All about early puberty in both boys and girls
Girls and boys are reaching puberty at younger ages in the last decade or so. This trend has piqued the scientific community's interest.
If you’ve noticed early signs of puberty in your son or daughter, you’re not alone. Parents in South Africa and around the world are increasingly concerned that their children will enter puberty too soon.
Puberty typically begins in girls between the ages of eight and 13, and in boys between the ages of nine and 14, according to the National Institutes of Health. Some children, however, reach puberty earlier.
Puberty, also known as precocious puberty is considered to be early in boys before the age of eight, and in girls before the age of nine.
What exactly is precocious puberty?
Precocious puberty occurs when your child’s body matures faster than usual. While this does not necessarily imply that there is something wrong with your child, it’s important to understand how your precocious puberty can affect your child.
Good to know: The onset of puberty has been gradually declining for some time, but it is only in recent years that it has taken such a sharp drop and has begun to occur universally.
Sexual and emotional growth
Puberty starts when the body is becoming fully prepared for reproduction, but this does not imply that emotional development is progressing at the same rate. Adolescence was once a time when both sexual and emotional development occurred as boys and girls entered their teen years. However, children as young as six years old have sexually developed bodies long before their minds can comprehend what is going on.
This can be dangerous because it makes children more vulnerable to sexual abuse and can lead to experimentation and, in the case of girls, pregnancy at very young ages. As a result, parents are dealing with a whole new set of issues, and doctors are dealing with medical issues they have never seen before.
Other complications associated with precocious puberty
Early puberty can lead to the following complications:
Short stature: Children with precocious puberty may grow quickly and be taller than their peers at first. However, because their bones mature faster than normal, they frequently stop growing earlier than normal. As a result, they may be shorter than average as adults. Early treatment of precocious puberty, particularly in very young children, can help them grow taller than they would otherwise.
Social and emotional issues: Girls and boys who reach puberty earlier than their peers may be extremely self-conscious about the changes taking place in their bodies. This may have an impact on self-esteem and increase the likelihood of depression or substance abuse.
What is causing this dramatic shift in the onset of puberty?
Scientists have looked into the subject to try and determine what might cause these kinds of changes as the age of children entering puberty has decreased. The precise answers are still unknown, but they have identified a couple of modern-day factors that may hold a key.
- An unusual genetic mutation in some children can result in the release of sex hormones.
- Certain medical conditions, such as hypothyroidism (a common condition in which the thyroid does not produce and release enough thyroid hormone into the bloodstream).
- The rising rate of childhood obesity. Children with excess body fat will enter puberty earlier, on average, than those without additional body fat.
- Toxic and chemical exposure (everything from plastic baby bottles to food wrappers can contain harmful chemicals that can cause a variety of physiological problems, including early puberty).
Early puberty symptoms
Precocious puberty signs and symptoms include the emergence of the following before the age of eight in girls and before the age of nine in boys.
- In girls, female breast development and the first period
- In boys, enlarged testicles and penis, facial hair, and a deeper voice
- Underarm or pubic hair
- Acne
- Body odours
Good to know: Make an appointment with your child’s doctor for an evaluation if your child has any of the signs or symptoms of precocious puberty.
How is precocious puberty diagnosed?
To diagnose precocious puberty, your child’s doctor may do the following:
- Examine your child’s and family’s medical history.
- Perform a physical examination.
- Perform blood tests to determine hormone levels.
- Take x-rays of your child’s hand and wrist. These X-rays can assist the doctor in determining your child’s bone age, which indicates whether the bones are growing too quickly.
Identifying the type of premature puberty
There are three types of precocious puberty that may affect a child: central precocious puberty (the most common type), peripheral precocious puberty and incomplete puberty. Your child’s doctor will also need to determine the type of precocious puberty they have. They may do so by administering a gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) stimulation test.
The doctor will take a blood sample and then administer an injection containing the GnRH hormone to your child during this test. More blood samples are then taken over time to see how hormones in your child’s body react. The GnRH hormone causes other hormone levels to rise in children with central precocious puberty. Other hormone levels remain constant in children with peripheral precocious puberty.
