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Oh, crap! Early puberty? Should her parents be worried? - Page 2

post #21 of 40
10/16/08 at 2:23am
[QUOTE=harleyhalfmoon;12375034]editied per posters requestQUOTE]

i developed really early also but no period til 13. i have to disagree about the diet as pp's have said. it depends on the person really. everyone is different afterall.

mainstream how so? like mcdonalds for dinner everynight? or she isnt the type to listen to the crunchier side of things?

well if i was in your situation i wouldn't say anything. kids already have alot of insecurities about their bodies an bringing this up at a dr visit won't get you anywhere but "its normal" and will just embarass her in the end.

fighting off the inevitable is kinda silly to me. make sure to continue treating her as the normal child she is and it'll be ok.
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post #22 of 40
10/16/08 at 8:49am
Thread Starter 
Hey, Redveg, Bigeyes, Jennifer, would you mind unquoting me, so that the exact details of my friend's daughter aren't up there for all the internet to see?

Thanks.
post #23 of 40
10/16/08 at 8:58am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by jennifer_lc1 View Post
mainstream how so? like mcdonalds for dinner everynight? or she isnt the type to listen to the crunchier side of things?
Mainstream as in, fast food at lease twice a week, dinner in some kind of resteraunt or pizza place at least twice more a week and usually canned and frozen foods that are easily cooked the rest of the week. As for the crunchier side of things, well, let's just say, all crunchy things are wrong and abusive and neglectful.

Quote:
Originally Posted by jennifer_lc1 View Post
well if i was in your situation i wouldn't say anything. kids already have alot of insecurities about their bodies an bringing this up at a dr visit won't get you anywhere but "its normal" and will just embarass her in the end.
Oh, nothing would be brought up in front of her! She's used to her parents talking to the doctor in private during her checkups, because she's suffered from constantly from multiple resperatory issues most her life. (Please note, her Mother rushes her to the doctor at the first sign of a cough or sneeze or fever and demands an antibiotic. She's much healthier than it sounds, but it's always been a big issue how she's so "sickly".)
post #24 of 40
10/16/08 at 4:35pm
sure thing!
post #25 of 40
10/16/08 at 9:38pm
i edited it
post #26 of 40
10/17/08 at 8:20am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by bigeyes View Post
sure thing!
Quote:
Originally Posted by jennifer_lc1 View Post
i edited it
Thanks.
post #27 of 40
10/17/08 at 12:43pm
Hi there,

Eight is a little young, but still within the realm of normal to start puberty. If she has pubic hair, you can probably expect menarche within a year. (At least this is what my ped told me.) So time to get talking!

Please tell your freind to buy her stepdaughter this wonderful book called The Care and Keeping of You. It is an American Girl Publication - it uses straightforward language and illustrations about what to expect as your body changes, including discussion of periods, bras, and deodorant (if she chooses to use them). Each of my daughters has her own copy, and it was perfect esp. for my 11 yo daughter who doesn't like to talk about personal matters. With over a million copies sold, it is a pretty mainstream publication, so hard for her mom to object. (Lots of her friends will have copies as they get into 4th grade.)

It is very important for the people in her life to stay positive about her body changes. It is so easy for her to see grown ups' anxiety about early development as a rejection of herself. This is after all, the person she is becoming. Does that make sense? A little "I'm proud of you for taking care of yourself" as she makes changes in personal hygiene can really help.

FWIW, my kids have gone to Girl Scout camp for the last few years, and they see all kinds of stages of development among girls. Last year my just turned 9 yo was in a cabin where everyone was wearing bras and using deodorant. She kind of felt like the odd girl out.

Most public pools have shower stalls or other private changing areas - if she's self conscious encourage her to use them. After years of extended nursing, it is hard for some of us to remember how we felt about dressing in public as girls, but I try to take my girls' feelings into account.

Sorry -- this is really long for my first post in this forum. I guess I had a lot to say!

Joy to you. These are great years in a girl's life!
post #28 of 40
10/20/08 at 11:40pm
I have an aunt who is going to be 70 this month, and she started her period at age 9. Every girl in the family has been paranoid given this history. I was raised on on a very 'american' diet of milk in a glass, and I was 13 when I began. OTOH, there is someone in our family who was adopted and was given soy formula but didn't get her period until age 14.

If you interview everyone in our family, take in account muscle. fat, tone etc., you are not going to find a perfect pattern. Genetics is a curious thing , in our experience.
post #29 of 40
10/21/08 at 3:46am
Quote:
Originally Posted by LizzieG View Post
Hi there,

Eight is a little young, but still within the realm of normal to start puberty. If she has pubic hair, you can probably expect menarche within a year. (At least this is what my ped told me.)
Actually, newer research is showing that there is not necessarily a relationship between early onset of puberty and early menstruation. A lot of kids who get hair growth or breast changes early still menstruate at an average age.
post #30 of 40
10/21/08 at 2:08pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by bigeyes View Post
My dsd had signs at 6, but we cut out all soy from our diet and did away with bottled water (we're on catchment with multiple filters, so no city water) and managed to hold it off for 4 years.

Get rid of products with lavender and tea tree oil in them also. If you do those things you can help hold it off for a while, as all those things disrupt hormone levels and can contribute to early puberty in girls.
what? I have never heard any of this and can't say I'd put much belief in it. But to each his own. Gee, it would be wonderful if we knew such secrets to holding off puberty or anything that naturally happens to our body throughout life. Sadly, that's out of our hands.

Back in the 70's when I was a young girl there were plenty of girls that hit puberty earlier than others. Ever heard of heredity? It can come from anyone in the family, not just immediate family members.

I really don't think I'd worry about it, especially if it's not even my own child that expressed issues with her own body.
post #31 of 40
10/21/08 at 2:09pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by UUMom View Post
I have an aunt who is going to be 70 this month, and she started her period at age 9. Every girl in the family has been paranoid given this history. I was raised on on a very 'american' diet of milk in a glass, and I was 13 when I began. OTOH, there is someone in our family who was adopted and was given soy formula but didn't get her period until age 14.

If you interview everyone in our family, take in account muscle. fat, tone etc., you are not going to find a perfect pattern. Genetics is a curious thing , in our experience.
I totally agree!
post #32 of 40
10/23/08 at 3:17pm
Well I do know you have to weigh a certain amount (I think it's 100 lbs.), and have a certain amount of body fat before you can start your period. I started puberty around age 8/9 and got my menarche right after I turned 11. My sister, beanpole that she is, didn't start until she was about 13. She just didn't have enough weight or body fat.

It's conceivable that a slightly chubby/overweight child would start earlier.
post #33 of 40
10/26/08 at 1:06am
I've never heard of lavender and tea tree oil disrupting hormones!
I put lavender oil in my dd's bath since they were babes!
Does anyone have more info on this???? Links???

I was reading recentlty that early puberty - especially accompanied by weight gain can be a sign of thyroid disorders. I'll try to find the article.
MW
post #34 of 40
10/26/08 at 1:12am
Quote:
Originally Posted by MaiseWren View Post
I've never heard of lavender and tea tree oil disrupting hormones!
I put lavender oil in my dd's bath since they were babes!
Does anyone have more info on this???? Links???

I was reading recentlty that early puberty - especially accompanied by weight gain can be a sign of thyroid disorders. I'll try to find the article.
MW
http://search.conduit.com/ResultsExt...a+tree+hormone

lots of articles!

I suspect dsd will be prone to that, too. Her bio mom was hypo and not treating it when she was pregnant with her, and all her aunts are hypo. I think she is showing signs now, but of course the docs disagree. Dh and I disagree about what to do next.
post #35 of 40
10/26/08 at 10:43pm
Quote:
Her bio mom was hypo and not treating it when she was pregnant with her, and all her aunts are hypo. I think she is showing signs now, but of course the docs disagree.
Have you charted her basal temps yet? I was just reading through the awesome iodine thread here. Lots of good info there.

http://www.mothering.com/discussions...d.php?t=780908

Good luck. Frustrating situation!
MW
post #36 of 40
10/26/08 at 11:03pm
No. I'm hoping in a few months I'll have the money to run the full panel of tests to back me up. I'm sure when all the hormones are tested it will show something, but as long as we just test TSH, meh.
post #37 of 40
10/26/08 at 11:24pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by MaiseWren View Post
I've never heard of lavender and tea tree oil disrupting hormones!
I put lavender oil in my dd's bath since they were babes!
Does anyone have more info on this???? Links???
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases...0131204136.htm
post #38 of 40
10/27/08 at 7:41am
Quote:
Originally Posted by harleyhalfmoon View Post
Hey, Redveg, Bigeyes, Jennifer, would you mind unquoting me, so that the exact details of my friend's daughter aren't up there for all the internet to see?

Thanks.
Didn't see this. Someone pm'd me and let me know. Sorry.
post #39 of 40
10/28/08 at 2:07am
If I were the parent, I would definitely bring it up with her doctor. I had precocious puberty as a child and struggled with it emotionally. (Bra needed by age 6, shaving at 7, full pubic hair and period by 8, b-cup by 9, full height by 10, c-cup by 11)
post #40 of 40
10/28/08 at 2:17am
We're dealing with it and every doctor we've gone to has said it's 'normal.' :

It most definitely is not, and when the child is emotionally immature to boot, it's just awful.
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