Anyone have a daughter that has matured to fast?

[tinkerbellfan6880]

The American Girl Book can be found at Amazon.com and pretty much any bookstore.

IMHO, it's never too early to teach about ovaries, eggs, sperm, ejaculations, etc. I believe in giving a little information at a time starting very early until the whole picture is complete. As I mentioned, my DD knew all of that before she started her period at 9 1/2. There's no reason not to talk about ovaries in the same way you do about lungs or elbows. They're all body parts and they all have a very natural and specific function. The less mystery about it, the better in my opinion.

I had that book. Like everyone else said 10-11 years old is the normal age. Heck I was 10 and half when I started mine.

 

[cm8]

I know this is probably not the right time, but this whole thread reminds me of Carrie

I started when I was 12, it was a natural un eventful thing that I was not prepped for by my mother. I was well prepared though as I had learned what to do in my health class

 

[NHdisneylover]

OP--if you don't fill your DD in on WHY she is getting a period, someone else surely will. Hopefully in class at school, or a friend who really has all the fact straight, but it could be a friend who is confused and gets things very wrong. Much better to hear from you how her body works and learn it correctly

 

[ShesAPirate]

I was about 2 weeks into being 10 years old when I got mine. My niece was 9, my mother was 9... some people just develop earlier than others. It seems, in my family at least, that the earlier you get it, the longer you have it, too. My aunt just went through menopause 2 years ago, and she's 65

 

[aprilgail2]

It seems, in my family at least, that the earlier you get it, the longer you have it, too. My aunt just went through menopause 2 years ago, and she's 65

Didn't work that way for me- I got it at 10 and started menopause right before I was 40!

 

[Green Tea]

Was she evaluated for Precocious Puberty and that is why you are worried? 10 sounds like it is in the normal range--low, but not out of the norm. It happens when it happens and I can't imagine assuming I knew better than nature by playing with hormone manipulation in a normal kid.

I'm not sure what a need to know basis is in a girl. You tell her she will have periods. She tells you she started. You show her the pads or tampons. Why try to make her feel badly about it? It is a natural as needing bigger shoes because her feet grew...why tie it to your emotional anxiety?

American Girl has a great book available most anywhere.

Girls develop at different rates. Your DD was maturing physically and you expected her period to start.

My DD was not at ALL maturing physically and started. Didn't show any physical changes after it started for another 2 years, at least. It just happens when it happens.

 

[Queen2PrincessG]

I am sorry if this is to much information, but i am in need of some opinions. My 10yo daughter has matured way to early. I have been expecting her period for about a year now praying and hoping i was wrong. Well today it happened she woke me up saying mom i think i have started my period. I think this is just wrong she still plays with dolls for heaven sakes. I have been gradually explaining stuff to her so whe would at least know what was happening. However she does not know more than she should know. I have thought really hard about this today and i am thinking about possibly getting her put on the pill that will stop her from having them at least until she matures a little more. What do you think? Would you do something like that if it was your daughter? I personally hate messing with it and I just don't think a 10yo should have to.

I got my Period in the 6th grade. I'm not sure what your connection to her getting her period and being mature. Mature is a way of acting not something mother nature gives you. I think you're trying to stop puberty? It's just the way nature works right now. Girls are developing way quicker than previous generations.

Either way adding a hormone to a child that is NOT needed seems rather crazy to me. I'm sure if you do a small poll around here you will see how the pill can negatively effect your growth, conceiving as well as other issues. So she has her period. It's not the end of the world.

 

[Queen2PrincessG]

I know this is probably not the right time, but this whole thread reminds me of Carrie

Ah, yes the dirty pillows mom. she was scary!

 

[Agri]

Take a deep breath. Starting your period does not mean that childhood is over. The only change that needs to happen in her life now is that she has to carry around some pads.

She is going to take her lead from you on this. If you panic and overreact, that is going to affect her for life. She is going to view her period as this huge abomination and the end of her childhood. It doesn't have to be that way. If you freak out and start treating her differently, her natural reaction to that will be to act differently to fit your new view of her.

FWIW, I started my period a few months after I turned 11. My mother had already talked to me about it, so I knew what the deal was. The only affect it had on me was I had to carry a purse during that week so I had pads with me. Not a darn thing else. I didn't stop playing with my toys or put away my Nancy Drew books because of a natural change in my body. I still wanted toys at Christmas, not makeup, short skirts, and teenage romance novels.

Starting my period was just another day in my life because my mother treated it that way.

 

[Queen2PrincessG]

Take a deep breath. Starting your period does not mean that childhood is over. The only change that needs to happen in her life now is that she has to carry around some pads.

She is going to take her lead from you on this. If you panic and overreact, that is going to affect her for life. She is going to view her period as this huge abomination and the end of her childhood. It doesn't have to be that way. If you freak out and start treating her differently, her natural reaction to that will be to act differently to fit your new view of her.

FWIW, I started my period a few months after I turned 11. My mother had already talked to me about it, so I knew what the deal was. The only affect it had on me was I had to carry a purse during that week so I had pads with me. Not a darn thing else. I didn't stop playing with my toys or put away my Nancy Drew books because of a natural change in my body. I still wanted toys at Christmas, not makeup, short skirts, and teenage romance novels.

Starting my period was just another day in my life because my mother treated it that way.

I still flipped out. I had a diving competition the next day. I wasn't ready for tampons so I had a COMPLETE meltdown. My mom handle it well but I was VERY UPSET!

 

[Erin1700]

My DD10 is treated for precocious puberty and they did give us the option of ending treatment if we wanted to. I was surprised, not because of her age, but I just didnt think we had accomplished everything we wanted to with the treatment. I said No and the dr said she agreed with me, but since 10 is not abnormal for starting your period, they had to offer it to us.

 

[princessmom29]

I have not waded through all the responses, but here is my 2 cents:
1. 10 is NOT "way too early" to start. Even 30 years a go, I was one of the last in my group to start at 13. Most were about 11.
2. PLEASE tell her what she needs to know about the hows and whys of what is happening to her. She NEEDS to hear this from you and not someone else, but either way she is GOING to find out, and sooner rather than later. My DD7 has a best friend that will likely start very early. Her mother started at 9, and she is already showing signs. We were just discussing this a couple of days ago and the mom said she was dreading it and planning on telling her as little as possible. She is very repressive and not at all comfortable talking about anything remotely personl with her child. I tried to encourage her to share all of the needed info as well, becuse grils are GOING to start asking questions and are goingto find an answer somewhere.

 

[rie'smom]

I started when I was 10 and still loved my dolls for a year or two. It is the natural rhythm for her body and my advice would be don't mess with that. The Pill comes with it's own set of potential problems.

 

[padams]

It's hard to see our children grow up.

Don't put her on the pill. Let her mature naturally and without artificial hormones. If you think she's too young to have her period, she is definitely too young to be on the pill. Many of her classmates will get their periods this year. She would probably be the only one on the pill. Imagine having to explain to your confused classmates that your mom didn't want you to get your period. Don't make her the weird girl with the strange mom.

 

[luvmy3]

OP--if you don't fill your DD in on WHY she is getting a period, someone else surely will. Hopefully in class at school, or a friend who really has all the fact straight, but it could be a friend who is confused and gets things very wrong. Much better to hear from you how her body works and learn it correctly

ITA.
10 is not too early, I got my first period when I was 10, and I wasn't the first or only girl in my class that had. My dd is 13 and still hasn't gotten hers yet but she has several friends that have and some that did have it at 10. We read through the American Girl book in 4th grade so she would be prepared because I figured she would get it as early as I did.
Trust me, by 5th grade girls are talking about this stuff and like the pp said, its so important that she gets the FACTS from you and not 5th grade girl *facts*.

 

[castleview]

You're trying to stop her period. When she starts to grow breasts, will you insist on binding her chest? Come on now. Don't be silly. She's still a little girl and her age is normal. I was 14 and thought that was way abnormal.

 

[kristina87]

I was 10 when I started and I didn't have any problems except being a very heavy flow. Sorry if that's TMI ya'll

 

[fairestoneofall]

i agree with those who say not to put her on the pill. aside from the fact that she is really too young for that, i would worry about the side effects. personally, i cannot take the pill because it messes with my hormones and moods. and it makes me physically ill during certain times of the month.

it got so bad that i was having suicidal thoughts. those thoughts went away once i got off birth control. i would hate to see a young girl have to deal with that to take a pill that is completely unnecessary for her.

 

[Colleen27]

I'm glad to see you dropped the idea of the pill to suppress her cycle. This is something she's going to have to deal with for most of her life, so the best thing to do is just approach it as the normal, routine thing it is.

As others have said, 10 is a pretty normal age to start. I started right around my 10th birthday, and my mother handled that all wrong. First of all I had no idea what was happening, because my mom didn't think we needed to talk about it yet. And then she was absolutely no help about feminine products and such, just showed me where she kept the pads. Since I was a swimmer (year round, 5 days a week, two different teams/seasons) I would have appreciated a little guidance about tampons! That was one advantage to having started a little earlier, though - I was much more comfortable with my cycle by middle and high school, so I wasn't the as anxious as many of my friends about swimming in gym class or going to the beach with friends at "that time of the month".

 

[ccgirl]

Puberty has nothing to do with maturity. I would never put my child on a medication that was not a medical necessity; let along a hormone.

If you have difficulty explaining menstruation how are you going to explain the birth control pill?

As others have suggested, the American Girl Doll book is wonderful. Most mom's I know around here have read it to their daughters in the 3rd grade as it is quite normal (maybe not common) to begin menstruating at age 8.