Early Puberty for Girls

If you are a woman or you have girls, you should read this ABC News article:

Girls are hitting puberty earlier than ever, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Health professionals say girls as young as eight years old are starting to show signs of early puberty. Researchers report girls are now getting their periods around the age of 12, down from the average age of almost 15 in the late 18-hundreds.

Doctors point to environmental toxins and weight gain. We know the more fat cells a girl has, the more likely they are to have excess estrogen. That excess estrogen could raise concerns later on in a woman's life.

The more estrogen you have exposed to your body, the greater the chanced of breast cancer, and possibly uterine cancer. And that's not the only worry. Their bodies may be maturing where their mind may not be. Experts believe that is causing social pressures.

Research has also suggested that children from broken homes experience earlier puberty.

The stress of family breakdown apparently alters the balance of growth hormones and other chemicals in the body, speeding up a child's physical development.

-NewsAnchorMom Jen