Indonesia
Watch Out, Girls Mature Earlier
Laila was born normal and then racing to grow up. She sat up on her own at four months old and walked at 12 months. At six year old, she began to produce body odor. By age nine, she was developing breasts and menstruating. When her friends still trying to master a two-wheeler, Laila having puberty.
Puberty is time when the body begins to move from kid to adult. The pituitary gland at the bottom of brain releases special hormones. These hormones go to work on different parts of the body. Usually, puberty starts between ages 8-13 in girls and ages 9-15 in boys.
Girls reach puberty earlier because they mature quicker physically than boys. Boys also usually don’t mature as fast as girls do emotionally. For boys, showing emotion such as sadness and crying are something to look down. Girls tend to explore and understand their feelings faster than boys.
However, girls today tend to reach puberty earlier. One factor accelerating pubertal onset is eating habit. Higher body fat is also believed to hasten puberty. Some disease in brain may also trigger puberty. Another factor is a father’s absence.
A young girl whose parents separated will get earlier menstruation than those who grew up with mother and father at home. Exposure to the sex pheromones of a genetically related older male (father) suppresses a young female’s pubertal development. Conversely, the presence of an unrelated male tends to speed up maturation. Those with stepfathers in the household matured faster than those without. Also, the presence of boyfriend.
TEGUH WAHYU UTOMO
PHOTOS: PHOTOS
