does early puberty = early end?

[2mama]

To those of you who went through "early" puberty or those of you who had daughters that did. So dd is 8.5 and needs to wear deodorant, a training bra, and has begun to have mood swings. Not just periods or whinning that her friends parents complan about but periods where there is nothing I can say or do to make her happy and I am never right. She often yells at me an is not easily redirectable. So realize that these are "normal" things that occur in puberty, but I am wondering if she has started them at this tender age how long will they last. Do they end sooner than the changes of girls who start at 11-12 or do they persist to the same age?

Thanks in advance

[Ann-Marita]

I don't have concrete information for you. But it does seem logical that, if a person begins a years-long biological process (like puberty, or menopause) earlier than others, that those changes would generally be completed sooner than other people.

That does seem logical.

[Hollin]

I started going through puberty around 8 or 9 too. I got my period when I was 10. I was an unholy terror in middle school, but (not to toot my own horn) I was a dream in high school. My mom and I were great friends and I was respectful and worked hard in school, followed the rules, all that jazz. So in my case I would say the hormonal insanity did end early as well as start early.

[Mammax4]

I can't speak from personal experience, I have 3ds's, but I have gf's with daughters. One had very early moodiness, we referred to it as her pre-pre-menstral time. (during private conversations of course) She is now 14 and for the most is a pretty level girl. (who doesn't have a day now and again?) Another gf's daughter had her menstral cycle at 9, she will be 13 shortly. Oh my, she can be very unpleasant with her Mom. I guess it can go both ways.

[Arwyn]

Biologically, yes. However, I'm of the mind that much of what we consider "adolescent angst" is at least as much a result of society and culture, and the contradictory expectations we have of teens (especially highschoolers), as it is biological/hormonal. To that end, I, who went through menarche at age 10, finished my biological development fairly early, but had a rough time throughout highschool.

I would also point out that biological adolescence is much longer than we typically think it is, with neurology and some organs taking much longer to reach a fully "mature" state than external appearance. (Although, of course, no one ever really stops "maturing", all Peter Pan jokes aside )

[ASusan]

Originally Posted by Arwyn

Biologically, yes. However, I'm of the mind that much of what we consider "adolescent angst" is at least as much a result of society and culture, and the contradictory expectations we have of teens (especially highschoolers), as it is biological/hormonal. To that end, I, who went through menarche at age 10, finished my biological development fairly early, but had a rough time throughout highschool.

I would also point out that biological adolescence is much longer than we typically think it is, with neurology and some organs taking much longer to reach a fully "mature" state than external appearance. (Although, of course, no one ever really stops "maturing", all Peter Pan jokes aside )

ITA.

While it is true that an early maturing girl will reach the biological end of puberty earlier, that won't necessarily be true for psychological and social aspects. Early maturing girls reach their full adult height earlier - their bones are finished with ossification earlier than an "on-time" or "late" developer. Thus, earlier developers TEND to be, on AVERAGE, shorter and heavier than late maturing girls. The late maturing girls' bones have a longer time to grow, and therefore, they do, indeed, grow longer.

Biological development isn't always on the same timetable as emotional and cognitive development.

Plus, biology interacts with society...early maturing girls may face other "issues." (I"m not saying that your DD will, but just pointing out what research finds, on average.) Early maturing girls are attractive to older boys. Plus, they are sometimes rejected by their on-time peer group, so they start hanging out with older kids, who they're not prepared to interact with socially. (They don't have the social skills to manage the relationships. To dissuade an older boy's (sexual) advances. Or to manage peer pressure.) So, early maturing girls are at risk for a variety of things (early sexual involvement, drug/alcohol use/abuse, depression, eating disorders). The problems with e.d. stem from having a body that is getting bigger (and different from peers), but not having the emotional development to handle it...

I do not want to suggest that your DD WILL have problems. In fact, she's probably in just the type of family that will help give her the social and emotional skills to handle her changing body, so she would be resilient in face of the risks that some early-maturing girls would encounter.

[Purrfect_doll]

My DD started to exhibit signs of puberty when she hit 8 yrs old. I remember telling my husband "if it's this bad now how is she going to be when she hits 13!!" She just tured 12 and things have mellowed out considerably. She walked in the room as I am typing and I asked her "Why do you think your mood swings were harder to deal with when you were younger?" She said "fear...I didn't know what was happening, and I didn't know why I was so sad in an instant...now I understand it and I can better deal with it."

She started her period at age 11 and is nearly done growing though sill developing...I think she is going to be larger chested like me, poor thing. )

I got her "The Body Book for Girls" by the American Girl company. You can find it in just about any major book store or on-line. I feel it's one of the better early explanation books out there, written well and easy to understand for the younger set. We bought her the book when she was 8 and it helped her understand what her body was going thru and helped her become comfortable with it all. She says it also helped her come up with questions to ask us that she wouldn't have thought of on her own.

[Alkenny]

DD started with her attitude around age 8...she has gotten better over the past year or so (she's 13), but she still doesn't need deodorant or started her period, so who knows about a correlation.

[sweetfiend]

>Biologically, yes. However, I'm of the mind that much of what we consider "adolescent angst" is at least as much a result of society and culture, and the contradictory expectations we have of teens (especially highschoolers), as it is biological/hormonal.<

I agree with this. I read a very interesting study once about girls who had to be forced into adolescence with high, high doses of hormones (when they were nearing 18). The researchers had the girls and their parents keep journals for a long time before, during and after the hormone treatment. What they found was that the emotional levels and the issues in the family never changed, but that during and after the hormone treatment the families and the girls attributed emotional distress to the hormones.

That said, I did burst into tears this week when a 4 year old called me a stinky poop the day before I started my period.