Is it normal for a 9-year-old to get her period?

[lesleybrooks852]

Hi everyone,

I have an 18-year-old daughter, a 13-year-old daughter and a 9-year-old daughter. My 18-year-old got her period when she was 14, my 13-year-old got her period last year and my 9-year-old just got her period yesterday. Funny how the age to get a period is decreasing so quickly! Anyways, she was at school and I got a call from the nurse saying she had gotten her period. I was pretty shocked, but I stayed cool for the sake of my daughter. I was wondering if this is normal because when I was growing up, the "average" age was 15. 

Thanks,

Lesley 

[fruitfulmomma]

According to this article http://www.everydayhealth.com/sexual-health/a-parents-foolproof-guide-to-having-the-sex-talk.aspx?xid=aol_eh-sex_1_20120123_&aolcat=HLT&icid=maing-grid7|main5|dl25|sec3_lnk3%26pLid%3D130223 the current average is 12-13 but anywhere from 9 to 16 is considered within the normal range.

We haven't gotten there yet, but I am pretty sure some other moms on here have some girls that have started young. Hopefully they can reassure you.

[whatsnextmom]

Originally Posted by lesleybrooks852 

Hi everyone,

I have an 18-year-old daughter, a 13-year-old daughter and a 9-year-old daughter. My 18-year-old got her period when she was 14, my 13-year-old got her period last year and my 9-year-old just got her period yesterday. Funny how the age to get a period is decreasing so quickly! Anyways, she was at school and I got a call from the nurse saying she had gotten her period. I was pretty shocked, but I stayed cool for the sake of my daughter. I was wondering if this is normal because when I was growing up, the "average" age was 15. 

Thanks,

Lesley 

It's not really changing that quickly. I'm not sure what our age difference is but I'm 40 and when I was a kid, the average age was 12 which is actually still the average now. 9 is young but it's not outside of the normal range. There are a lot of factors including genetics, diet and weight.

[ollyoxenfree]

I have a friend who is in her 40's and she started when she was 9 y.o. I know 14 or 15 y.o. is within the normal range, but it does seem late to me, and I'm in my 40's. When I was in middle school, most of my friends started at about 12 or so, as did I. 

[Imakcerka]

WOW!  I've never met anyone who started that young.  While it's technically in the average... I don't know if "I" could handle my DD1 starting at 9.  I think I would cry!

[AAK]

Since your other dds didn't start until their teens, I am shocked that your third dd started already.  (assuming they are from the same biological parents).  Is it weird that I would just check with her dr to make sure nothing was wrong.  Has other development occured (breasts, hair, odor?)

Amy

[greenmama]

my mom 68 started when she was 9.  I, 41 didn't start till 15 but was considered late due to my very low body fat at the time.  My dd started at 10 which seemed early to me but I learned was not.  BGH has also made girls begin menstruating early but we are vegetarian and eat almost exclusively organic dairy so should not be a factor for us.  dd  didn't think it was any big deal and absolutely did NOT want a menarche celebration.  Hope your 9yo roles with it as easy as mine did.

[erigeron]

I didn't start until 13 myself, but I was a camp counselor in college and a 9 yo camper started her period while she was in my cabin. She wasn't "developed" a lot but she was, let's say, of a rounder body type.

[Jennyanydots]

DD1 started at 9.  I have always thought it had to do with the corticosteroids she takes for asthma stimulating adrenal function and bringing on puberty early.  My mom thinks it's just heredity because she herself started at 10.  DD2 started at 12, as did I...

[velochic]

Originally Posted by greenmama 

my mom 68 started when she was 9.  I, 41 didn't start till 15 but was considered late due to my very low body fat at the time.  My dd started at 10 which seemed early to me but I learned was not.  BGH has also made girls begin menstruating early but we are vegetarian and eat almost exclusively organic dairy so should not be a factor for us.  dd  didn't think it was any big deal and absolutely did NOT want a menarche celebration.  Hope your 9yo roles with it as easy as mine did.

BGH does not make girls menstruate earlier.  This is a misconception that will make a great "Old Wive's Tale" 100 years from now.  Please do your research.  It's genetics and weight that are the primary factors of when a girl has her first period.  Overweight girls tend to start earlier and they generally follow the patterns of females in their families - those are the only *proven* factors.  I mean obviously, your mother, back in the 1950's was not consuming dairy with rBGH.  Let me say, we avoid rBGH ourselves, but not because it's going to cause precocious puberty.  There is no researched evidence that it causes precocious puberty. I think it's good to not confuse opinion with fact about things like this.

I think 9 is early, but within norms, but there is no harm in having her checked out by her pediatrician.

[Imakcerka]

I'm not really sure if that's true.  Maybe a wise tale.  Everything I've read about the ages of menarche point to a decline in age from the 1800's to the mid 1900's and possibly the changes were due to healthier lifestyles.  If they were declining in the 1800's... did they really have access to meat products stuffed with growth hormones?

Quote:

Originally Posted by greenmama 

my mom 68 started when she was 9.  I, 41 didn't start till 15 but was considered late due to my very low body fat at the time.  My dd started at 10 which seemed early to me but I learned was not.  BGH has also made girls begin menstruating early but we are vegetarian and eat almost exclusively organic dairy so should not be a factor for us.  dd  didn't think it was any big deal and absolutely did NOT want a menarche celebration.  Hope your 9yo roles with it as easy as mine did.

[TiredX2]

When you report "normal" it generally either refers to the middle 75% (so 12.5% outside on each side) or the middle 90% (so 5% on either side).  Other standards are used (1.5% on each side, 2.5% on each side, 15% on each side, etc...) but those are fairly common.

According to Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menarche#Onset

Less than 10% of U.S. girls start to menstruate before 11 years of age, and 90% of all US girls are menstruating by 13.75 years of age, with a median age of 12.43 years. This age at menarche is not much different (0.34 years earlier) than that reported for U.S. girls in 1973.

I think what I have read is that under 9 is considered *abnormal* (as in, children who begin to menstruate before they turn 9 should seek medical advice) and over 14 is also considered *abnormal* (so, if your child is not menstruating by the age of 15 should also seek medical advice).  9 is early, but is not necesarily an indication of medical issues.

[dealic]

My mom was 10. 

[pianojazzgirl]

My mom (now 72) started when she was 9.

I had one friend start when she was 9 and several friends start at 10.

I was 13.

[sharon71]

I am 40 and i started at the age of 10,my mom started at age 13. i have 2 teen daughters my oldest started at age 13 and my 2nd at the age of 14. i still have one daughter left so we'll see how it goes with her.

[FarmerBeth]

My own grandmother, who would be 96 today if she was living, menstruated at 9 yo, and was slim.  My SIL was 9, I was 10, so my daughter menstruating at 10 is normal for my family.  I think there has always been variance, but that people in the old days discussed first menarche less.  The somewhat decreased age is probably due to girls having a little more fat than what was common in past generations, as a girl will not generally menstruate if she has inadequate body fat (I had very off and on periods as a young athlete due to precisely this reason).

[MamaInTheDesert]

I was 11 when I got mine. It was during the summer, and I told my best friend at camp, and she said "all her friends got theirs last year." So, I think it's well within the range of normal.

[lesleybrooks852]

Okay, thanks for all of your replies! Something I want to clarify is my 9 year old is 57 lbs, something that might help some of you out! She is getting used to it, but hasn't told any of her friends because she is still quite self-conscious about it.

[ChristaN]

Originally Posted by lesleybrooks852 

Okay, thanks for all of your replies! Something I want to clarify is my 9 year old is 57 lbs, something that might help some of you out! She is getting used to it, but hasn't told any of her friends because she is still quite self-conscious about it.

That actually would give me more cause for a check in with the pediatrician.  57 lbs is awfully small for a child who is getting her period.  Girls are usually closer to 100 lbs by the time they start although height would certainly play into it as well as a short girl might never reach 100 lbs and would have the requisite fat percentage to menstruate at a lower weight.  The other thing to consider is that, if her weight is that low, she's probably not super tall either or she'd be a twig.  Bone growth does slow substantially after menses start and girls who start very early may wind up rather short as a result.  Although 9 is within the range of "normal," the fact that is is so much earlier than other family members and that she is still so small would be cause for me to at least check in with her pediatrician if it were my kid. 

[Heavenly]

I agree, please take her to the doctor.  Yes, it may be normal for some 9 year olds but I don't know that it is normal for a 57 lbs 9 year old whose siblings started between 12-14 years old.