6-year-old girls are getting periods! What is 'early puberty'?
6-year-old girls are getting periods! What is 'early puberty'?Puberty, also known as adolescence, is a time when the process of sexual development begins in the body of children. It usually occurs in girls between the ages of 8 and 13 and in boys between the ages of 9 and 14. During this time, physical and mental changes occur, such as breast development, hair growth on the data-face and genitals, and menstruation in girls. However, now a new and worrying problem is emerging in indian society, and that is early puberty or precocious puberty, that is, the beginning of periods in 6-year-old girls. Early puberty is becoming a serious problem, which not only poses a threat to the health of children, but its mental, social and emotional effects can also be very deep.What is early puberty?During puberty, there are changes in the body, such as development of physical organs, hormonal changes and sexual growth. When this process starts before the normal time, it is called early puberty or precocious puberty. Usually, puberty in girls begins between the ages of 8 and 13. But in some cases, it can also start at the age of 6. The problem of early puberty in india has increased in the last few years, and now it has become a major cause of concern for children and their families.What do experts say?Dr. Vaisakhi Rastegi, who is a pediatrician and adolescent endocrinologist and specializes in hormonal diseases, while talking to ABP, said that the time of change in girls has decreased in the last few years. Earlier, girls' periods used to start 18 months to 3 years after the symptoms of physical changes were seen. But now their menstruation starts within 3 to 4 months of the symptoms of physical changes. Dr. Vaisakhi further says that now physical changes are visible in boys also within 1 to 1.5 years of the onset of puberty, whereas earlier it used to take four years for this to happen.