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• When Your Girl Is a Boy (Or Vice Versa)

  We've all known (or been) boys obsessed with princesses and makeup or tomboys who would rather wipe an axle with a dress than wear it. Most of us who were raised with Free to Be You and Me and feminist moms (and even a bunch of us who weren't) go out of our way to let our non-gender-stereotype conforming kids explore whatever interests they want and express themselves as they see fit. This is hard enough, given other parents' need to constantly harp on about what boys and girls do and like in front of our kids (something I've ranted about here). But what about when it's not enough? Read More... Posted Sep 21 2008, 07:15 PM by Miriam Axel-Lute with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: gender, transgender, puberty, stereotypes, dress up, boys and girls, gender identity disorder

• Pregcellent: Eat Well, Period. Prenatal Diet Influences Puberty Onset

  Just when the pregnant ladies thought they got enough flack about what they ingest during gestation. Now check this out: Researchers say a mother's prenatal diet can influence the early onset of puberty. Sheesh, I was chalking it up to non-organic milk and Bratz dolls. You mean my nutritional choices during the most hormonally insane period of my life are to blame for my daughter's precocious eye-rolling?  Well, in case you were wondering, it's a... Read More... Posted Jun 18 2008, 09:34 AM by Kelly Mills with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: pregnancy, research study, nutrition, fat, girls, diet, puberty, menstruation, pregcellent, preteens, gestation, adolescent, prenatal

• Should Parents Delay Puberty for Transgender Children?

  In the aftermath of media hype about pregnant transgender man Thomas Beattie—much of which threatened to return the “freak” label to the trans community—NPR has run a fascinating story that explains gender identity disorder from the viewpoint of a family living through it. According to Danielle and Robert (last names were omitted), from the time their son was two-years-old, he insisted on dressing like a girl. Read More... Posted May 15 2008, 02:00 PM by Hannah Tennant-Moore with | with 10 comment(s) Filed under: gender, transgender, testosterone, puberty, NPR, pregnant man, thomas beattie, transition, gender identity disorder, transgender children, estrogen, "is transgender real", biological gender

• The Poison Bottle: Canada and Walmart Take BPA Off Market

  Thanks to Canada’s proposed ban on plastic baby bottles with the chemical BPA, Walmart stores have announced they look to have such bottles free from their stores by next year.   Playtex, manufacturer of baby bottles, has also jumped aboard the anti-BPA bandwagon, announcing the company will discontinue BPA products by years end.   BPA, or bisphenol A, is a common plastic component  found in dental sealants, baby bottles, the liners of food cans, CDs and DVDs, eyeglasses, water bottles and hundreds of household goods. If you are not familiar with the possible dangers of BPA... Read More... Posted Apr 23 2008, 09:00 AM by Cole Gamble with | with 16 comment(s) Filed under: Cancer, Canada, puberty, toxic, baby bottles, DVDs, BPA, plastic, bisphenol A, water bottles, prostate, health scare, household items

• Why Tweens are Too Young for a Brazilian Wax

  Jeez, I can think of a million reasons, the first of which: is there anything to wax? The other 999,999 reasons … come on. I know we’re sexualizing girls at younger and younger ages, but 10? Waxing her pubes? Apparently, you're never too young for this Australian website, read by girls aged 9 to 14. In an article about Brazilian waxing, they try hard to make the case: Read More... Posted Jan 16 2008, 04:34 PM by Madeline Holler with | with 4 comment(s) Filed under: children, marketing to children, tweens, marketing, puberty, body, childhood pain, Madeline Holler, marketing to kids, body image, childrearing, eccentricities, dress up, tween, body enhancement, Twendy-One, brazilian wax

• 3-Year-Olds Getting Their Periods?

  Here’s something you thought you’d never have to deal with: your 3-year-old going through puberty. Yet it’s a little more common than you think (though, mercifully, still pretty rare). And it looks like something that doctors might overlook at the well-baby check ups. Somehow, the mothers in this story figured out that their daughters -- their preschoolers! -- we're thiiiiiis close to getting their periods, and then spent a good bit of time and energy convincing their pediatricians. The average age of puberty for both boys and girls ...   Read More... Posted Jan 14 2008, 05:27 PM by Madeline Holler with | with 2 comment(s) Filed under: toddler, toddlers, tweens, puberty, breasts, menstruation, girls and self-esteem, tween, healtthy eating, early onset puberty, periods, precocious puberty

• Supportive Homelife During Preschool Means Girls Hit Puberty Later

  If you'd like the Barbie dolls to be the only young things in the house sporting boobs any time soon, I guess it's time to work on being supportive and happy and economically good, because researchers say your parental investment during the preschool years will make a difference. According to a new study, girls who grow up in households with marital conflict, depressed dads, and less supportive parenting hit puberty earlier than peers in stable, supportive homes. The idea is that early childhood experiences can influence sexual maturation rates in girls, and early puberty has been linked with mood disorders, substance abuse, teen pregnancy and reproductive system cancers. It has also been tied to earlier instances of eye rolling and the phrase, "Oh my gawd, you are ruining my life!" There's other factors involved in the age of onset of the hormonal roller coaster. Read More... Posted Nov 19 2007, 11:32 AM by Kelly Mills with | with 5 comment(s) Filed under: preschool, research study, puberty, hormones, adolescence, supportive parenting

• Testify: Being a Tween in the Locker Room Is a Little Bit of Hell

  Years ago, I sat at lunch with a big group of women I worked with at the time. Our ages spanned the generations and one woman, a mother of a girl entering middle school, told us a story about how the other girls in the class were giving her 12-year old daughter a very hard time. We all shook our heads in a collective, compassionate "Say it, sister!" All of us remembered what a tough, tough time being twelve was. Read More... Posted Aug 01 2007, 03:03 PM by Jessica Ashley (Sassafrass) with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: middle school, puberty, tween

• Study: Teen Moodiness is Due to.....Hormones (Duh!)

  Well this certainly explains a lot.  Not that we didn't already know that teenagers are often moody, and at times for no apparent reason, and that it's been explained away for years as having to do with hormones.  But here's a closer look.  At least, it explains a lot for teenage mice.  Apparently, though, a hormone called THP (also called allopregnanolone) that normally has a calming effect on adults and young children, has the opposite effect on teenagers.  Uh, teenage mice, that is.  The THP is released in the body several minutes after a stressful event, and normally has a tranquilizing effect (I think I need more of this), but in adolecsence, there are more receptors present that accept the hormone in brain cells, and as a result there is an anxious rather than calming effect when the THP moves into place in the brain. In other words, what is calming for adults and younger children drives teenagers nuts.  Hmm.  I think I see that.  Not that this information changes anything, but it does help to understand what is going on.    Posted Mar 14 2007, 02:06 PM by Karen Murphy with | with no comments Filed under: teenagers, puberty, hormones, moodiness

• Childhood Obesity Might Cause Early Puberty

  A recent study shows that overweight children may reach puberty earlier than children with a more healthy physique. No kidding. They studied over 350 girls for several years at the University of Michigan's Mott Children's Hospital discovered that girls that were overweight as early as three years old and still continued to gain weight started developing breasts as early as nine years old. Breasts at nine? I didn't get mine until college. Okay, I'll be honest. I didn't get mine until I was 31 and breastfeeding. Is it too dark to wish that I had hit puberty earlier? In all seriousness, reaching puberty earlier is a bad thing. Not only has it shown an increase in reproductive cancers and obesity in adulthood, early puberty often also leads to earlier sexual activity and alcohol use. There is even an increase in the likelihood of psychiatric disorders. And I thought the worst thing that would come of it was other kids making fun of you. Scary, huh?   Posted Mar 05 2007, 12:54 PM by Sarah, Goon Squad Sarah with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: childhood obesity, puberty

• Puberty, Fifties Style

  Man, I love the olden days. You must check out this vintage film, "Molly Grows Up" (available in several formats), with its classic take on menstruation. It's surprisingly modern in some of its approach, although full of outdated gems like "don't swim the first few days of your period or you'll catch a chill", "wear your prettiest dress", and a pass at the old "women are meant to be mothers" line of thinking. Try not to be distracted by Molly's awesome Craftsman house and her family's kick-ass mid-century coffee table. Instead, pop some corn, sit back, and let Molly's mother and the school nurse (she's got to be Lauren Bacall's homelier older sister, it's an uncanny resemblance) tell you how it is in Periodsville, 1953 (hint: go easy on the square dancing).  If you're in the mood for a double feature, watch the 1957 companion piece, "As Boys Grow", where a jovial coach explains puberty to his team ("say, I had a wet dream last night!"). Posted Feb 03 2007, 04:09 PM by Patti with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: video, sex education, 1950s, puberty