“They’re growing up so fast! Why, just last year, they were no taller than my knee caps” you hear your grandmother exclaim as she walks through the door. You feel as though you haven’t grown at all since last time you saw her, but you humor her nonetheless. You are actually in high school and stopped growing long ago.

Research has shown that, on average, puberty is occurring earlier and earlier in children. They are developing much faster not only mentally, but also physically and it can be difficult to understand. An extreme example of the trend of puberty taking place earlier is precocious puberty. Precocious puberty is said to occur when a child goes through the developmental changes associated with puberty much earlier than the average age.  This can be very traumatic because, as we all know younger kids are far less equipped to deal with the rapid changes that are involved. Your peers can be cruel and taunting because they do not yet understand the development process.

Remember how you felt when your body was evolving and your hormones were going crazy! Mood swings and appearances occupied your mind more than anything else. Imagine having to deal with that about 3-5 years earlier. Doesn’t sound so easy…you would have needed a lot of support and reinforcement from family and friends in order to get through it.

If you are currently going through puberty, you’re not alone; EVERYONE has to experience it at some point in their lives. For some it just occurs earlier than others. Pay attention to younger siblings; if you notice they are particularly self-conscious, embarrassed or secretive, try to find out what is going on. Maybe they would prefer to discuss their troubles with you, rather than your parents. You are after all closer to them in age and have more recently dealt with the issues that accompany puberty. Be supportive and set a good example by letting them know they are not alone and providing them with the necessary information to deal with pubescent ordeals.