# Age for onset of menarche



## KaraBoo (Nov 22, 2001)

I didn't want to hijack other threads so can we discuss this here?

I started my period when I was 12 and most of my friends started between a year earlier and a year later than that, so b/t 11-13. This was in the 80s, though.

What has changed? Are girls starting earlier? Does it really have to do with weight or dairy or meat? What affects the onset of menarche?


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## Maple Leaf Mama (Jul 2, 2004)

I was stick thin and started at 14.

My 1/2 sisters 2 girls were quite overweight (Still are at 23 and 25 yo) and they started at 8 and 9.


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## s_kristina (Aug 9, 2004)

There is a little disagreement between my mom and I. I say I was 8 when I started and she says 9. My sister was about the same size, but started at age 12-13. Although she is 4 years older then I am we started within months of each other. That was in the late 80's. For me I really lean towards it being genetic. All the females on my dad's side of the family have the same body shape I do although I managed to be taller then all of them by a couple inches! We are all on the shorter side with big boobs and hips and we all started at a young age. It's a pretty good guess based on this body type that a woman started at a young age. As the vast majority of females from dh's mother's family also have the same body type I'm guessing dd is out of luck.


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## 4evermom (Feb 3, 2005)

I was 12 and a month, appropriately slightly chubby.

I did read an article in a mainstream paper that said women in nations that used growth hormone on their dairy cows had more twins.

Childhood obesity probably plays a role in earlier menarche as well.


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## AuntNi (Feb 26, 2003)

I'd just turned 11 when I started. I was chubby, and have a family history of early bloomers. There was over a 2-year gap, though, between when I started developing and when I got my period. This was in the early 80s. My family grew all our own meat, milk, and most of our produce.

Thank goodness my parents let me skip 1st grade. I was over a year younger than everyone in my class, but I was still the first girl to need a bra and start my period. Imagine if I'd been in my original class - I would have been over a year earlier than anyone else. Talk about social disgrace!


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## mamatoady (Mar 16, 2004)

I was 10 and overweight. it sucked--I was definitely one of the first, if not THE first, but I didn't tell anyone.

sarah


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## Hey Mama! (Dec 27, 2003)

I was 14, and chunky. I'm really hoping that my girls start later rather then sooner.


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## CarrieMF (Mar 7, 2004)

I was 11 and not ov or chunky, not stick thin either.

My sister is 2 years older than me and didn't start until she was 14/15, about 2 years after I did, so not fair.lol She had the same build I did now is taller but when I started AF I was still on the growth track to end up taller than her(but I stopped growing that same year).

My mom was around 13. I don't know about her sisters.

there was 1 girl in my grade who had her first AF a couple of months before I did. Thankfully mine did not start like hers. The teacher had to take her out of the room and send her home to change because it ended up on the chair & floor. We were in Grade 6. Most of the girls in our grade didn't start until Grade 7. This would have been around 87/88.

There are no growth hormones in Canadian milk. I did stop drinking any milk the year I got AF too, don't know if it was before or after though.


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## sunnysideup (Jan 9, 2005)

I was 12 and my oldest dd was also 12.

I read a really interesting article on the subject of early puberty. It says that research shows childhood obesity is probably one contributing factor, but that "the big picture is probably too complicated to be reduced to a single cause-and-effect explanation. Other, more controversial research suggests potential causal relationships between puberty and such diverse influences as absentee fathers, the presence of stepfathers, stress, milk, chemicals, and TV."


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## KaraBoo (Nov 22, 2001)

I was stick thin. I don't remember my weight but I do remember I was only 99 lbs at 19 so I must have been REALLY skinny at 12.

My dd, nearly 18, is very petite. She started at 12. She eats a lot of dairy and meat (in the US) so I suppose there are lots of hormones in her system.

My little dd, 8, lives in Prague with me. There are less hormones and preservatives in the meat here. We get fresh, local meat and actually know the butcher. She eats dairy, though, however the dairy here tastes vastly different than the dairy I remember eating in the US. I dunno if it's made differently in reference to hormones, etc. She shows no signs of early puberty. She's also quite petite.

sunnysideup, thanks for that link. I need to take the time to read the article!


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## Chavaleh (Apr 15, 2007)

I started at 13 and was a skinny stick (quite gone now







). This is an issue I'm concerned about as a mom to an 8 year old girl and one who will be 7 soon. Neither are showing any signs of puberty yet.


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## duckling (Feb 24, 2007)

I was of a pretty average weight and very athletic. I started one month before I turned 12. (That was in 2000, I think?)

Also, I've read studies linking a minimum body weight with the onset of menarche--it's about 103 pounds. Thusly, I imagine girls who hit that weight earlier are more likely to begin menstruating earlier. I think it's a combination of weight, genetics, and environment.


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## onlyzombiecat (Aug 15, 2004)

I was very thin and started around 12 or 13. I was under 100 pounds when I graduated high school but had had my period regularly. My older sister was also very thin and started a bit later than average. We ate regular meat and dairy.
I knew girls who started at around 10 years.


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## living my destiny (Apr 12, 2007)

I was 13 any about average size

Love and Laughter
destiny


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## earthmama369 (Jul 29, 2005)

I was on the skinny side of average and started menses at 11. My sister, on the heavier side, started at 12. My mother and grandmother (both lean), started at 11. So I'm thinking genetics weigh in pretty strongly with us.


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## babygirl24 (Jun 29, 2004)

I was average and started at 13 I think.


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## velochic (May 13, 2002)

I was average size, but very, very athletic (swimming, basketball, track, tennis, and softball). I was 15 when I started. My oldest sister was 9 when she started and the next sister was 15, as well. We were all average size. Of course, I thought I was fat back then because that's what society was teaching me.


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## pigpokey (Feb 23, 2006)

I was about 5'7" and 135 when I started at age 12. Of course I thought I was fat.


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## karen ann (Feb 7, 2002)

I was 9 and skinny.


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## sunnmama (Jul 3, 2003)

i was 12 and skinny.

my dd favors her aunt (dh's sister) in body type, though. She is bigger than i was as a child. i've been meaning to ask her when hers began, so i have an idea about dd's possible menarche.

dd and I were just talking about this today, and the cool things we would do to celebrate her menarche. she asked me when that happens, and i told her some girls are 10, some 14, etc. i told her i was 12. her eyes got really big, and she said she thought it wouldn't happen until she's 20!


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## sadean (Nov 20, 2001)

I was 12 and below average weight and size (5'0 and 100ish pounds).


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## jillmamma (Apr 11, 2005)

I was almost 12 when mine started, and was probably about 95 or so lb. I am hoping DD waits at least that long to get hers too.


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## lawgrrl (Nov 8, 2004)

I was 11 years old (almost 12) and wore girls size 10/12 (about 88 lbs.) at the time. My younger sister was very overweight and didn't start menstruating until she was 15.


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## Viewfinder (Sep 2, 2005)

I was 13, medium build and normal weight. My boobs suddenly popped out all at once the following summer, I believe. I left school FLAT as a pancake and came back in the fall with C-cups. My best friend screamed about on the bus, and life has never been the same since. "You've got BOOBS!!"

VF


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## 425lisamarie (Mar 4, 2005)

I was 12 and figure skating, thin not super skinny and worked physically very hard. I figured because of that I wouldn't start untill I was older, but I always had regular periods.


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## Catherine12 (May 15, 2006)

I was 10, and average size when I started. My mother (very skinny) was 16. I remember 10 or 11 as being the typical age for girls at my school - this was in the very early 90s.


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## QueenOfThePride (May 26, 2005)

I was very thin my whole life. I got my first period at age 9 and I didn't know what it was. I thought I had some kind of infection. I just used wads of toilet paper in my underwear and never told anyone, even my mom. It went away after only two days, and I forgot about it. I didn't get my next period until I was 12, and I knew what it was by then and I told my mom. It was monthly after that.


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## chel (Jul 24, 2004)

I was 11 and slightly chubby. My sis was 13 and very chubby. My best friend was very large and 10.

Both Dh's sis and niece were around 9 and average built. Dh's mom died of breast cancer before she was 40. I'm very concerned about dd and actually factored early puberty into if we should hold her back a grade.


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## mammal_mama (Aug 27, 2006)

I was 12, closer to 13, and slender. I was thrilled! At almost 43, I'm still thrilled at signs of my continued fertility. Menarche, puberty, pregnancy -- they're all cause for celebration, not fretting.

It makes me sad when moms talk about menstruation/puberty as if it's a negative thing. This seems to go hand-in-hand with our society's negative attitude toward all things pertaining to womanhood.

I certainly want to provide healthy foods for my children, and ample opportunities for exercise and activity.

But I won't say, "I hope dd waits until such-and-such age to begin puberty." Whenever it happens, it's a cause for celebration.

Becoming a young woman is a beautiful thing.


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## grisandole (Jan 11, 2002)

Moving to preteens/teens


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## UUMom (Nov 14, 2002)

I was very skinny, under 100 lbs (not any more! lol) , and I just turned 13. My dd is also very thin, and was well over 13, & almost two yrs later, later isnt 'regular' at all.

ETA: Oh! I really have been waiting to share this somewhere...my mother's sister was 9!! when she started (over 50 yrs ago!), and she *still* isn't 100 lbs (She's *tiny* maybe 5 ft, if that). It's like she was the only person in the world without breasts who had a period! When I questioned my gmother, she aknowledges that she didn't get it regularly at all! until she was around 13/14.


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## Lemonade (Apr 14, 2007)

I was a late developer. I was almost 15 and probably about 100 pounds when I started--I don't recall exactly. My daughter is 11 and hasn't started yet, although she's getting breast buds already.


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## ChristaN (Feb 14, 2003)

I was almost 14 and pretty avg weight/build. My older dd will be 9 this August and has no signs of impending puberty. She's still built straight up and down, no breast buds, no underarm or pubic hair. I think I remember starting to grow underarm hair at least two years prior to the onset of my first period, so I'm imagining that we have at least a few years to go w/ dd.


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## hookahgirl (May 22, 2005)

I was 15. I was pretty skinny and had been a veg. from about age 7 on.

My friends who werent veg. started at ages 10-11.

I dont know about anyone eles, but that is enought to keep my DD free of animal products(or at least hormone free ones) until she is older!


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## MommytoHHH (Sep 12, 2006)

I was average weight and somewhat athletic - I didn't start until I was 15. I'd developed long, long before that, though. I needed a bra by 11. My mom actually told me later that she was seriously worried that there was something wrong with me and she was SO excited when I finally got my period. Oh, and that would've been 1995, FWIW.


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## Cinder (Feb 4, 2003)

I started mine at 17, about 1 or 2 months before turning 18, my mom had totally freaked out and was very worried about me, taken my to the GYN who found nothing wrong. I have really long cycles and have since then, and they are not regular, they range from 35 days to 70 days...but I have no issues with fertility what so ever, so eh, I'll see it as a blessing.







I was born in 1979. ETA: I was a very skinny kid, about 5'6" 110 when I graduated high school and not at all athletic...I actually wrote a note to the school board that taking PE would be detrimental to my education and they let me skip it.

My mom started at 13, she was born in 1962. I don't know about any of my other family members. ETA: my mom was VERY athletic (played on the boys football and wrestling teams and the girls volleyball team and track untill she got pregnant with me at 17) and also was always on the large size...not fat by any means at that point, but large frame and VERY muscular.


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## chloeM (Feb 12, 2007)

I was 14. I was one of the last kids to go through puberty. I wasnt extremely skinny, but I was a dancer and very muscular.I never was very regular and didnt develop till I quit dancing(flat as a board then woke up one day and wow what are those?) I didnt start become regular till I was 23 after my second son.


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## scrappingmom (Sep 3, 2005)

my mom was nearly 16 when she started, she never even considered telling me about what was to come when i started at 9 it was quite a shock, although i had heard tidbits of info and vaguely knew enough to know i wasnt dying at least







my lil sis(now 14) started around 11-12, my DSD started at 11, nearly 12, officially anyway, she had slight spotting since she was 10 and she is a stick! my DD is 6, she is getting that early puberty chunk, has some breast although i'm not sure if its truely breast tissue or from being a lil chubby..just watching for now but i suspect she will follow my footprints and be starting by 8-9.. although i've started introducing the general idea just lately, curiousity of where baby comes from and how it can live in mommy hs made for easily accepted introduction







I was regular as clockwork from day one, i could literally set a clock and know i'd start in the next 30 mins.

To the best of my knowledge, i was the start of early bloomers in my family on both sides however several of my cousins girls have now started around 8-10yrs old.

I certainly think that all teh chemicals and hormones in our foods and such do lend a hand to this progression, genetics as well. I am alergic to milk and quit drinking it when i was 8 and only did by force before that so PERSONALLY i cant blame teh milk anyway....I do think it lends a HUGE hand in teh general populace though. I mean, Cows are purposely breed often to produce cows who can be breed sooner to produce milk sooner.. so it kinda goes to assume that the hormones(natural ones included) making them mature sooner would be present in milk and meat, much more so the milk though as beef critters dont have much difference, then going into our body. Veggies though are also designed into many hybrids to also grow bigger faster, matureing sooner.. so we cant totally blame dairy and meat... its there in smaller doses in vegies as well.... the need to produce more faster no matter what just goes to further reflect our societies thinking of I want it now, bigger better and faster then the other person..... no matter WHAT we're dealing with. Personally i think anythign that grows....shouldnt be forced to do it faster than originally designed.

hows that for an OTish rant?! ..lol sorry


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## kavitha (Oct 8, 2005)

i started at 13....


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## Pyrodjm (Jan 9, 2007)

I have always been overweight and my menses began at 13. My sister was also heavy and hers did not start until she was 15.


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## eroslovesagape (Aug 8, 2005)

I was 14, my mother was 16, my sis 13. All slim/average. I barely had breast buds. I think hair came later.

When I became a teacher I discovered, to my utter shock, that girls as young as 8-10 were menstruating. It made me want to cry; it seemed such an early end to the total innocence of childhood. It also seems unnatural to me; biologically speaking their bodies proclaim readiness to procreate but they're still absolutely children.

We ate tons of dairy and meat growing up, and since the women on both sides of my family were later bloomers, it seems there is a genetic component. I can't ignore environmental factors though. My parents emigrated from Germany (hormone-free upbringings) so my sibs and I are first-generation Americans. I would be interested to see research on the age on onset of menarche and any connection to how many generations were exposed to hormones in animal products, pesticides and herbicides in food (the residues of many have estrogen-like effects). My DD is raised on organic food, her papa and I were both late bloomers, so we'll see.

Though I will rejoice and honor her transition when she starts, I fervently hope she starts later rather than sooner. I want her to enjoy her childhood as long as possible. Especially as I always had excrutiatingly painful menses (no longer since I stopped dairy and most meats - something my mother recently told me her doctor told her to do in the late 70's!)


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## Evelyn'sMom (Feb 22, 2007)

I was pretty thin (although at the time I didn't think so) and didn't start until I was 14 and in high school. I think every girl I knew already had theirs... and I couldn't wait to start my period! What was I thinking!?! I soon realized that I wasn't missing out on anything!


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## ayden's mommy (Jan 3, 2007)

I started at 15 1/2 years old. I was very active, tall and of athletic build. I consumed at least 1/2 pound of grass-fed, no hormone beef from my uncle's farm, 1/2 gallon of 2% milk, and probably 10 ounces of cheese ON A DAILY BASIS!

I did have a girlfriend that lived two hours away who started developing at age nine, and the farm that supplied their local grocery store was busted for hormone doping of all their beef. In her area, girls as young as SIX were starting their periods.

personally, I think the added hormones in the dairy and meat industries are playing a huge role in the early menarche of these little girls.


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## DavinaT (Jun 28, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *mammal_mama* 
I was 12, closer to 13, and slender. I was thrilled! At almost 43, I'm still thrilled at signs of my continued fertility. Menarche, puberty, pregnancy -- they're all cause for celebration, not fretting.

It makes me sad when moms talk about menstruation/puberty as if it's a negative thing. This seems to go hand-in-hand with our society's negative attitude toward all things pertaining to womanhood.

I certainly want to provide healthy foods for my children, and ample opportunities for exercise and activity.

But I won't say, "I hope dd waits until such-and-such age to begin puberty." Whenever it happens, it's a cause for celebration.

Becoming a young woman is a beautiful thing.









:

I was large - big-boned and muscular (still am), fairly athletic but not overweight and got mine about 4 months after my 10th birhtday, which was early for here at the time. Average then was about 11 and a half. This was in the early 80's.
I remember being so excited when I got them first and then dissapointed that it was the school holidays and I couldn't tell my school friends. Such events (periods, first bra, waxing for the fist time etc) were Big news to us girls then.
I wasn't a great milk drinker, ate, chicken, fish and some pork but would not eat beef or lamb (still wont eat lamb - just a personal preference) and as it turned out the beef industry was under serious investigation some years later for artificial hormones being added to the meat!
Now only eat fully traceable, free range meats (beef under 30 months).

My school friend was small and pudgy, but she was 13 when she had her first period (or 'little friend' as her monther called it).

Here it is regarded that any girl who hasn't had her first period by 15, merits medical investigation.

I was always fairly regular tho'- 31 - 35 days cycle til I went on the pill. After that it was on the 24th day like CLOCKWORK I mean between 2.30 and 4pm!
Since switching to the iud, I generally only get spotting every month (which is perfectly normal with the IUD i know) and to be honest I miss my period.

On the genetic side of things, I have no sisters, nor had my Dad. Tho' his Mum started at 14 and her sister started at 17!! Which it turnd out was indicative of problems as she has premature menopause at 35!
My mum started hers at 13, my aunts around 12/13 and their mother at 12.

I don't see how periods would end the total innocence of childhood tho'. I mean, I knew where babies came from when I was 6 or 7 and my Mum told me about periods when I was nine, but I still had all the chilish wonder at simple things in life - the first snow in winter, getting up when it as still dark on Christmas morning, being amazed at how far dandelion seeds could travel in the wind.
At 10 or even 12, biologically speaking bodies proclaim readiness to procreate but even then they're still absolutely children.
Having my period never stopped me from enjoying my childhood or my teens tho'. I always had the philosophy that it was a normal event and that pain - during periods, passing water, eating or other functions is a sign that there is something wrong, which should always be investigated.


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## KaraBoo (Nov 22, 2001)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *eroslovesagape* 
I would be interested to see research on the age on onset of menarche and any connection to how many generations were exposed to hormones in animal products, pesticides and herbicides in food (the residues of many have estrogen-like effects).

I'd be curious about this too. My 8yr old dd eats a lot of dairy, as I posted earlier, but our meats are not pumped full of hormones...so I'm wondering what effect this will have on when she starts her period.


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## talk de jour (Apr 21, 2005)

I was 11.5 and thin, rarely ate dairy, and ate a usual amount of meat.


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## aniT (Jun 16, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *scrappingmom* 
I certainly think that all teh chemicals and hormones in our foods and such do lend a hand to this progression, genetics as well. I am alergic to milk and quit drinking it when i was 8 and only did by force before that so PERSONALLY i cant blame teh milk anyway....I do think it lends a HUGE hand in teh general populace though. I mean, Cows are purposely breed often to produce cows who can be breed sooner to produce milk sooner.. so it kinda goes to assume that the hormones(natural ones included) making them mature sooner would be present in milk and meat, much more so the milk though as beef critters dont have much difference, then going into our body. Veggies though are also designed into many hybrids to also grow bigger faster, matureing sooner.. so we cant totally blame dairy and meat... its there in smaller doses in vegies as well.... the need to produce more faster no matter what just goes to further reflect our societies thinking of I want it now, bigger better and faster then the other person..... no matter WHAT we're dealing with. Personally i think anythign that grows....shouldnt be forced to do it faster than originally designed.

hows that for an OTish rant?! ..lol sorry

Depending on your age, you probably can't blame the milk anyway. They didn't start putting growth hormone in dairy cows until around '94 ish.

I started days after my 11th birthday I was a bit chubby. My daughter started around 12.5 ish and is thin.

My 8 year old is starting to get the pre-puberty chunk so we will talk about what to expect here soon. I finally dug up my older daughter's puberty book the other day.


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## kristenburgess (Sep 15, 2002)

this is an interesting thread. I was just wondering about it yesterday, thinking of when my little girl may start.

I was 14, slender, and very atheletic. I'm not sure how much I weighed, though, I never paid attention to my weight.

I also drank commerical milk every single day of my life (huge milk fan). I don't give my children commerical milk products unless they are organic from grass-fed cows, and no actual milk right now at all (can't afford farm milk right now).

I do hope it is later when she starts, as I feel there is clearly a time when she is a child and doesn't need her body stating otherwise.


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## widdlelou (Feb 28, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *scrappingmom* 

I certainly think that all teh chemicals and hormones in our foods and such do lend a hand to this progression, genetics as well. I am alergic to milk and quit drinking it when i was 8 and only did by force before that so PERSONALLY i cant blame teh milk anyway....I do think it lends a HUGE hand in teh general populace though. I mean, Cows are purposely breed often to produce cows who can be breed sooner to produce milk sooner.. so it kinda goes to assume that the hormones(natural ones included) making them mature sooner would be present in milk and meat, much more so the milk though as beef critters dont have much difference, then going into our body.

I hate to butt in, I lurk here often to see what ahead for me







But my family are cattle ranchers (kind of small time rancher) and for some reason my father's cows seem to be always pregnant, but we do not use any horomones at all to induce maturity. Maybe some big time ranchers do, but no one I know around these parts.

And to add I was 14, just turned 14 and my mother was 16 and my sister was 12. We were all average built.


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## sargasso (Mar 20, 2005)

I was 13, skinny, and had been vegetarian for 4ish years.


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## LisainCalifornia (May 29, 2002)

I was 11 and chubby. My daughter is thin and just started her period a few months ago at 10.


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## CMcC (Sep 9, 2006)

Just saw this post and wanted to add my two cents.

Wow, I'm really amazed so many of you started so early!!! I always thought the average age was suppose to be around 12. I seem to be the oddity on this poll, I didn't start till I was 16 1/2. I do wonder if it was because of the food we ate. I'm terriably lactose intollerant, so I didn't drink milk. And as for meat, when we had it, it was straight off my grandfather's farm (never gave any livestock hormones). Most of our vegetables also came straight off his farm as well. So maybe our food supply really does affect our bodies by starting cycles early....


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## Aliviasmom (Jul 24, 2006)

I started PUBERTY at age 8 (growing pubic hair, etc.). I didn't really get boobs until around 14? But I started my period the month before my 12th birthday. And they were like clockwork right away.


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## readytobedone (Apr 6, 2007)

i started 6 days after my 12th birthday. i was 5'2" and probably about 115? so fairly average weight. incidentally, i am still 5'2" but weigh a lot more (of course i am 40 weeks pg!)


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## bluegrassgirl (May 8, 2007)

I was a little overweigh and started my period at 10 years old (my mom started when she was 11). My sister, who is stick thin, started when she was 16.

I've read that you have to have a certain amount of body fat to start mensturation. Plus, I've also read that if you are overweight or have spina bifida, you can start much earlier than other girls.

Jessie
(single mommy to Emma, 3 years and Angela, 2 years and Daisy, our 7 year old cat)


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## kandace (Sep 9, 2006)

I was 16.

I definitely did not weigh a lot until that point...I believe I was around 13 or 14 when the doctor told me that I would need to gain about 6-8 pounds before I would start. I had to increase my caloric intake with milkshakes and other things at the time but it still didn't happen until I was 16. My sister got hers at 13 or 14, I believe (quite problematic for me at the time, since I am older and did not like that one bit!) Anyway, body fat is important as well and there are specific trends over different ethnicities as well.


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## addictedtocloth! (Sep 24, 2006)

I started at 12. I was overweight and big boned. I am suprised I didnt start earlier.


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## CarsonBookworm (Sep 25, 2006)

I was 11....5'5, 110 pounds..... a real beanstalk!


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## frontierpsych (Jun 11, 2006)

I was 11, 5' and maybe 115. My mom was small and thin and didn't tart till 16. My grandma (mom's mom) started at 9. My sister (heavier than me) started at 13.


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## Marcee (Jan 23, 2007)

I was "almost" 12 and average.


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## Ruth S (Mar 27, 2007)

My dd started her period yesterday -- on her thirteenth birthday!! I was surprised at how maternal and tender it made me feel.

She's about 90 lbs, 5 foot 2, raised on organic dairy and produce, very little meat of any kind, maybe chicken once every two weeks, red meat every three weeks.


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## travelinmom (Feb 19, 2006)

I was 11, very petite, 5' maybe 90 lbs. My lil sister started about the same age, she was more average built and physically active. We both grew up on a farm so no hormones or such in our meat.

I've been thinking about this though, my dd is almost ten and just got her first bra. I know it's coming soon and we've talked about it. Off topic did you do something special to celebrate, for your child or when you were one? I was so embaressed that I didn't even tell my mom for several months. I want to do something for my dd so that she will not be ashamed or embaressed by it. Any ideas?


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## scoobysgirl03 (Feb 17, 2007)

I was 11; thin; average amount of meat and dairy. Started my period summer between 5th and 6th grade while on weekend visitation with my dad...I was too embarassed to tell him so I stuffed my underwear with toilet paper all weekend. I had to pretend to be sick to get out of swimming with him and my little sister. Not a fun way to start!


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## Beppie (Oct 24, 2005)

I was 12 and a little on the chubby side, and my sister, who is 2 years older than me and more skinny than I am, started when she was 14, just 6 months before mine started. Maybe chubbiness/skinniness had something to do with that.


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## jimblejamble (May 18, 2007)

I was 12 when I got it in October 2000. But then I didn't get another period until like...May of 2001! Weird!!!


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## Alkenny (May 4, 2004)

I was chubby and 12...my sister was average sized and 11...my DD is lean (she's a runner, 5'3" and 95-105 pounds depending on her training) and hasn't started yet...she just turned 14.


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## happyhippiemama (Apr 1, 2004)

I was 16. I'm tall and thin and have small breasts. I was the last by far of all my friends to hit puberty. I grew to 5'8" in the 8th grade but stayed gangly and completely curveless until end of my junior year.


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## sunnymw (Feb 28, 2007)

I was in the US at the time (had lived in Germany until age 7). I was skinny and 9. I ate cereal every day and had tons more dairy.









I had, for unknown reasons, a great deal of shame about it. I didn't tell a single person about it (not even my mom) and managed to ruin a lot of clothes trying to use only 1 maxi pad a day for 5 days. I kept all of my accidentally bloody clothing in a locked suitcase under my bed until my mom found it when I was 11-12. That was the longest secret I ever kept..

I still have no idea WHY, and I hope that there's a good comfortable way to discuss this with my future daughters so they don't feel any shame in telling me.

It really sucked because all my friends were bragging about starting, and I wanted to, too, but couldn't because I didn't want my mom to find out. She's never said anything to make me thing it's... shameful... so I don't know what it was. I guess we just weren't that close, for me to divulge that kind of information.

Anyone wanna do a psych work up? LOL.

ETA: I don't know if this is relevant, but for the first few months I only had brown blood, no red at all. It wasn't until I was almost 10 that it was red.


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## girlfactory (Nov 11, 2002)

I was 15 when I started.
I was skinny, not too tall, and not very curvy at all.
I have 4 girls, and have been feeding them organic dairy and meat for the last 4 years. Hopefully, this will curb the early bloomer syndrome that a lot of girls seem to be going through in this day and age. I firmly believe that the addition of growth hormones to conventionally produced dairy and meat contributes to the early menarche of girls. My 11 year old hasn't started yet, but I think she will soon. Hopefully my 7, 5, and 3 year olds will be in their teens as well. I would be seriously freaked out if any of them started at the age of 8 or so.


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## amj'smommy (Feb 24, 2005)

I was 16 .... my other 3 sisters were 13 or 14 (2 older-twins and 1 younger) I did however have an eating disorder as a young teenager so I believe that is what offset it for me.


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## sbm1001 (Jun 2, 2005)

Also in the 80's....I started at 8, almost 9 & was a bit chubby with too much in the boob department already. I remember my female classmates accusing me of suffing my bra in the 5th grade. I didn't even know what that meant!

Shannon


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## Libelle (Feb 23, 2007)

I was 13, lean and sportsy, loved milk and meat, but doubt that they were hormone treated (grew up in Europe). My little sister started around the same age.

Only my older sister had her menarche late at 17 years of age. However, she had an eating disorder, so this may have had something to do with it. My paternal grandmother was also a late bloomer, so she also might have received those genes. In any case, it was problematic, because she had a late mental start into teenagehood as well, i.e. did not rebel or assert herself before her menarche which made the whole thing really strange and age-inappropriate.







:


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## spruce (Dec 11, 2004)

I started at 10, the earliest of my sisters or my mother (my sisters, however, developed much more slowly than I did...by 11 or 12 I was a DD and being mistaken for my 16 yo sister).

I did a huge report during my college years about this, and there is a lot of controversy. I wasn't overweight, but I was curvy and needed a bra at 10. My sisters, however, started their cycles around age 15 or so, and were not (and still are not) as curvy as me. I'm not obese, never have been, nor am I of the athletic/aerobic build (I'm more of a weightlifter than a runner).

My daughters are 14.5 and almost 12, and still haven't started. However, for the past 7 years I've been either pregnant or nursing, and they are homeschooled, so I do think that has a lot to do with it. My eldest is a swimmer, too, and super muscular, my almost-12yo is athletic but is catching up with her sister in the development dept. I fully expect that within a few months both girls will begin cycling with me (my baby is 20 mos old and my cycles are fully back).

My step dd is 15.5 and started years ago, but she grew up drinking milk and eating a ton of meat, whereas I didn't let my girls drink cow's milk until about a year ago, and even then they rarely want it. StepDd has a totally different body type and is not nearly as physically active as the other girls, so that is also (I believe) a factor.

I'm glad my girls didn't start at 10 like I did. Having DD breasts at 11 was incredibly difficult socially, and my cycles were so heavy I was constantly ruining pants at school, even with lots of protection. I don't know how many days I spent with my jacket tied around my waist, which is like a neon sign saying, "I just bled all over these jeans, thank-you-very-much. Feel free to point and laugh."









Hopefully, when my girls do start, they'll be ready and will have lighter cycles. I know swimmers, especially, are more likely to wait longer to cycle at all and to have lighter cycles (she swims 5-6 nights/week for 1.5 hours).

love, penelope


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## DiannaK (Jul 12, 2007)

I was in the 7th grade .. so I was 12. I was a bit "thick" ... not chubby, but not rail thin, either. You know, that was back in the days where you only had one or 2 "fat kids" in school .... because we played OUTSIDE all summer long. (sorry ... off on a tangent!)

My daughter is 12, and has the same sort of build as I do (I'm petite, but curvy/hippy), except she will end up being taller than I am, I think. She hasn't started yet ... I fully expect her to at any time. About 1/2 of her class at school has started.

I figure we will cycle at the same time eventually .... my poor DH







:


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## KMK_Mama (Jan 29, 2006)

I started on August 2nd, one week after my 13th birthday. I remember it like it was yesterday....can't you tell I was traumatized?!?!?!







:









Anyhow, I was skinny-average I suppose, but I remember I was one of the first of my friends to start. This was in 1991.....


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## izandleo (Apr 3, 2007)

I was 12, it was the summer before 7th grade. I was thin and ate average amounts of meat, dairy, veggies. I was never regular until about 18, though!


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## co-op mama (Jun 20, 2006)

I was twelve and skinny. I think I was in seventh grade. My sister was the same age and very well endowed in the chest area. We grew up in California in the 80's.


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