Puberty: What to do when your baby is growing up too fast
May 16, 2010
BABIES are expected to grow up into adults. Why is it then that the process of growing up is not always welcomed with outstretched arms?
By Gilbert Kidimu
BABIES are expected to grow up into adults. Why is it then that the process of growing up is not always welcomed with outstretched arms?
Mugisha, a mother of three, recalls how she took her eleven-year-old daughter to a paediatrician to rule out ‘a cancerous growth’ in her daughter’s breast. Mugisha has a university degree but she could not easily figure out that her daughter was growing up! What is that if it is not living in denial?
What about Dorothy who confesses to praying for her daughters, nine and twelve, everyday so that they will not start their periods before they are at least 13 years old?
“When I hear other mothers’ stories of how they have to prepare 10-year-olds for menstruation in our crowded primary schools, I cannot help but shudder and pray for a delayed start when my girls are old enough to cope on their own,†she says.
And she is justified when you consider 10-year-old Nakaweesi’s experience. She is in P.5 in one of the Kampala schools. She has fully grown breasts, pimples and pubic hair. She fears to be branded ‘mature’ so she keeps to herself, doesn’t answer questions in class and does not go out to play.
Boys also suffer. At 17, Ashaba does not participate in sports at school. He is interested in playing football but fears showering in front of his friends after the game. Although his classmates’ bodies are growing and changing, his seems to be stuck.
He is the shortest among his peers and the only one whose voice has not deepened.
The Oxford’s Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, defines puberty as that period in a person’s life during which their sexual organs develop and they become capable of having children.
At puberty, a girl’s breasts and pubic hair start to grow and she starts having her period (flow of blood each month from a woman who is not pregnant). The overall shape of a girl’s body changes and her hips widen and the body becomes curvy.
Boys grow pubic and facial hair. Their testicles and penis grow larger and their shoulders widen. The body also becomes more muscular and the voice becomes deep.
What causes body changes?
The changes in both sexes are caused by the hormones; testosterone in boys and oestrogen in girls.
Puberty takes place over a number of years and the age at which it starts and ends varies. Dr. Abdul Jamal, a gynaecologist at Paragon Hospital, says puberty generally begins at 12 years for girls and 14 for boys, although it can be earlier or later for some people.
However, a teenager may develop several years earlier or later than most of her peers.
Delayed puberty, early puberty
Sometimes, though, young people like Ashaba pass this normal age range for puberty without showing any signs of body changes. This is called delayed puberty.
But when a 10-year-old girl shows signs of puberty, that is called precocious or early puberty.
Dr. Steven Dowhen, a paediatric endocrinologist at DuPont Hospital for Children in Florida, says children who show early signs of puberty have partial precocious puberty.
“Some girls between the ages of six months and three years may show breast development that later disappears or may persist without other physical changes of puberty,†he says.
Why it occurs
Recent research shows that feeding affects early or late puberty. In the US, cases of early puberty are high because of consuming too much junk food. Jamal says there is also a difference between urban and rural areas because of their way of life.
“Whereas children from rural areas feed mainly on organic food, children who live in urban areas and eat processed foods grow too fast,†he says.
The condition can also be hereditary as a pattern of growth and development in a family. A boy or girl may find that his or her relatives developed later than usual, too.
Chronic illnesses like diabetes, sickle cell, kidney disease or asthma may lead to puberty at an older age because the disease makes it harder for the body to develop. Treating these diseases can curb the problem.
A malnourished child may also develop later than his or her peers who eat a healthy, balanced diet. Wanyala says girls who are extremely active in sports may develop later because their level of exercise keeps them lean.
Girls’ bodies require a certain amount of fat before puberty or when they start their periods.
Delayed puberty can also be caused by problems in the pituitary or thyroid glands which produce important hormones for the body’s development.
Sometimes, problems with chromosomes, which make up the DNA that contains our body’s construction plans, interferes with normal growth processes.
“Turner syndrome, a chromosome disorder, happens when one of a female’s two X chromosomes is abnormal or missing. This hinders a girl’s development of ovaries and production of sex hormones,†says Dowhen.
Puberty is normally triggered by the hypothalamus (area of the brain that helps control pituitary gland function). It signals the pituitary gland to release hormones that stimulate the ovaries in girls or testicles in boys to make sex hormones.
Early puberty may stem from a structural problem in the brain such as a tumor, brain injury or an infection such as meningitis. It can also be a problem in the ovaries or thyroid gland that triggers puberty ahead of schedule.
Generally, girls start puberty early. In boys, the condition is less common and more likely to be medical in nature.
Wanyala says early puberty is on the increase among urban children with lavish lifestyles. Many do not do physical exercises and yet they consume junk food.
They spend the day watching TV which leads to obesity and hormonal imbalance.
Signs of early and late Puberty
In girls before eight years of age:
Breast development
Pubic or underarm hair development
Rapid height growth
Menstruation
Acne, mature body odour
In boys before nine years of age:
Enlargement of the testicles or penis
l Pubic, underarm, or facial hair development
Rapid height growth
Voice deepening
Acne and mature body odour
Common signs of late puberty
Lack of symptoms of puberty is the primary indicator that a child may be experiencing delayed puberty. Each child may experience symptoms differently.
Among girls:
Lack of breast development by age 13
More than five years between breast growth and menstrual period
Lack of pubic hair by age 14
Failure to menstruate by age 16
For boys:
No testicle enlargement by age 14
No pubic hair by age 15
More than five years to complete genital enlarge
Risks if untreated
Precocious puberty: The onset of signs of puberty before seven and eight years of age in girls and nine years in boys.
Physically, emotionally and socially challenging for young people who are bullied by their peers
When puberty ends, growth in height stops
Mood swings: Girls become moody and irritable. Boys become more aggressive and develop a sex drive inappropriate for their age.
A girl’s reproductive system can be affected leading to sterility.
BABIES are expected to grow up into adults. Why is it then that the process of growing up is not always welcomed with outstretched arms?
Mugisha, a mother of three, recalls how she took her eleven-year-old daughter to a paediatrician to rule out ‘a cancerous growth’ in her daughter’s breast. Mugisha has a university degree but she could not easily figure out that her daughter was growing up! What is that if it is not living in denial?
What about Dorothy who confesses to praying for her daughters, nine and twelve, everyday so that they will not start their periods before they are at least 13 years old?
“When I hear other mothers’ stories of how they have to prepare 10-year-olds for menstruation in our crowded primary schools, I cannot help but shudder and pray for a delayed start when my girls are old enough to cope on their own,†she says.
And she is justified when you consider 10-year-old Nakaweesi’s experience. She is in P.5 in one of the Kampala schools. She has fully grown breasts, pimples and pubic hair. She fears to be branded ‘mature’ so she keeps to herself, doesn’t answer questions in class and does not go out to play.
Boys also suffer. At 17, Ashaba does not participate in sports at school. He is interested in playing football but fears showering in front of his friends after the game. Although his classmates’ bodies are growing and changing, his seems to be stuck.
He is the shortest among his peers and the only one whose voice has not deepened.
The Oxford’s Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, defines puberty as that period in a person’s life during which their sexual organs develop and they become capable of having children.
At puberty, a girl’s breasts and pubic hair start to grow and she starts having her period (flow of blood each month from a woman who is not pregnant). The overall shape of a girl’s body changes and her hips widen and the body becomes curvy.
Boys grow pubic and facial hair. Their testicles and penis grow larger and their shoulders widen. The body also becomes more muscular and the voice becomes deep.
What causes body changes?
The changes in both sexes are caused by the hormones; testosterone in boys and oestrogen in girls.
Puberty takes place over a number of years and the age at which it starts and ends varies. Dr. Abdul Jamal, a gynaecologist at Paragon Hospital, says puberty generally begins at 12 years for girls and 14 for boys, although it can be earlier or later for some people.
However, a teenager may develop several years earlier or later than most of her peers.
Delayed puberty, early puberty
Sometimes, though, young people like Ashaba pass this normal age range for puberty without showing any signs of body changes. This is called delayed puberty.
But when a 10-year-old girl shows signs of puberty, that is called precocious or early puberty.
Dr. Steven Dowhen, a paediatric endocrinologist at DuPont Hospital for Children in Florida, says children who show early signs of puberty have partial precocious puberty.
“Some girls between the ages of six months and three years may show breast development that later disappears or may persist without other physical changes of puberty,†he says.
Why it occurs
Recent research shows that feeding affects early or late puberty. In the US, cases of early puberty are high because of consuming too much junk food. Jamal says there is also a difference between urban and rural areas because of their way of life.
“Whereas children from rural areas feed mainly on organic food, children who live in urban areas and eat processed foods grow too fast,†he says.
The condition can also be hereditary as a pattern of growth and development in a family. A boy or girl may find that his or her relatives developed later than usual, too.
Chronic illnesses like diabetes, sickle cell, kidney disease or asthma may lead to puberty at an older age because the disease makes it harder for the body to develop. Treating these diseases can curb the problem.
A malnourished child may also develop later than his or her peers who eat a healthy, balanced diet. Wanyala says girls who are extremely active in sports may develop later because their level of exercise keeps them lean.
Girls’ bodies require a certain amount of fat before puberty or when they start their periods.
Delayed puberty can also be caused by problems in the pituitary or thyroid glands which produce important hormones for the body’s development.
Sometimes, problems with chromosomes, which make up the DNA that contains our body’s construction plans, interferes with normal growth processes.
“Turner syndrome, a chromosome disorder, happens when one of a female’s two X chromosomes is abnormal or missing. This hinders a girl’s development of ovaries and production of sex hormones,†says Dowhen.
Puberty is normally triggered by the hypothalamus (area of the brain that helps control pituitary gland function). It signals the pituitary gland to release hormones that stimulate the ovaries in girls or testicles in boys to make sex hormones.
Early puberty may stem from a structural problem in the brain such as a tumor, brain injury or an infection such as meningitis. It can also be a problem in the ovaries or thyroid gland that triggers puberty ahead of schedule.
Generally, girls start puberty early. In boys, the condition is less common and more likely to be medical in nature.
Wanyala says early puberty is on the increase among urban children with lavish lifestyles. Many do not do physical exercises and yet they consume junk food.
They spend the day watching TV which leads to obesity and hormonal imbalance.
Signs of early and late Puberty
In girls before eight years of age:
Breast development
Pubic or underarm hair development
Rapid height growth
Menstruation
Acne, mature body odour
In boys before nine years of age:
Enlargement of the testicles or penis
l Pubic, underarm, or facial hair development
Rapid height growth
Voice deepening
Acne and mature body odour
Common signs of late puberty
Lack of symptoms of puberty is the primary indicator that a child may be experiencing delayed puberty. Each child may experience symptoms differently.
Among girls:
Lack of breast development by age 13
More than five years between breast growth and menstrual period
Lack of pubic hair by age 14
Failure to menstruate by age 16
For boys:
No testicle enlargement by age 14
No pubic hair by age 15
More than five years to complete genital enlarge
Risks if untreated
Precocious puberty: The onset of signs of puberty before seven and eight years of age in girls and nine years in boys.
Physically, emotionally and socially challenging for young people who are bullied by their peers
When puberty ends, growth in height stops
Mood swings: Girls become moody and irritable. Boys become more aggressive and develop a sex drive inappropriate for their age.
A girl’s reproductive system can be affected leading to sterility.