Girls Starting Puberty Earlier

Girls seem to be starting puberty earlier than ever. Sometimes even as young as 7 or 8. Puberty normally happens between ages 10 and 14 for girls and 12 to 16 for boys.

A new study, just published in the journal Pediatrics, found that girls hitting puberty before the age of 10 is much more common than it was over the past two decades. After looking at over 1,200 girls ages 6 to 8, researchers found a much higher percentage of black, white and Hispanic girls showing early development of breasts and pubic hair.

Researchers found that at age 7, 10% of white girls and 23% of black girls started to develop breasts. Those numbers are about double what they were back in 1997. The problem with early puberty is that it can lead to emotional problems and a greater risk of developing breast cancer later in life.

As to why this is happening, researchers point to the increasing amount of obesity in this young age group or even exposure to estrogen and other compounds in the environment. Their best recommendation is to make sure your daughter eats a healthy diet, has family meals and if she does develop early puberty----discuss with her what that means as far as her sexuality in the coming years.