I was reading an article this morning about how children as young as 3 have already started puberty. Known as precocious puberty, over the past century, puberty is coming about two years earlier for both boys and girls in Britain. In most cases, precocious puberty is considered to have occurred if it starts at age 8 to 10 for girls, and slightly later for boys. Several theories have been linked to early puberty, including hormones in food, chemicals like phthalates, childhood obesity and broken families. A calorie-rich diet of junk food can be a contributing factor. So is stress, which is believed to disrupt the balance of growth hormones.
Having been a late bloomer myself due to my intensive gymnastics training (puberty started when I was almost 17), I can’t imagine dealing with the symptoms of puberty as a child. The physical changes, such as breast growth and the start of menstruation can be concerning for an adolescent and must be absolutely traumatizing for a pre-schooler! And then there are the hormonal changes, which I don’t believe a child is mentally capable of coping with.
While in rare cases this can be caused by an underlying medical condition, I personally believe that precocious puberty is predominantly caused by added hormones, pesticides and other toxins that children are exposed to through food and toys. One study found that premature breast development have higher blood levels of a particular type of chemical called phthalates, used in many cosmetics, toys, and plastic food containers (Colon, et al., 2000). Phthalates are endocrine disrupting chemicals that mimic estrogen, thus causing hormonal changes in children.
To me, this information is yet another reason to “go organic” for your kids!
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