Early Puberty?... Should I Be Concerned?

Yes, you should take her to the pediatrician, and possibly a pediatric endocrinologist. A bone age x-ray of her hand will tell you lots on whether she is where she should be for growth. Early puberty (precocious puberty) can most certainly decrease final height, etc. The MAGIC Foundation has lots of information on kids and growth.

My six year old needs deodorant too. I think it's worth a trip to the doctor, if for nothing but you peace of mind.

I know that girls that eat alot of non organic chicken can have early puberty because of all of the hormones in it. This situation may be more complicated though. Good to take her to the doctor for hormone levels to be checked.
B. S. RN CCM

I'm don't have any experience with that with my child, but I developed early. By the time I was in third grade (at 7 or 8)I had developed enough to wear probably an A-cup. I ended up being the same height as I would have been, which was right in between my dad's height and my mom's. The rest of my development was on target as well. I hope this helps assuage some of your fears.

this is not normal. she probably needs to see an endocrinologist about her hormones. sometimes if you're overweight your body thinks you're older than you are and you can start early, but this could really affect her self image. i know a lady going through this right now with her 6 yr old and she wouldn't even participate at school in wearing a bathing suit on water day. take her now in case there is something they can do to regulate her hormones. you wouldn't want your baby starting her period so early and having to deal with being made fun of. good luck!

Hi M.,
Many of the products we eat today have hormones so they grow faster and bigger, develop quicker than before, and make a better profit... Eventually we get those hormones in our bodies and they do affect us in ways we may not even fully understand yet. That is why many doctors say kids are developing at younger ages. This explanation makes sense to me.
Your child may or may not have been affected more by these hormones than the rest of her peers, but I would take her to an endocrinologist preferably one with a specialty in pediatrics. Just to be on the safe side.

Regards
H.

My daughter is developing early also. She started at eightish. I noticed the body odor and the budding. She showers daily now! My doctor told me of a case he had in his office w/ a 6-year old. This could indicate a pitutary or endocrine problem. He said that 6-year old was already menustrating. I would definately take her to the pediatrician to have it diagnosed. She may have to be on hormones or have other tests done. If yours brushes it off, take her to another one until you get answers. I think she should definately be referred to an endocrinoligist to run more tests

Hi, mine second one(the first is 19)is 9 and she started STINKING! a while ago. I don't mean to be rude but I hope you aren't discussing this in front of her.. especially since you seem so worried about it. Yes I do understand mine started developing breasts or at least a breast but the other just would not appear. It waas almost a year. What I'm trying to say is...... if she is pubesent early... what do you think you can even do. i would just say , like Mom said, keep an eye on her and help make it as easy as possible. It is hard enough, then being so young and you obviously being stressed about it.
Like I said I'm sorry...I just worry about her getting through it more than her "growth potential". Her self esteem and academic potential are much more important. Not being 5'8" is not.
Just another concerned mother.

My daughter also started wearing deorderant at 6 yrs old. She also started with hair under her arms right after that. I took her to a Mommy/daughter class at 9 yrs old at Childrens Hosp. where they talk about the menstral cycle in a very relaxed way. She started her cycle at 10 yrs old. I hear that girls continue to grow until 2 yrs after her cycle starts. You can always call your doctor and ask for advice over the phone or if she needs to be seen. Hope this helps. T.

Hi M.,
I work in a Pediatric Endocrine clinic as a nurse. I am very familiar with what is going on with your daughter. It definitely sounds like precocious puberty. She needs to be seen by her PMD asap and also needs to be referred to an pediatric endocrinologist as well. It is true that some children (african american and hispanic girls esp) begin puberty earlier than others. 6 years old is too early. You are right that allowing this to continue will allow her growth plates to fuse thus making it impossible for her to grow to her full potential height. Let me know if you have any questions about any of this. PM me any time. Good luck with your daughter. God bless!

OK - I want to share with you what happened with my nephew. My mom is raising him (long story) and she noticed when he was around 5 or 6 that he was getting pubic hair and she called me and asked me about it. I told her that he should not be getting that at his age and she should check with his doctor. I am so glad that she did. He has Cushing's and that is one sign of it. I know that it is a hormonal disorder and has to do with high levels of cortisol. You can google it to get more information. I hope that this helps.

God Bless.

I have heard about cases where it was believed that the hormones in milk and even meats were the culprit in early onsets of puberty. I would take her to the doctor ASAP but I would also begin to buy hormone free milk and other products. If your grocery store doesn't carry it (most do), then check another one. It does cost a little more but I believe the health benefits to your daughter would definitely be worth it. Good luck, and keep us posted!!

My daughter had her first period at 9. I know that kids are hitting purberty at ever earlier ages these days, but 6 sounds REALLY young. I would take her to her pediatrician.

At age 6, a call to the pediatrician is definitely a good idea. Being tall for her age has nothing to do with getting hair under her arms, etc. at this early age.

Hi M.,
No it is not normal for a child at age 6 to be having puberty symptons. Yes taking her to the doctor would be a good idea but YOU also need to find the cause. You might want to check out the different foods that she is eating. A lot of foods have hormones in them that can put children into early puberty. Growth hormones are given to most cows and chickens, so you might want to start buying milk and cheese that says on the label "made with cows not treated with the artifical growth hormone rBST or any other hormone" Soy products are also a BIG problem. Might even want to look at the amount of fluoride that she is comsuming in her water and food etc. Body odor is not caused by puberty it is caused by what you eat and other factors. I would suggest you have her eat a lot more fruits and vegs. Greens are very important. Remember the old saying "You are what you eat" I have found this to be very true. Try googling hormones in food, soy products/hormones,and check out how fluoride may to effecting your children. www.fluoridealert.org. Here is some info from that site that might be of interest to you http://www.google.com/custom?cof=AH%3Acenter%3BAWFID%3Ac0... Here's a quote from one of the articles , "In conclusion, the human pineal gland contains the highest concentration of fluoride in the body. Fluoride is associated with depressed pineal melatonin synthesis by prepubertal gerbils and an accelerated onset of sexual maturation in the female gerbil. The results strengthen the hypothesis that the pineal has a role in the timing of the onset of puberty." If she has to use a deoderant make sure it a natural one because deoderant has a lot of chemicals in them. Be a wise mother and educate yourself so that your children will grow up healthy and happy. Hope this helps....C. H.

Yes. You should definitely be concerned and take your daughter to be checked to see if she is indeed going into puberty. 6 years is far too young to be going into puberty. I agree with the other responder, who said that chicken and meat contain growth hormones which can cause early puberty. If you can afford it, organic meat and chicken are much safer. Most food animals are also fed antibiotics which is one reason why they are becoming less effective.
V. (grandmother)

Developing that early is not normal. I would definitely take her to the doctor. She could have a hormonal imbalance. Don't wait.

Hurry to the doctor. This sounds like early onset puberty. a hormone imbalance in thebody causing an excess of hormones, thus starting puberty. There are ways to reverse this. One way is a series of shots. etc. If you don't do something she could develop her period, etc. If he doesn't know anything or wants to 'wait and see" get another doctor. Keep going until you find someone to help her. Not trying to sound bossy but I was the opposite and was a late bloomer. I have had a lifetime of horomone and related problems. I have 2 friends and a nephew that suffered with early onset puberty. All where successfully controled with treatments/therapy appropriate for their age. Good luck

I had to get my first bra at 5 and was a D cup by 6th grade. now I am a 38H and only 5'1. some girls start puberty early and still grow to be their full height but some are like me and end up really short even though everyone else in my family is tall. My mom is 5'7, dad 6'4, and little brother 6'1 and still growing. I would get it checked out if i were you.

6 is pretty young but I have a neice that is almost 3 and she already has hair under her arms and vaginal area. Doctor said its an increased level of horomones, but said she is to young to do anything about it and also doing horomone therapy cld prevent her from having children later on. Some kids jus develope sooner than others I was 8 when I got breast buds and by the time I was 9 I was a C cup and also started my period. You can take her in but I wouldn't allow them to do anything about it without knowing every single inch of what could happen down the road. Gl
~K~