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Going through puberty is ALWAYS awkward! | Source: Shutterstock
I was roughly the age that most of my friends got their periods–totally normal–but I still felt like a total freak.
Last week, the New York Times ran a big story about “early puberty,” focusing on how a ton of 6, 7, and 8-year-old girls are starting to grow breasts and pubic hair before the average girl. Overall, the article was packed with information, but I do have one major problem with it–and that’s the term “early puberty.” If a girl is hitting puberty in the third grade, that might not be “normal” compared to the rest of the world, but it certainly is normal for her, and I can’t see how freaking out about it and schlepping her around to specialist doctors will do anything but freak her out more.
Growing up is hard enough! | Source: Shutterstock
Apparently, some parents are insisting on their daughters getting hormone shots to slow down the progress of puberty–but the scary thing is that these same shots that can keep a little girl “little” can also cause things like osteoperosis, a serious condition that involves the weakening of your bones. Is that worth it? I don’t think so, and I bet if girls were given a choice, they’d say they didn’t want the shots, either!
Nobody knows for sure what’s causing really young girls to start developing breasts, but if I know anything about girls, I know that when we start getting breasts or our period starts or–whatever–it’s mortifying, and we just want to be left alone about it.
It seems like there are some things parents can do when their daughters are babies and toddlers that might help prevent early puberty–like making sure their kids eat healthy food without hormones, that they exercise, and that they do not become obese–but once a girl is already hitting puberty, no matter how old she is, isn’t that time to just accept it and try to support her the best you can? I think so, especially since girls who develop early are already at higher risk of having low self-esteem, depression, and eating disorders. Youch! Girls who hit puberty early need extra love and hugs–not prescription drugs!
So if you started developing early, maybe even before all your friends, try not to freak out. It’s actually pretty normal now. No, it’s not super fun to go through all these changes, but we all go through it sometime. You are not alone!
How old were you when you started developing? Did you feel kind of embarrassed about it? How old were you when you got your first period? Do you think early puberty is something we should freak out about? Tell me everything in the comments!
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i was probably around 6 or 7 when i started developing.. i started my 1st period when i was only 9.. talk about a ruined childhood.. i was developing unlike other girls and when hormones r like that, i had a horrible time in school..
i totally freaked out! i was scared. during the next year, it got worse and i had P.E and i had to run. it was uncomfortable. i tried to hide the lump in my pants with my shirts, but it sometimes doesnt work. and i always had to change my pads during classes. I KEEP WISHING I WAS A DUDE INSTEAD.
I’m turning 15 in a few weeks and I still haven’t had my period yet. I got a training bra in like 4th grade, so I was 10… I’m just glad I don’t have to deal with my period yet! ALL my friends have theirs so they all say I’m lucky.
I would rather say its bit weird jensen…cuz if you go deep about this topic it is very important for a girl to have her period atleast my 14, i suggest you should rather talk to your doctor. Like, What is period? When the egg is not fertilized then it comes out and then our so called period starts, so hope you understand and have a talk to your mom or a doctor.
Oh it’s alright as long as you get it when your 16,i got mines a couple of months later after i turned 15
i got my training bra when i was about umm 3rd grade and i got my first period when i was 10 yrs old nw im 11
lol i still remember when my mom no my sis gave me pad i was so shy at school my bff didnt even had hers but i trusted my bff and told her and she was so freaked out she said your a women now omg your a women. at least that made me happy when she was so happily freaked but wheni went out on my vacation i always had to change my pad but the good thing was it stoped after 1 week and THEN i WAS HAPPY
I was now 5’4 5’5 so I felt hella awkward. Finally bffs got their s. Sometimes I wish I developed later. Sometimes I like my C cups. I’m just 13 now lol
same here, i used to hide it. i also had to run which was embarassing. i wish i was a dude
In 2nd grade I was wearing a training bra. In third grade I was 5’3 and like a A36. Then I got my period at 10. The summer I was going to 5th. I was soooo depressed nd mad cuz non of my friends had theirs. I was talking getting a boob reduction nd removing my reproduction organs
I got my first period when I was 7. At age ten my breast started growing rapidly and by age 13 I had very large almost D size breast. I became depressed and lost my virginity at 13 to a 19 year old. I liked the sex a lot and became addicted to it. By age 15 I was having sex almost everyday. Weird how I grew up a lot faster than my friends. I was having threesome and foursomes at 16 when most of my friends were still virgins.
I got my period a month after my 13th birthday. I’ve always – from the beginning – had really really bad cramps and a heavy flow
I got my first period black Friday of 2009. BLACK FRIDAYYYY
It should of been Red Friday, lol!!!!!!!!!!!
I started growing breast buds when i was 8 my mother and i thought i had breast cancer because it ws like a quarter sized lump but they grew into small boobs!Which was very shocking considering at 8 for the next two years i would still weigh 40 pounds xD.I got pubic hair at 10 and i got my period when i was 12 in October 2011 and i know wear a size 34 B (Not too bad ;D) and im happy im developing nicely considering since last summer i gained 20 pounds and now weigh in at 83 pounds
I think theyre being crazy about this breast thing i know this girl who is 6 and has boobs but she only has them because she is fat…and thats what boobs are…just fat.End of story no need to make a big deal about it
i had my first period at 13 after sometime my birthday but it was the same month and i told my mother and i did not knew what was going on even though i did knew about periods
no i was not embarrassed because the way it came to me
so my mother explained me all of it and stuff
and now i am turning 18
i did not had any pain and cramps in my early years but i do have it now and it feels like something is cutting me from the inside so i started drinking milk and now the pain is much less
and i also hate wearing a pad it gives me rashes so i use tampons instead they are much better
at what age do you start wearing tampons
how to u use tampons?
Im almost 14 and havent gotten mine. Almost all the other girls in my class have, and theyre always talking about it, and im just like okay lets change the subject, because I guess until youve gotten it its kind of an awkward subject. Just because you havent experienced it yet.
I got mine about two months before my 14th birthday. It was really embarrassing to be the last one in my friend group to get it, but it’s really not that big of a deal. I mean I was dead silent when they shared “Period horror stories”, but be thankful you didn’t get it at an early age! Now that I’ve had my period, I still have nothing to talk about because my period doesn’t really give me mood swings or whatever.
I feel the exact same way. There are a lot of women in my family, and back when they were younger a “normal” puberty age was around 12 or 13. I got my first period when I was 10 and they would NOT stop talking about it. I was an active kid, I still eat pretty healthy, and I don’t have any major health issues, so how is 10 not “normal.” Girls these days probably feel like crap because they’re either “too young” to the adults or “too old” compared to the rest of their friends. Do we constantly have to compare ourselves to everyone else?
*sigh* I remember when I had my first period, I was like 7 or 8. My breast also started developing around that time. And I was like the tallest person in my 3rd grade class. It f***ing sucked, I felt so awkward compared to everyone else.
i was like THE tallest student in 3rd and 4th grade i was so embarased but also my bff was tall but couple of inches shorter so that was good
I’m 11 and haven’t got it! It not matter just means you are maturing faster than others!!!!!!!!
I was 11 when I got it, and now I’m noticing how many of my friends are too! (I’m 12)
I got my period a couple of months after my 13th birthday. I wasn’t freaked out at first because my first period was very light and I said to myself, “Ha! This is easy. It doesn’t even hurt and I’m not even bleeding much. Why do girls worry about it so much?” Then my periods got worse and I started feeling bad every period and I was very unhappy and very uncomfortable. There were times when I wanted to lie down in class or cry just because the pain was so unbearable. I think some of the girls noticed how uncomfortable I got which made me very self-conscious. Fortunately, thankfully, my periods are much better than they used to be. They are not nearly as painful or embarrassing.
i know how it feels my early periods were like a spot per day and now they hurt like hell and sometimes even bleed like hell and i also used to think that y girls panic so much its not such a big deal
me too i had to run in P.E and then i had to keep switching pads
I remember my first period. It was exactly a month before my 13th birthday and I was home alone, I wasn’t freaked out or anything, I knew it was normal. What did make it weird is the fact that I had my first health class that day (the girls and boys were separated) and all the girls were freaking out because the teacher was passing around pads and tampons for us to look at and I said from the back of the room “What are you guys freaking out about? We’re all going to have to use them eventually.” then when I got home i got my first period. When my mom got home from work I told her and she had a mini-panic attack. The next day was a Friday and my mom let me stay home from school and chill. In the end she was more freaked then I was.
Is it like a quinkie dink if i started my period the day after we had the puberty! lol i was freaked out!!!!!!!! then icalmed down and told my grandma which told my mom! lol is yours as wierd as mine!
I remember mine, really weird actually.
We were at school doing WW2 topic and it was the week we were watching ‘Anne Frank’s Diary’ and she was talking about her period and i went to my uncles that evning for the weekend and that is when my period started. It was really freaky. Is it a coincidence? or is it some thing else????
I had my first period at 11 about a week before my birthday, so a bout new years. My mum’s the type who likes to gossip with her friends (which can be annoying in situations like these) and so i really didn’t want to tell her her i was having my period. When it came my mum was over seas working and so i had to handle the situation myself. I didn’t want to tell my dad, only if i had to which was when i needed more pads. So i went to the bathroom and got my mums pad and put it on, i had really heavy bleeding at the time and they were the regular pads so they were leaking ALOT, and it was the middle of summer so i had to wear pants cos of the fear of leakage, which wasn’t normal for me cos i would normally wear those netball shorts in 38c weather, so it was hard for me to hide the fact i was having my period from the others while sweating like a maniac . Now i’ve gotten used to it after awhile, i’ve so far had 5 cycles and i now where the super pads for extra protection. And a tip for girls who haven’t had there period yet, definitley make sure to bring a pad or tampon to school just incase of surprises, (girls who have had already should know that). Well thats my story, Thanx!
heey everybody. I got my period exactually one day after my birthday. One week before that day, I was having a sleepover with my best friend at her home. We were laughing about how our math teacher always smiled like a dentist, when suddenly her mother came in the kitchen where we were sitting. Somehow, and i have no idea how, we were talking about women. Her mother said to me that i was changed (looks) and that she thought of me as a grown up woman. Then i said that in theory i wasn’t. She was surprised and told me that her daughter, my friend, had got her period when she was 10. And I told her that I didn’t want it for another 2 years. A week later, you can call it a birthday gift, I went to the bathroom and relised it had begon. I hated it, and still do. it smells a bit, I can’t move to quickly and i always hope it didn’t reach my underwere. how come guys don’t have something like this, as uncomforteble as what we girls have for over 40 years. It sucks.
I do think I’m happy that I got it when I was 14 years old and not when i was 9 or 10. It changes everything. At least, that’s what I think. My last vacation wasn’t that easy. Having fun for a couple of weeks and then always remembering that you have to change your pad. That you have to watch out for others so that they don’t smell, see or find it in the dustbin. I wish I didn’t need to have this.
About feeling grown up ; I don’t. I’m playfull and serieus, it didn’t change because of my period. And about the breasts ; they started growing about half a year before I got my period. And I’m not happy about it, because I still have A75. they’re too small but not small enough to ditch the bra.
My body, and I say this with a little of regreats, has grown and is still growing. I have big thighs and hips and I’m unhappy about it.
Have you any idea how it feels like when you walk on the street or worse in school, telling yourself you look great, when a hundred other, beautifull and thin girls walk next to you?
Thanks for, thos who did at least, listen to me. Bye bye.