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9yodd has had her first period.


Suzanne in ABQ
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I've read that this is happening more and more, and I've read the theories for why it is happening, but I don't know anyone who has experienced it themselves.  I have questions.

 

Dd is actually quite mature for her age, emotionally, and she already had full understanding of the reproductive cycle and periods.  So, though it was a surprise, it was not the least bit dramatic on either of our parts.  She handled it fine, and it's over for now.  So, that's not my concern.  

 

I'm wondering what this will mean for dd in a big picture kind of way?  What will be different than if it had waited until she was older -- different than it was for me at age 11 or my older dd, at 13?

 

My main concern is her height.  It is my understanding that girls stop growing about a year after menses begins.  Does that mean that dd will stop growing when she's 10?

 

Is there a way to stop the cycles?  For instance, dd eats a lot of chicken, and some say that meat hormones could be causing early menses.  If I stop giving her meat from unknown sources, and only give her meat certified to be hormone free, will that stop the menses?  Or is it too late to reverse this?

 

I know that cycles often take awhile to become regular when a girl first starts menstruating.  I'm hoping maybe this was an anomaly, and that she won't have another period for months and months.  Has this been the case with other girls?

 

Should I take her to a doctor?  Of so, what for?  Surely she wouldn't need a pelvic exam.  But, should her pediatrician be in on this?  If so, why?  She's not sick.  She's just maturing early, physically.  

 

She is still very much a little girl.  She's not se&ual or grown-up in any way.  She plays with dolls, and likes twirly dresses.  She's in no hurry to grow up.  Certainly has no interest in s@x or "boyfriends".  

 

Can anyone share their experience with this?

Thanks.

 
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I don't have any personal experience but I did want to say that my family had 4 girls when I was growing up and 3 of us got our periods at 13 years old and one of my sisters started at 9 and that was 23 years ago.  She is not the shortest of us girls, she is second shortest. We are 5'8", 5'6", 5'3" and 5'2". She continued to have a wonderful childhood and is very happy and well adjusted today.

 

I too have heard about hormones in food etc, my daughters both started at 13 and we have only used standard meat and milk products.

 

There would certainly be no harm in mentioning it to her doctor, but I would not blame yourself at all and I am sure that your daughter will be fine in the long run.

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Youngest dd had her first period the month after she turned ten.  No doctor visit- that didn't even occur to me.   As far as height, she's within an inch or two of her sister who was 14 when she had her first period. 

 

She wasn't regular for quite a while, and even now doesn't have heavy periods. It was tough for the first few years because they were unpredictable and it was just annoying to learn to deal with.  

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There are ways to stop it medically, but I don't know if a doctor would consider that, since 9yo is not actually that young.  I have a cousin who started at 9, and that was almost 40 years ago.  My kids' race is a predictor of them possibly starting early too, so we hear of girls starting at 9yo from time to time.  (I heard of one starting at 8, but her mom put her on some medicine to stop it.)

 

I have heard that girls stop growing roughly a year after menarche (and that menarche is usually preceded by a growth spurt), but I don't think it's universal.  I know I didn't stop growing until 4 or 5 years after menarche.  But if it does happen, and your daughter is very petite, there are medical solutions for that as well.

 

I think you can get your daughter's bone density tested to see if that will predict her future growth.

 

It's great that she was prepared and not upset by this.  My 8yo is in a growth spurt and I don't see her being ready for menarche.  I'm working on getting her there just in case.

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I think at 9 I would call and check in with the doctor just to be sure, it just seems so young to me, but I tend to worry about stuff.

 

My DD started the week of her 12th birthday.  The doctor told her she wouldn't grow more than half an inch taller once menses started.  She grew about 3 inches taller.  I think she is now pretty much her adult height, which is 5'7". 

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I know of one girl who had early onset puberty who had a period at 8. She is disabled (a peer of my disabled dd), and that is one of the possibilities for certain brain defects. They stopped her periods medically so that she would continue to grow--I'm not sure what the medication was that they used or how long they did this. Now at 17 she's probably 5'0" or 5'1". Did your daughter have a big growth spurt before this? It is true that she may not have much more growth. My nurse sister-in-law says 18 months of growth after first period. One of my dd's started at 12.5 yo and didn't really grow much more--certainly less than an inch. But she did have a couple of major growth spurts before that. This dd was clearly in puberty at age 9 but thankfully didn't get her period until 12.5. Oh, and the second period didn't come until 10 or 11 months later. I don't think it would hurt to go in for a well-child check and talk to the doctor about growth potential.

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I started the first day of summer vacation right after sixth grade (last day of school I was in light yellow - thank goodness it didn't start then!) so almost 12.  Two months later my kid sister started, too - age 10.  She is taller than me, too.  Back then (about 1973) she had to go to the nurses office to use the bathroom, as elementary schools just didn't expect or want girls with "monthlies" in the regular bathrooms.  They didn't even do sex ed. until well into sixth grade...she was starting fifth.  My poor kid sister - her cycle was so short, too, every three weeks a week-long period would start.  She had to be put on birth control to get on a longer, more normal cycle.

 

Back then, we still needed a note from home to be allowed to wear pants to school. and then only once a week!  And had to be pants - not blue jeans. 

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There are ways to stop it medically, but I don't know if a doctor would consider that, since 9yo is not actually that young.  I have a cousin who started at 9, and that was almost 40 years ago.  My kids' race is a predictor of them possibly starting early too, so we hear of girls starting at 9yo from time to time.  (I heard of one starting at 8, but her mom put her on some medicine to stop it.)

 

A doctor *might* if she's very short, or if it's otherwise deemed to be in her best interests. At any rate, there's certainly no harm in asking.

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I started mine at 9, my daughters at 10.  I'm just shy of 5'8", and my girls are all 5'8" or thereabouts.  The twins were at 5'1" when they started theirs.  Their ped even said they wouldn't grow much more and I quite literally laughed at her.

 

We all did skip around a little after starting, but had regular periods within the year.  No pelvic exam is needed.  I would just mention it to the ped. at the next regular visit.  

 

 

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I started early and I'm very short.  But shortness was my genetic fate--there aren't any tall genes anywhere on either side of the family tree.  So I can't blame it on early puberty. ;)  Thankfully I haven't found being short to be anywhere near the disaster many on here seem to think it is.

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I've read that this is happening more and more, and I've read the theories for why it is happening, but I don't know anyone who has experienced it themselves.  I have questions.

 

Dd is actually quite mature for her age, emotionally, and she already had full understanding of the reproductive cycle and periods.  So, though it was a surprise, it was not the least bit dramatic on either of our parts.  She handled it fine, and it's over for now.  So, that's not my concern.  

 

I'm wondering what this will mean for dd in a big picture kind of way?  What will be different than if it had waited until she was older -- different than it was for me at age 11 or my older dd, at 13?

 

My main concern is her height.  It is my understanding that girls stop growing about a year after menses begins.  Does that mean that dd will stop growing when she's 10?

 

Is there a way to stop the cycles?  For instance, dd eats a lot of chicken, and some say that meat hormones could be causing early menses.  If I stop giving her meat from unknown sources, and only give her meat certified to be hormone free, will that stop the menses?  Or is it too late to reverse this?

 

I know that cycles often take awhile to become regular when a girl first starts menstruating.  I'm hoping maybe this was an anomaly, and that she won't have another period for months and months.  Has this been the case with other girls?

 

Should I take her to a doctor?  Of so, what for?  Surely she wouldn't need a pelvic exam.  But, should her pediatrician be in on this?  If so, why?  She's not sick.  She's just maturing early, physically.  

 

She is still very much a little girl.  She's not se&ual or grown-up in any way.  She plays with dolls, and likes twirly dresses.  She's in no hurry to grow up.  Certainly has no interest in s@x or "boyfriends".  

 

Can anyone share their experience with this?

Thanks.

 

My grandmother started when she was 11, and my aunt started when she was 10. There's a range of "normal".

 

Don't make your daughter's menstruation something sexual. It doesn't mean she's no longer a little girl or will automatically become a sex fiend or want boyfriends. 

 

It's going to be ok, Mama! 

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 Thankfully I haven't found being short to be anywhere near the disaster many on here seem to think it is.

 

I agree. Many middle schoolers are taller than I am (DD included), but being shorter than average isn't a big deal...except when I'm trying to find a maxi dress for my niece's wedding.

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Does she do sports or dance or anything physical?  My DD started her period one month shy of her 13th birthday, but has only had a period every 3 months or so since she started.  She is VERY active with dance, and that has kept the periods infrequent.  We have heard of this happening plenty with other dancers and athletes, so it is not concerning at this stage of her life. 

 

I highly doubt you could reduce/eliminate cycles through any kind of diet except things you should definitely not be doing. 

 

My DD has not stopped growing yet, and it's been almost two years since she started.  I really don't think that's an accurate guideline for predicting when growth will stop.  I wish she would, I look forward to not having to update her wardrobe so often. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Youngest dd had her first period the month after she turned ten.  No doctor visit- that didn't even occur to me.   As far as height, she's within an inch or two of her sister who was 14 when she had her first period. 

 

She wasn't regular for quite a while, and even now doesn't have heavy periods. It was tough for the first few years because they were unpredictable and it was just annoying to learn to deal with.  

 

All my girls have started early, within a few months of turning 10. They are 5', 4'11, and (the 11yo) 5'3"--but our family runs short as ds is 5'9" and I am 5'2".

 

All of them have been quite irregular at first. One had quite frequent periods and I took her to see a dr., who put her on a girls' multivitamin, which helped. The other two have had more infrequency issues, for which we have not bothered to see the doctor.

 

It's a bit of a pain to have to deal with the mess & the moods so early, but they have been able to encourage each other and have (after the complaints the first few times) mostly dealt with it well.

 

The main problem we've had is that my 11yo is quite well developed and looks at least 15 and tends to draw young male attention. She's very up front about stating her age, though, which helps keep things from progressing anywhere. And her sister keeps an eye out for her, too.

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I had my period young and kept growing for several more years. I think it was more a correlative prediction based on previous generations and menses, not causative.

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I was 9 when I started.

 

I've read that this is happening more and more, and I've read the theories for why it is happening, but I don't know anyone who has experienced it themselves.  I have questions.

 

Dd is actually quite mature for her age, emotionally, and she already had full understanding of the reproductive cycle and periods.  So, though it was a surprise, it was not the least bit dramatic on either of our parts.  She handled it fine, and it's over for now.  So, that's not my concern.  

 

I'm wondering what this will mean for dd in a big picture kind of way?  What will be different than if it had waited until she was older -- different than it was for me at age 11 or my older dd, at 13? Most girls I know that start younger have heavier flow. I'd try to get her active now. I wish someone would have done that for me.

 

My main concern is her height.  It is my understanding that girls stop growing about a year after menses begins.  Does that mean that dd will stop growing when she's 10? I grew until I was 12. I'm 5'10"

 

Is there a way to stop the cycles?  For instance, dd eats a lot of chicken, and some say that meat hormones could be causing early menses.  If I stop giving her meat from unknown sources, and only give her meat certified to be hormone free, will that stop the menses?  Or is it too late to reverse this?

 

I know that cycles often take awhile to become regular when a girl first starts menstruating.  I'm hoping maybe this was an anomaly, and that she won't have another period for months and months.  Has this been the case with other girls? Not me.

 

Should I take her to a doctor?  Of so, what for?  Surely she wouldn't need a pelvic exam.  But, should her pediatrician be in on this?  If so, why?  She's not sick.  She's just maturing early, physically.  Nah. I didn't get a pelvic exam until boot camp and didn't get another until I was sexually active. She's 9. Let her be 9. You can call the Ped if you want, but I wouldn't worry about it.

 

She is still very much a little girl.  She's not se&ual or grown-up in any way.  She plays with dolls, and likes twirly dresses.  She's in no hurry to grow up.  Certainly has no interest in s@x or "boyfriends".  

 

Can anyone share their experience with this?

Thanks.

 

I don't have an interesting story. I just started bleeding sooner than others. Let me know what else you need. I'm not shy. ;)

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I had my period young and kept growing for several more years. I think it was more a correlative prediction based on previous generations and menses, not causative.

 

I agree with this.  I want to add that, in contrast to all the furor over the increase in "early" puberty in girls and the people who attribute it to all of the hormones we are supposedly ingesting, I wonder if maybe 9 and 10 isn't naturally the "right" age, and previous generations were actually malnourished in comparison and, accordingly, late.  It just seems odd to me to assume that the old way was the best way and that the new normal is what's wrong.  Every generation tends to be taller than the last generation, and we don't get into a tizzy over people being too tall these days.

 

Anyhow, it wouldn't hurt to have a pediatric endocrinologist x-ray her wrists to check her bone age.  If it is significantly ahead of her chronological age, they can stop puberty, but that has risks as well.  It also is expensive and difficult to get insurance to cover.  

 

One more thing--if your daughter is an international adoptee and started life malnourished, you might want to read up on how that affects puberty and ultimate height.  And in our case, it had nothing to do with her being a couch potato; she was and is a serious competitive swimmer with very little body fat.  So don't make anyone feel like this is your fault.  I hesitate to even use "fault," because that makes it sound like somebody messed up, which I don't think is the case at all.

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Re: shortness. I am fine with regular, run-of-the-mill shortness. I come from a family of mostly shorter people. When I worried about dd being short due to early maturation, she was just turning 9, clearly entering puberty, and was only 4'6" tall. I didn't understand the course of puberty and growth spurts, so I was worried that she would end up being under 4'10". Her pediatrician was not worried. She told me menses were still a long way off and that she would get a growth spurt. Sure enough she grew almost 4 inches that year and 3 the next. I was very happy when she hit the 5' mark and she topped off at almost 5'2". Very much normal shortness!

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Wow, I had never heard that girls stop growing about a year after menses begins, but now I see that's totally true. I was a full head taller than everyone else in fifth grade, but haven't grown since then. My great grandmother was 16, my grandmother 14, my mom 12, and I was 10 (though close to being 11). If I recall, there were definitely a few months between the first and the second, and then again it took a while to "settle in." And they were TERRIBLE at first. Sigh. Thank God that's over...

 

Come to think of it, the above ages make me a little glad I have three sons. I can imagine it's scary to have your daughter begin so young... and such an inconvenience for her at a young age. Thankfully for your daughter, she is at home. I imagine elementary school teachers have been trained to deal with that, though. I taught middle school some years ago, and definitely kept a stash of "supplies" handy. Still, dealing with it the first few years in school was THE WORST.

 

 

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I agree with this.  I want to add that, in contrast to all the furor over the increase in "early" puberty in girls and the people who attribute it to all of the hormones we are supposedly ingesting, I wonder if maybe 9 and 10 isn't naturally the "right" age, and previous generations were actually malnourished in comparison and, accordingly, late.  It just seems odd to me to assume that the old way was the best way and that the new normal is what's wrong.  Every generation tends to be taller than the last generation, and we don't get into a tizzy over people being too tall these days.

 

Anyhow, it wouldn't hurt to have a pediatric endocrinologist x-ray her wrists to check her bone age.  If it is significantly ahead of her chronological age, they can stop puberty, but that has risks as well.  It also is expensive and difficult to get insurance to cover.  

 

One more thing--if your daughter is an international adoptee and started life malnourished, you might want to read up on how that affects puberty and ultimate height.  And in our case, it had nothing to do with her being a couch potato; she was and is a serious competitive swimmer with very little body fat.  So don't make anyone feel like this is your fault.  I hesitate to even use "fault," because that makes it sound like somebody messed up, which I don't think is the case at all.

 

You may very well be correct.  In addition, the last data I saw had the average age for menses decreasing around an average of 4 months and the range of normal hasn't change significantly. I think a lot of the concern over this issue is blown way out of proportion.

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I think some of the issues are that the longer you menstruate over time, there are additional concerns later in life. However, there are so many other factors, how many kids you have, how long you nurse the kids, etc etc. I wouldn't worry. 

 

As for causes, if there is one, I look more to plastics and such personally. But, it may just be we are indeed more well nourished.

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Did she not show any earlier puberty signs? I read somewhere that, on average, menarche occurs 2 years after the first signs of puberty. My eldest daughter got the first signs at 9 and a half, so hopefully periods won't start until at least 11. I was 12, almost 13, but possibly that's because I was rather thin at that age, and dd is on the fatter side (apparently a certain level of body fat is required for menstrual cycling to happen, hence the amenorrhea in some dancers and other very lean girls/women). 

 

I wouldn't bother bringing her for a checkup unless she has major problems, such as an unusual amount of pain or unusually heavy/long bleeds, that might need treatment.

 

(Shortness - I honestly don't see that any height is too short for a girl. As an extremely tall woman, I'd be delighted if my girls were four foot something. But I guess the grass is greener - right?)

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I started at 9 (33 years ago). My mom was the same. She also started at 9. I grew about 2 inches in the year after....I've been 5'7 since sixth grade. It was a little weird being that much more 'developed' than most of the girls my age. But it evened out by 13/14. I remember friends being riled up about getting their first periods in middle school. For me, it wasn't a big deal anymore at that age, since I'd been having one for 3-4 years. I don't think it caused any permanent psychological damage. 😄 (I'm more disturbed now that I seem to take after my mom, and she just went through menopause at age 62! Not looking forward to 20 more years of periods.)

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My girls all started after their 11th birthdays and before their 12th.

 

My oldest and youngest both grew until they were about 16yo. My youngest has not grown in the past year, but she will be 17yo in two months and is the tallest of my kids.

My shortest dd is the one who started the latest, but she was on the 3rd percentile line for height from the start. The doctor predicted that she would be about 4'11", so it was great that she made it just over 5'.

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I started at age 9 (now 52 and not done yet), and basically quit growing at 12 (5-4 and a smidge). My sister did not start until she was 15 or so (and then had to have birth control pills in order to have one regularly) and she is about 5-5 or so. My daughter started at 10.5 and now at age 14 the doctor has said she's gotten about as tall as she is likely to get (5-2).

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I started at 9, so I've been anxiously preparing my oldest (who will be 9 in June). She has been developing a bit lately, so I'm just waiting...

 

Knowing I started early, we started talking about this early on with my daughter (who ended up not starting until 10.5). She was very interested in the "your body" type books at that age, and I bought her several that she read and re-read. I also offered to buy her some pads of her own that she could keep some in her backpack, purse, overnight bag, etc so that she wouldn't have to worry about not having something whenever she did start (and I made sure I carried some in my purse for her at all times just in case). She did that for at least a year, if not more before actually starting. As it turned out, she started while we were at a store Christmas shopping and it was totally non-traumatic for her---in fact, she was rather excited by evidence that she was "growing up" (which quickly became being annoyed by the monthly nuisance! ;) )  IIRC, I got the U Tween by Kotex, or one of the other slender ultrathin options.

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I've heard from doctors and nurses that girls stop growing 1 year after their first period but it didn't hold true for me or my sister.

 

I was the 2nd tallest girl in my class (5'3") when I got my period at age 12. I attained my full height of 5'7" at age 16.

 

My sister's periods started at age 14 when she was about 5'3" or 5'4". Early height predictors said 5'4" was probably her max height. However, she continued to grow until she was 18 to 5'9" and passed me up!

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I didn't start until I was 15 and I'm just short of 5'4". Both dds started at 11 and are over 5'5". Youngest seems to still be growing (her feet are now a size 9 :huh: and she's 13) so I wouldn't be surprised to see her still shoot up a bit.

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My mom started at 9yo; that would be in 1955.  She grew up on a large farm - I'm sure she ate only farm raised produce/animals with no added hormones back then.  She is 5'2".  She was super-tiny until after she was married.

 

I don't know when her mother started, but she was only 4'11".

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I started at 11. I definitely grew more than a 1/2 an inch. I got an extra inch in late high school to boot. My niece started last year at barely 12 and she's grown several inches since then. My mother was 10 and my grandmother was 9.

 

I don't think 9 is that early and it definitely doesn't mean her childhood is over.

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My childhood best friend started at 8 and had developed earlier than that. She definitely grew more in height though, her adult height is about 5'4. 

 

I'd honestly be more concerned about the hormones in dairy than in chicken. 

 

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I started just after turning 9, it was regular right from the beginning.  I stopped growing at 13 when I was 5 foot 5 inches.

 

My mother started at 10, my grandmother at around 10, and her mother was pretty young as well.

 

 My dd however didn't started until 15. I am guessing that perhaps she takes after the other side of the family, though I cannot ask as I do not have a talking relationship with DH's sisters at all,

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I get really peeved about the way our medical professionals handle puberty. If you read the literature, there are distinct stages and puberty progresses perfectly along those stages and lasts only 5 years. And yet perimenopause can last 10 years. Doesn't add up to me and I don't know a soul who has proceeding along the five stages of puberty in five years.

 

I continued to grow several years beyond my first period (age 12). Not as much as before, but more. My breasts weren't fully developed until I was almost 23 (call them honeymoon breasts, if you will). My own dc are not following the stages perfectly and are still growing well (albeit a bit slower than before menses).

 

Sorry, it just gets me that one of the body's most transformative periods is pigeonholed into this one-process-should-fit-all attitude.

 

I wouldn't worry about your daughter. If you are worried about her adult height, keep her well fed with protein (one of my dd loves to eat beans), start her on a good multivitamin, etc.

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And if the topic comes up, and one of your mom friends says her daughter is nearly 16 and hasn't started hers yet, because their family eats mostly organic and not all that "processed crap," you have our permission to slap her.  Please, do.  I wish I had.

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People have always gotten periods earlier or later.  There's always been a range of normal.  I grew up with sisters who all started at 8.  Their mother started at 8.  Their grandmother started at 8.  Their great-grandmother started at 8.  I suspect their own daughters will start at 8, too.

 

She may be irregular.  She may not get another period for months.  Or she may be completely regular and have one every month from here on out.  It is the same no matter when a girl starts.

 

It is false that girls stop growing a year after they start.  My sister kept growing for 4 more years.  My daughter grew an inch since she turned 15.  She got her first period at 11.  She was about 4'10 at that point.  She is now 5'3" or so.  Her height has steadily increased and most of that growth has happened after 12 and after a year after she got her first period.

 

It is very doubtful that hormones in meat are causing early menstruation.  I think we *talk* about early menstruation more now, but all the girls I know who started before 10 or 11 have grandmothers/great-grandmothers who started early as well.  As I said my daughter was 11 and we almost never ate meat then and it was almost all from a local farm that used no hormones.

 

The next time you see her doctor you would want to say she's started, but 9 is totally within the normal range so it's not something the doctor would need to know right away or check her for.

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Ditto other posters... puberty can start early (age 9 and 10) and still be NORMAL.

I was 9 and 5' tall when I started mine and I'm 5'8" now.

My grandmother was also 9...  My mother was 15 (she was extremely thin though).  We drank organic milk and ate organic chicken/beef (my grandmother had a farm...).

 

I have 3 dd's.  Oldest started on her 12th birthday-- she was tiny for her age and still not quite 5ft tall then (she is 5'7" as an adult).  Middle started the month after her sister (so at age 9-- she was taller than her sister and more 'curvy').  Youngest started at 11 (slender dancer type).  She has grown 5 inches since then and is still gaining.

 

 

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Dd was 10 years old. She definitely continued to grow taller! I've never heard the 1 year rule... She's 14 now and still growing, I think. Although maybe I'm shrinking, I never thought to check.

 

The biggest issue when things start at a young age is swimming. Dd was desperately unhappy about missing swimming outings and horribly uncomfortable with saying WHY she was not swimming. Be prepared to phone the adult in charge on the sly the let them know what's going on. If people think she's just forgotten her swim suit when attending a swimming pool birthday party, for instance, they will persist in offering solutions. This honestly still remains the biggest issue for us, as it has impacted on several family holidays. She has tried to go the route adult women do in this situation but hates it, and refuses to use them. Now that she's older she can at least tell other girls why she can't swim.

 

Early puberty didn't lead to any sudden interest in boys etc etc. In fact, 4 years later dd still feigns indifference.

 

On the plus side, we had the awful years early (I'm convinced they have everything to do with hormones and nothing to do with age). Dd is now a delight, and apart from the odd bit of attitude about schoolwork and room tidying she is a joy to be around.

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One of my daughters started at 10 and I was concerned about the height thing too until I read a study showing that while it's true that girls tend to stop growing a year or so after menarche and it's easy to make the connection that early puberty thus causes shorter height. In reality, when researchers corrected for predicted height, they found that girls whose predicted height is shorter will enter puberty before girls predicted to be taller. In other words, it's not an early period that stops the height growth, it's that girls destined to be shorter will start their periods earlier.

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My younger dd started a few months before she turned 11, and she is quite tall and slim.  She has not stopped growing, although her growth seemed to slow down a bit initially.  My older dd is 13, still hasn't started, and she is more average height and slim.  Both are dancers and swimmers, and are quite active.  Younger dd is just on a faster development track genetically.  They've eaten the same foods, and have had similar dance schedules at the same ages.  So, you see, even two sisters raised in the same household, eating the same foods, etc.,  have been very different   I think it just came down to the specific mix of genes they inherited.  Don't worry, mama, she will be fine!   Take her to a general checkup with her ped if you need to be sure everything is ok. 

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This is the first encouraging thread I've read on this topic. DD started at 9 a few months ago. It really has been "no big deal." She is handling herself very well so far. I started at 9. I've spent my whole adult life blaming my mom who fed me junk food and never encouraged physical activity. We ate and drank pure junk. Lol. So, I was going to fix all of that for my daughter, including a primarily organic diet. I have been highly conscientious about everything that goes into her mouth. She dances, plays competitive sports and has done a lot of gymnastics. She is VERY active. And guess what--she started within 2 months of the time I started. Lol. And she has the exact same body type. I ate powdered donuts for breakfast every morning of my childhood. Its uncanny.

 

It does hurt my feelings when I hear other moms with children who are slower to develop laughing about 9 year olds with breasts and how horrible their diet must be. I usually just walk away from those conversations. I am trying to help her embrace it all as the strong and beautiful girl she is!

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It does hurt my feelings when I hear other moms with children who are slower to develop laughing about 9 year olds with breasts and how horrible their diet must be. 

 

Some people can be really awful.  I've listened to moms around the dance studio who talk about how they are confident their dancer daughters won't start their periods early like their "fat" peers.  Horrifying.  

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