Early or delayed puberty (2024)

FAQs

Early or delayed puberty? ›

The onset of puberty, the time in life when a person becomes sexually mature, typically occurs between ages 8 and 13 for girls and ages 9 and 14 for boys. Precocious puberty

Male puberty usually begins at about age 12. Female puberty is at about age 10. Sometimes, though, puberty can start earlier and before signs show. When male puberty starts before age 9 and female puberty before age 8, it is called precocious (pre KOH shuss) or early puberty.

What is delayed puberty? Puberty that happens late is called delayed puberty. This means a child's physical signs of sexual maturity don't appear by age 12 in girls or age 14 in boys. This includes breast or testicl* growth, pubic hair, and voice changes.

Results indicated that, overall, earlier pubertal timing (i.e., maturational timing and peer-relative timing) put both girls and boys at risk during adolescence, while later timing was protective.

Most commonly, especially in girls, precocious puberty is due to the brain sending signals earlier than it should. There is no other underlying medical problem or trigger. This also can often run in families. Less often, precocious puberty stems from a more serious problem, such as a tumor or trauma.

In girls, the first change of puberty is usually the start of breast development (breast budding). Shortly afterward, pubic and underarm hair begin to grow. In girls, puberty usually begins between the ages of 8 years and 13 years (see Puberty in Girls).

Hormonal basis

It is normal for production of these hormones to increase (something we call adrenarche) and for pubic hair to appear after age 8 in girls or 9 in boys. The reason why this increase occurs earlier in some children is not known.

Children reach puberty at different ages. Delayed puberty is when boys have little to no genital growth by age 14, or girls have no breast development by age 13, or no periods by age 16. You may also hear this called being a “late bloomer”. Delayed puberty may happen in children who have chronic medical conditions.

Most often, it's simply a pattern of growth and development in a family. A guy or girl may find that his or her parent, uncle, aunt, brothers, sisters, or cousins developed later than usual, too. This is called constitutional delay (or being a late bloomer), and it usually doesn't need treatment.

Key takeaways: The term “late bloomer” refers to a child who goes through puberty later than their peers. Constitutional growth delay, the medical term for this condition, runs in families. Late bloomers will catch up on their growth and have standard adult height, although it may take a little extra time and patience.

Why are kids hitting puberty earlier? ›

It's unclear why it's happening more, although possible causes include diet, obesity, genetics, socioeconomic status and potential exposure to certain chemicals. Kids entering puberty earlier than the average can be mistakenly treated as older and inappropriately sexualized by society.

Most kids with delayed puberty are just developing a bit later than average and will catch up. For some late bloomers, doctors may offer hormone treatment: Boys might get a short course of treatment with testosterone (usually a monthly injection for 4–6 months) to get the changes of puberty started.

If your doctor makes a diagnosis of delayed puberty, they may recommend treatment. Your doctor can give you a prescription for hormone medications that will trigger the start of puberty.

The average age for girls to start puberty is 11, while for boys the average age is 12. But it's perfectly normal for puberty to begin at any point between the ages of 8 and 13 in girls and 9 and 14 in boys.

First Period Symptoms

Growing pubic hair: Just after your breasts start to form, you'll probably start growing pubic hair. It will be soft and thin at first, but it'll get coarser over time. Your period usually arrives around one to two years after.

Between the ages of 8 and 13, girls typically experience: Their breasts begin to bud, and their areolas (pigmented area around the nipple) enlarge. Scant pubic hair appears. Height increases by about 2^¾ inches per year.

The signs and symptoms of precocious puberty in both sexes include acne, body odor and a growth spurt. Precocious puberty also causes sexual characteristics to develop early. In girls and children AFAB, these include: Breast development.

Premature pubarche, or the development of pubic hair before the age of 8 in girls or 9 in boys, is most commonly caused by premature adrenarche. Adrenarche is the maturation of the adrenal zona reticularis in both boys and girls, resulting in the development of pubic hair, axillary hair, and adult apocrine body odor.

Most girls start their sexual development between the ages of 8 and 13 (the average age is 12), and have a growth spurt between the ages of 10 and 14. Most boys start developing sexually between the ages of 10 and 13, and continue to grow until they're around 16.