more hairs there, but other than that her doc cleared her and said that there was no hormonal indication that she was approaching puberty too early or anything.
glittergurl Posted October 29, 2005 Posted October 29, 2005 That is so weird! I have noticed tons of posts like this all over the internet lately. Worried moms about their 8 year olds ... Mannn, I would ask the doctor for a hormone check. I didn't show any signs of puberty until age 13.
glittergurl Posted October 29, 2005 Posted October 29, 2005 As it turned out, it wasn't a matter of puberty - she had a strep infection which caused her to leak blood out in her urine and it was staining her underwear. She was on antibiotics for a while, and it cleared up nicely. She is growing more hairs there, but other than that her doc cleared her and said that there was no hormonal indication that she was approaching puberty too early or anything. Ahh, should have read your last post before posting mine
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