Rick Raw: Girls Go Into Puberty at Shockingly Early Ages in Today’s World

By Rick Grant Commentary rickgrant01@comcast.net

In today’s world, you see many little girls who look like miniature women. Girls are reaching sexual maturity at earlier ages. Just twenty years ago, pediatric specialists would find this phenomenon shocking. At this accelerating rate, girls will be sexually mature at birth, demanding the keys to daddy’s car and power of attorney.

On the last episode of "Mad Men," Don Draper’s 10 year old daughter was going into puberty and her nanny saw her masturbating. The series is set in the early 1960s, so her mom was mortified and sent her to a child psychiatrist.

Of course, today, girls who go into puberty early masturbate, and most parents think nothing of it. Likewise, it’s acceptable for teenage boys to masturbate in most American households. All coming of age films allude to youthful self gratification. The "Mad Men" episode was an interesting parallel with today’s world when girls go into puberty at accelerated earlier ages such as 6 and 7 years old.

The evidence compiled by the journal "Pediatrics" is shocking. The study found that "23% of African-American girls have already started develop breasts at 6 or 7 years old, as have 15% of Latinos and 10% of whites. Obesity may play a role, as body fat can lead to the production of higher levels estrogen, which triggers breast development and menstruation."

Since there is an epidemic of obesity among American pubescents, their sexual development is effected by being grossly overweight. Other factors contribute such as toxic chemicals getting into the food chain, including pesticides and the plastic additive bisphenol-A. These chemicals mimic estrogen in the body telling the body to go into sexual maturity.

All this early development contributes to teenage pregnancy with little girls pushing baby carriages. It’s a nightmare for parents who now have to worry about their little 7 year old getting pregnant or having sex. Kids having kids is a scary reality.

Clearly, this has become a pervasive societal problem. Little tarts acting like women at 7 years old is now a reality. I’m thankful my daughter is 48 years old. I thought she was an early developer when she had her first period at 11 years old.

Pediatric physicians are warning that early-onset puberty could pose an increased risk of breast cancer due to the longer exposure to estrogen. Early-onset puberty has also been linked to low self esteem, eating disorders, and depression.

The girls with early-onset puberty are vulnerable to bullying and sexual harassment. When a third-grade girl looks like a sixth-grade girl, adults expect them to act older. However, their bodies may be at an advanced stage of maturity, but their minds are still childlike. It’s a paradox that can drive these girls crazy.

These child women can become bossy to their male counterparts who are clueless. Of course, boys mature much slower physically and intellectually than girls–at least five years behind the girls. So the boys are faced with their worst nightmare–little girls who act like their moms.

This problem has child psychiatrists studying ways to counsel these girls to accept their bodies, but also accept the fact that they are still children. More importantly, they have much to learn about the adult world and to respect their elders’ life experience as wisdom.