Girls getting their "cycle" earlier and their height?

[SeeDisney]

Hi,


Last week, I was talking to an old high school friend of mine...she said that her pediatrician mentioned this interesting comment.

"Nowadays, girls are not getting as tall as their moms becuase the girls are getting their menstrual cycle earlier than their mothers due to the growth hormones in the food products".

My girlfriend believes in this therory. He daughter got her period at the age of 11 and stands at 5'3", at the age of 20. My girlfriend is 5'5" and got her period at 13.

yes, I can concur that I was surprised to hear that about four or five girls (that we know about) of my 11 year old daughter's friends had gotten their period at the fourth grade!!!!

Has anyone else heard of this height/cycle theory?

 

[OK!]

I dunno...I got my period earlier than my mom and I'm taller than she is. Granted, I'm also way older than these girls you're speaking of, but I started when I was 12 and I'm 5'9".

 

[loveysbydesign]

I've heard that they can get their periods earlier/develop sooner due to the growth hormones in milk...never heard about the height thing though.

 

[Trish Bessette]

My DD got her period in 4th grade and is taller than me!! She is 5'8" - 15 yrs old. My youngest DD is going to be 13 soon and has not got her period. I'm not exact but I'd say she is about 5'5" already. Both my DH and I are about 5'7" give or take.

So I don't know how much I agree with what the pediatrician said. Since I have 2 girls one got their period early and the other didn't - both eating the same foods growing up.

 

[Ohiodislover]

I've heard this. It makes sense, but not sure how tested the theory is

With DD #1, she started puberty earlier than I expected. She was 10. However it seemed like forever between the time she started having the signs, till she actually got her period. She was 12 (almost 13) when she started her cycle.

My younger daughter started getting signs that things are beginning. These started right before her 10th birthday. I expect her to start a bit sooner than her sister, but who knows? If her mood today is any indication, it might be this weekend

 

[Saphire]

My pediatrician told me that once a girl starts her cycle, she will only grow one or two more inches. I was pretty surprised by this, I had never heard it before. But for my DD, it turned out to be true.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

I have heard of the theory of weight to periods but not height. They say when you hit around 100lbs is when to expect it. Obesity in children is the linked as the culprit here.

I do have to say something about growth hormone since you are mentioning it.

My dd was on growth hormone for 5yrs. And it is stressed that you are not going to grow past your genetic programming.

Growth hormone cannot cause growth or lack of when eaten, it must be injected.

I am not saying there are not side effects from the growth hormones we eat second hand, however the risks are more like cancer, tumors, etc.

 

[BeachGirlFLA]

I started at 11, which was younger than my mother started. I am 5'8" and she is 5'7". Of course, my father is also 6'4" which could have a great deal to do with it.

 

[MM27]

I don't know if I agree with the height thing, but as a 4th grade teacher I can tell you that many of my students get their periods in 4th grade. So many that the nurse, who used to do a menstruation video and talk for 5th graders moved it several years ago to 4th grade.

 

[luvmy3]

My dd hasn't started hers yet but one of my nieces did when she was 12. She is almost as tall as her mother and already as tall as me. There are alot of girls in dd's class that clearly have started and looking at them I'm amazed they are only in 5th (going into 6th) Alot of them are as tall as their moms already.

 

[kacaju]

I am 5'4" and got my period at age 12
My mom is about the same height as me and my Dad was 6 foot.
DH is 6'1" his dad was 6'1" and his mom is 5'5"
DD 15 got her period at 11 and is only 5'1"
DD 13 got hers at age 12 and is already 5' 6 1/2 inches and I am not sure she is done growing yet.
DD 9 is already tall for her age...time will tell.

Now both dh and I had grandmothers who were barely 5 ft tall.
My girls all eat the same foods.
We were told by our Doctors that the girls will grow for 2 years after they get their period.

 

[AmericangirlinFrance]

I got mine when I was 10, and I'm 5'9'' now. I think there are a lot of factors that play into it - when your mom started, family height, weight of the child, hormone issues (a lot of girls start puberty earlier - diet, hormones in dairy, etc.). I was always very tall as a child, too - I was 5'6'' or 5'7'' when I was 10.

 

[Ohiodislover]

I don't know if I agree with the height thing, but as a 4th grade teacher I can tell you that many of my students get their periods in 4th grade. So many that the nurse, who used to do a menstruation video and talk for 5th graders moved it several years ago to 4th grade.

They finally put little trashcans in the stalls at my girl's elementary school. One of my oldest's greatest fears is that she would start, and have to walk out of the stall to throw stuff away with everyone seeing.

My youngest will be in 5th grade next year. They still do the talk in 5th grade, but it amazes me how many of the parent's of girls in her class haven't discussed ANYTHING. One of the the mom's in her girl scout troop glued the "period" pages together in the American Girl book about growing up.

 

[JohnsPrincess]

Well...I'm 30. I got my period when I was 10 years old. At the time I was one of the tallest kids in my class at 5-4. That didn't last long. In the past 20 years I have grown 1 inch. My mom is 5-7 and my dad is 6 something. I was not overweight, if I was anything, I was underweight up until about 10 years ago.

I am a firm believer that all the crap we are putting into our bodies is affecting us.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

The only thing my pediatrician mentioned was that my DD would probably begin her menses when she hit around 100 lbs (she's 11 1/2 and 90 something now).

Nothing about height related to menses, but she was able to predict her (and DS's) final height based on their previous growth patterns, which have been charted since they were born.

We'll see how these turn out.

 

[luvmy3]

They finally put little trashcans in the stalls at my girl's elementary school. One of my oldest's greatest fears is that she would start, and have to walk out of the stall to throw stuff away with everyone seeing.

My youngest will be in 5th grade next year. They still do the talk in 5th grade, but it amazes me how many of the parent's of girls in her class haven't discussed ANYTHING. One of the the mom's in her girl scout troop glued the "period" pages together in the American Girl book about growing up.

Thats a bit extreme, why bother giving your dd teh book if you aren't ready to explain everything in it.

 

[MoniqueU]

My pediatrician told me that once a girl starts her cycle, she will only grow one or two more inches. I was pretty surprised by this, I had never heard it before. But for my DD, it turned out to be true.

We were told by my daughters pediatrician that the girls would grow for only 2 years past the start of their cycles. I was surprised by this but it is probably true.

 

[carone0318]

Remember the weight thing is not a guarantee either. It's said that when a girl hits 100# she should have enough body fat to get her period, so really it is the body fat not the weight.

This is a biggie for me because my dd has delayed puberty. She will be turning 13 in September and she hasn't even begun puberty - the period comes at the end of puberty, about 2 yrs after the onset. I get all of my info from the endocrinologist that dd sees.

I personally do not expect dd to get her period until she is about 16/17. Granted, she is a competitive gymnast so that does play a role. At her current age though, she is 56", which is 4'6" and weighs 72#. Being a gymnast, she has very little body fat so it might take a little longer for her to get her period than most.

I know that there is a pre-pubescent growth spurt that happens before purberty and I am not sure if she has had it or not. She did grow 3# this past yr so that might have been it - past yrs she has only growth 1/2 inch. Most kids experience this growth spurt around the age of 10. I know through a bone age scan that dd's bone age is about 2yrs behind her chronological age - so who knows.

I got my period a month before I turned 13 and I am 5'3". I think a big factor for dd is that dh is 5'6" and endo said when they convert his height if he were a girl he would have been 5'1" - don't know how they do that, but they do! Not sure if dd will make 5', she may fall short - but that would be good if she wanted to be a Disney character under 5' is in high demand!

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Thats a bit extreme, why bother giving your dd teh book if you aren't ready to explain everything in it.

I agree. Why would anyone not want their daughter to understand how her cycle works? I thought we moved out of the dark ages a while back.

I posted a thread this spring when my two 5th graders watched "the movie" in school. I was surprised at how much was "left out", but surmised that schools touch on the "basics", but leave "the rest" to the parents, that way, it pretty much works for everyone.

I think that as parents, we're obligated to be sure our kids understand things. Of course, it's each parent's prerogative what and how much they teach their children, but not teaching them won't keep them from engaging in risky behaviors and becoming pregnant or contracting STDs. Knowledge is power.

 

[Geoff_M]

hormones in dairy

The "hormone" in milk isn't used as a growth hormone in humans nor is it a sex hormone. It's called "Insulin-like Growth Factor 1" or IGF-1. IGF-1 naturally occurs in most bodily fluids (including your own saliva) and is found in ALL milk... whether it be the milk from a herd given rBST to increase the milk yield, or the expensive organic kind that many think to be "hormone free". IGF-1 doesn't grow udders on young cows, nor breasts on middle-elementary aged girls.

As pointed out by a PP, the most likely culprit for the downward trend in puberty isn't environmental chemicals, but the rise in childhood obesity. The body interprets fat as a sign of "times of plenty" and a good time to bear offspring and the lack of fat just the opposite. This is also why many female athletes with nearly no body fat will stop "cycling".

Also keep in mind that "Precocious puberty" is medically generally defined in girls as puberty before age 9. Age 9 and older is considered "normal".