You can help your child by being informed, providing reassurance, role-modelling body acceptance and a healthy lifestyle, and respecting your young person's need for more privacy. Take practical steps to support your young person through their bodily changes. Look after your own needs too.
Most females will start puberty when they're 8 to 13 years old, and most males will start between 9 and 14. But it can also be normal to start earlier or later. Hormones from the brain trigger the start of puberty.
Healthy foods have nutrients that are important for growth and development during puberty. Teenagers should limit salty, fatty and sugary foods, low-fibre foods, and drinks with caffeine or a lot of sugar.
You can help your child by being informed, providing reassurance, role-modelling body acceptance and a healthy lifestyle, and respecting your young person's need for more privacy. Take practical steps to support your young person through their bodily changes. Look after your own needs too.
When your daughter starts to go through puberty, her gonads (ovaries) and adrenal glands (glands that sit on top of the kidneys) release hormones. These hormones cause the first signs of puberty, which are breast development, body odor, underarm hair, pubic hair and acne (pimples).
Girls can start puberty as early as 8 years old, and as late as 13 or 14 years old.
What is the hardest age for a teenager? The onset of adolescence, generally between 12 and 14, is the hardest age for a teenage girl. The hormones of puberty cause her to feel her emotions more intensely but she has not yet developed the reasoning skills to know how to handle them.
With puberty around the corner, they may have more mood swings. They may be more sensitive or get discouraged easily, or become more self-conscious about their body. They'll still tend to see adults as authority figures, follow their rules, and accept the beliefs of your family.
Pubic hair – Once her pubic hair starts growing, you can expect her period to develop in one to two years. It may begin soft and thin but it will become courser and thicker towards the end of puberty.
Addressing Physical and Mental Changes of Early Puberty
Your child may have a noticeable growth spurt because of their early puberty, but one of its complications is an abrupt and early end of that growth, leading to short stature as an adult.
Your periods will start when your body is ready. This is usually between age 8 and 17, or 2 years after your first signs of puberty. Possible reasons for delayed periods include being underweight, doing lots of exercise (including dance, gymnastics and athletics), stress and a hormone imbalance.
Typically, what people call the “awkward stage” takes place at around ages 11-14, making middle school a tough time for most kids. Although we all went through this period ourselves at one point, it can still be challenging to relate to a child who's going through it in front of your eyes.
Providers can treat precocious puberty—marked by breast development before age 8 or testes growth before age 9—with hormonal suppressants, also called puberty blockers. With supervision, these reversible drugs safely and effectively delay a child's development until they're ready.
At 10 years of age, lots of children can feel stress and pressure. As a pre-teen your daughter is likely to be going through puberty and experiencing the emotional ups and downs this brings. At her age, academic pressure in school is usually mounting as well as social pressures to fit in and succeed.
Higher total protein, animal protein and meat intake in children ages 3 to 7 have been associated with earlier onset of menstruation. High protein intake elevates IGF-1 levels and promotes growth, which could accelerate the onset of puberty. Poor diet. Children with lower-nutrient diets tend to enter puberty earlier.
Healthy lifestyle choices for children in puberty
In puberty, your child is coping with many physical changes. If your child eats well, gets enough physical activity and sleep, and looks after their personal hygiene, they'll be more likely to feel OK about their changing body.
Past studies have shown a positive correlation between stress and the early onset of puberty: A paper published in BMC Pediatrics suggests that girls who don't live with both parents as babies may be at a higher risk of early puberty than girls who grew up in households with both parents.
The onset of puberty is normally triggered by the hypothalamus. This area of the brain signals the pituitary gland (a pea-sized gland near the base of the brain) to release hormones that stimulate the ovaries (in girls) or testicles (in boys) to make sex hormones.
Eating a well-balanced diet helps children grow, stay healthy, and do well in school. Each meal throughout the day should include a variety of foods and food groups such as vegetables and fruits, whole grains, fat-free or low-fat dairy products, lean proteins, and healthy fats.