Early Development.......
 

Everyone,
By now you probably know I have an 8 year old and naturally my eight year old has friends....What I've noticed in all of them is how FAST they are developing!! My questions to you all are....

Have you noticed just how fsat the kids are developing?

Do you think it has anything to do with the hormones used to treat our food?

As teachers/parents/concerned adults, How would you approach the topic of their changing bodies?

What kills me is, I'm used to talking to teenage girls because that's what I took upon myself to do to make sure they have someone to turn to....But how in the world do you talk to these kids who are still practically babies?????

Girl, YES! YES! AND YES!

We always laugh and say it's "in the milk"....

those high school girls look as grown as anyone of us without their school uniforms on. http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/eek.gif

I'm tired too, so no "new" smiles for me today! http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/biggrin.gif

YES!!! Most definitely!!!

The research has shown girls as young as 7 and 8 years old menstruate!!! http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/eek.gif

That shocked me--'cuz during that time, I was only thinking about watching my cartoons!!!

I always say it's in the water. I just got back from Georgia and when I saw some of those "girls" down there I said it must be the grits.

Exquizit...I have read that it is the hormones in our foods. It was in the paper in NYC a few months ago. They told us why it is happening but they didn't say how to approach an ten year old with the body of a sixteen year old. http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/frown.gif

I also heard/read that perms/relaxers at a young age promote earlier development, i.e. menstrual cycles, breast development.

Can anyone confirm this or attest to this?

I agree with the YES YES YES http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/wink.gif
I am25 years old and during my first year teaching high school, I was repeatedly asked for my hall pass http://www.plaudersmilies.de/argue.gif (keep in mind this is while wearing a business suit and carrying a TEACHER's EDITION BOOK) and I was asked to the prom http://www.plaudersmilies.de/laugh2.gif

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Perms too? Geesh! http://www.plauder-smilies.de/eek7.gif

Poeple have been IMing me about theories of Hormones in boneless skinless chicken breasts too........ http://www.plauder-smilies.de/sad/scared.gif

How do I talk to these "babies" about this?

And how do we stop these sick older men, who KNOW how old they are, from taking advantage of them?

[This message has been edited by exquizit (edited May 01, 2001).]

I don't know. One of my bestfriends started her cycle when she was 7, and that was in 1977. She told me that she would have to give her sanitary napkins to the teacher to distribute to her throughout the school day.

My other bestfriend started at the age of 9, in 1979, so I don't know if this is a phenomenon or what.
I do, however think that children are growing up much faster these days than we did.

I am sorry to say it is the food with all these extra hormones in it. They are not the main cause but they do contribute to the problem as well as the way some of these young ladies are dressing!

Sphinxpoet
9 Days until the most wonderful event comes front and center.....the Birthday of the Sphinxpoet!!!!!!!!

Children are growing up too fast these days. I truly believe a big part of all this rapid development is the foods our children are consuming. In this fast food, super-size, microwave society we live in there has got to be negative side effects.

I was in the grocery store and was curious about the nutritional content of those Oscar Mayer Lunchables. Ok, why was the sodium content like 800 or 900 mgs!!!???? We should only have 2,800 mgs a day!!!!!!! That is ridiculous. But parents are steadily feeding their children these foods that could lead to problems later on in life.

AKA2D is right. Something is in the milk!!!

I too believe it's the hormones in our foods. Hormones are given to cows to produce more milk and to other livestock to produce larger quantities of meat per "cut". Look at the portion size of meat in the grocery stores, they are much thicker than I remember. As far as approaching the topic with them, if they did feel uncomfortable, I would assure them that they are normal and try to encourage them to embrace their youth and not be hurried to engage in activities that there bodies are developed for, but emotionally couldn't handle. It's also difficult when the latest clothing style exposes so much and these girls have so much to show! Also these are the "Formative Years" and they want to emmulate what's on the radio, televison and the actions of girls who are older than them, but see no differnces in what they do because of their same body size. I too mentor young girls
(8-16years old)and some of them LOVE the adoration and attention from young boys and GROWN men, and the "gifts" they receive from them (jewelry, money, etc.) I guess we can only try to be here for them by being an ear, and offer reassurance and guidance.


[This message has been edited by buterscotch1 (edited May 02, 2001).]

[This message has been edited by buterscotch1 (edited May 02, 2001).]

Lord, I certainly cant relate to that. I am almost 28 and not a semester goes by where some poor guy gets embarrassed when he walks into my Composition class after hitting on me the semester before. And there have been more than a few times when someone has come into my class, walked past me, and asked a "mature" 19 year old student to add him or her to the roll.

But seriously, I am concerned because I have a daughter and the doctor is already having us check her for early puberty. (She's 2!) But he says that he's seen cases of breast development and public hair in toddlers. This is scary stuff!

[This message has been edited by HopefulJD (edited May 02, 2001).]

[This message has been edited by HopefulJD (edited May 02, 2001).]

Huh? That is scary. You know, I keep looking at my daughter thinking my eyes are playing tricks on me cause I swear my skinny little kindergartner is getting "rose buds"! I remember when I worked with kindergartners a few wore training bras (not overweight kids either).

Kids today are not only developing FAST some are TOO FAST and GROWN!!

My 5 year old son called himself introducing me to his girlfriend who then in turn TOLD me she was going to stay the NIGHT at MY HOUSE and get this and said " I going to sleep with your son too" and I was like no your lil fast butt will not...GROWN I tell GROWN and then I had a BBQ last weekend and my fiancee's friend brought their bad kids and they were like can we watch the Kings of Comedy DVD and I was like kids under 18 don't watch stuff like that at my house. WHOA ...Am I getting old or are this kids just GROWN?

I am a prime example of this... lets just say I was beginning my volumptousness (sp?) at the age of nine. It was embarrasing http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/redface.gif. I see the students I work with now..How I looked then was minor compared to how these gals are now... http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/eek.gif

Kids are that grown usually 'cause their parents are too young and think that junk is cute!! Hump...that mess is not CUTE people!!

My neices are also well developed for their ages. Unfortunately it really messed with my oldest neices self esteem. She hated being the largest one in class. She was wearing a size 11 shoe in like the 7th grade!!! Can you imagine the turmoil we went through trying to find her something other than gym shoes or old lady shoes in that size?!?!

They are dressing the way they are, many of them, because they cannot FIT the clothes they should be wearing.

One of our Soror's daughter is only 11 years old. This child is 5'7 ALREADY! She wears a size 9, ALREADY!

IT IS VERY HARD TO FIND CLOTHES with winnie the pooh, blues clues, etc. (I know she would not wear, this, but I am only saying...)when you have to shop in the LADIES dept. to find clothes that fit.... http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/eek.gif

Which goes BACK to something is in the food, milk, water!

How else can those pieces of Church's chicken be SO BIG? HAVE YOU EVA SEEN A CHICKEN DAT BIG BEFORE? THINK ABOUT IT....THEY ARE PUTTIN SOMETHIN in the food...

Also, our great-grandparents (some of us, cause some Great G-parents are 50 years old http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/eek.gif LOL) didn't have conditions like diabetes, heart disease and all these ailments, cause they didn't eat all of those processed foods, foods bought in the stores. They ate the food THEY grew.

Think about that too!

I feel what you're saying Regulator because my baby has already out grown all the children's shoes!I had to travel far and wide(out of town mind you)to find a shoe for Easter in her size without a large chunky heel!

Clothes in her size have to be taken down a peg or two too though.
I've noticed the growing trend of midrif tops, booty cheek shorts, and halters in the KIDS section! http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/eek.gif

I avoid all that by simply saying that all that isn't ladylike for a young girl and she rolls with it. She still gets to give her input by choosing the loudest colors imaginable, but I know that realisticly, this will definatly become an issue. http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/frown.gif

I've noticed who KFC and Churches always boast about their BIGGER BETTER pieces of bird.....We all knew it wasn't natural, but me being honest .....I've fed some of that garbage to my child too.

I decided to stop the fast food (eventhough she rarely got it anyway)and was cooking up a storm with my store bought groceries that turned out to be just as bad! http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/confused.gif

Nothing's safe anymore unless I break out my soil and seeds to grow my own.



[This message has been edited by exquizit (edited May 02, 2001).]

Also AKA2D, our grandparents were out there WORKING for that food, while kids today only know how to work their fingers to change channels on the remote or to navigate their PlayStation or Sega or whatever is popular now! We still want to get those hearty breakfast meals with grits w/butter, sausage, eggs, biscuits, etc that they needed to sustain them for the entire day when we ain't doing a lick of work!

Gurl, why are children in my sons' classes (my boys are 4 and 6) eating these Lunchables on the regular? The parents might as well send a salt shaker for lunch. Horrible!

I also feel you on the hormones in the food. These children with adult bodies are being deprived of their childhood.


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MCCOYRED
Mu Psi '86
BaltCo Alumnae

Dynamic...Salient...Temperate...Since 1913

YES....I noticed the sodium content also. They are also LOADED with fat.

I, too, am 25 years old. I sub at local high schools and I'm CONSTANTLY getting asked for a hall pass...they don't know me all that well since I don't sub very much. It's a TRIP!

A lot of the early development can also be attributed to overall better health, but I agree that there is something in the water.. :(

A friend of mine caught a statutory rape charge for a 15 year old girl who said she was 20. It's really sad!

LOL. Just a note that this thread started in 2001. LOL That was 2 years ago. ;)

:D

I know :) But, I thought it was funny that other people have the same problem.

It's all of the dayum McDonalds, Wendy's and other mass produced foods with all kinds of chemicals in them... geesh! I equate it to the same concept as chickens and cattle being "fattened" with new imporved "grains" and "feeds." Same way they are pumping the animals up, our children are being pumped up.

Parents should feed their kids real home cooked meals, not send them to Mickey D's for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Then kids would look like kids and not grown adults.

*as I stroll out of the room, chewing on a MacDonald's french fry*

Actually, I doubt this has much to do with hormones. We didn't eat fast food in my household when I was young, nor was I allowed to drink soda, and I experienced a lot of the things described here. It's called "precocious puberty" and there are drugs that can be used to stop it should it become too large of a problem.

Good point. I remember reading an article a while ago that was discussing the "increase" in early puberty. The scientists attributed the lowering age of menarche to the increasing health of girls.

I've read a few articles on it too, and I've concluded my mom just made me drink too much milk. :p