Growing up too soon: why children need to slow down
Children are not only entering puberty earlier than they did a generation ago, their lives are much more complicated because of technology. But they lack the maturity to cope
Growing up isn't what it used to be. Children are entering puberty at increasingly young ages and although their bodies may look like they are growing up fast, they still think like kids.
Dr Cara Natterson, a Los Angeles-based paediatrician and author of several books on child health and wellness, is especially interested in how to manage this disconnect between a child's body and their brain development - and as a mother of an 11-year-old daughter and nine-year-old son, she's seeing it first-hand.
"Children are entering puberty about a year or two sooner than the generation that preceded them - an average age of eight or nine for girls and nine or 10 for boys," says Dr Natterson, who was in Hong Kong last month as part of a visiting speakers series at Hong Kong International School.
There have been plenty of studies into the cause of this and the leading theory puts it down to the chemicals in our environment - our food supply, the lotions we put on our skin. These chemicals are believed to act as hormone disrupters and trick the body into entering puberty sooner.
The big puberty landmarks haven't changed, girls are still beginning menstruation at about age 12 to 13, but there are other, sometimes subtle, biological signs. In girls there may be signs of moodiness, they are more prone to sweating and may have body odour and a little acne as pores clog. It is now normal for girls aged nine to have early breast development. Boys are entering puberty earlier, too, with early signs before the obvious indicators such as facial hair and the voice dropping.
Add to this the knowledge that the brain doesn't mature until the late 20s or early 30s - when the pre-frontal cortex is insulated with a layer of myelin, a substance that insulates nerve fibres so that the signals that help young adults weigh consequences rather than acting on impulse can be transmitted more efficiently - and it's easy to see why growing up can be challenging. And that's before you throw technology, stress and sleep deprivation into the mix.
