Q. Yes, I said puberty! My daughter turned nine this past October and has been dealing with issues that she shouldn't have to be at her age. I had informed her about particular topics before this came about, so when my daughter came to me at the age of eight and said "Mom, it started," I had to run some things through my head because it could have been anything! When she said, "Are they still in that drawer you showed me?" I knew exactly what she was talking about and after I checked her over....it had begun!

I guess telling her that she's still a kid would be hard to swallow after what she’s been through over the past six months (ultrasounds, blood work and an X-ray included), but she definitely isn't looking forward to becoming a woman after going through all of this at such a young age. How out of the ordinary is this for a young child?

-pita247

A. I’m assuming that all the tests were okay and there was no serious illness or condition leading to the changes, and that it was called “idiopathic,” which is more common than most people realize. In fact, the definition of early puberty had to be changed in our medical textbooks because in 1900, the average age to menstruate was 14 to 16. Today, it is more like 11 or 12. In fact, we are now teaching medical students that some girls will start puberty as young as 7 and still be "normal". There's a lot of speculating as to why this happened, but no one knows the answer for sure.

In terms of timing, it can vary widely based on ethnicity and weight. African-American and Hispanic girls tend to start earlier than Asian or Caucasian ones while heavier girls start younger than very thin ones.

Studies have shown that the world tends to assume girls that look “all grown up” are older than they are, when really they should be expected to act, think and have the emotions of someone their age. You may have to watch out for this because even though your daughter may be transition into a woman, she actually is still a 9-year-old child.

-Dr.Sadler

Learn more in our Parent's Guide to Puberty.