When your child begins to show signs of puberty before reaching the age of seven in girls or the age of nine in boys, you should suspect your child is experiencing precocious puberty and have an immediate medical evaluation. Some indicators of beginning puberty are the growth of pubic and underarm hair, a growth spurt, the onset of acne, and an adult body odor. Girls will also begin to develop breast and begin menstruation. In boys, you may notice a deepening of the voice, the growth of facial hair and enlargement of the testicles or penis.

For a child, beginning puberty before peers can be emotionally and socially difficult. Children tend to tease anyone who is different, and a third grade boy with a mustache, or a seven year old girl with breast way before her peers, may be the brunt of many jokes. Some indicators that this may be happening to your child are unexpected poor grades, behavior problems, lack of interest in daily activities, and depression. Girls experiencing puberty can be moody, and boys can become aggressive and develop an inappropriate sex drive for their age.

There are also physical problems associated with precocious puberty. When children enter puberty, they experience rapid growth because puberty causes their skeletons to mature and bone growth to stop. While initially, children with precocious puberty may be taller than expected, they will stop growing sooner than their peers will, and therefore probably won't achieve their adult height potential.

In central precocious puberty, the entire HPG axis begins too soon. Even though they start early, the timing of the steps in the process are normal. For most children with this condition a reason cannot be pin pointed for the HPG axis to begin nor is there a medical problem. An area of the brain that helps operate the pituitary called the hypothalamus normally triggers the onset of puberty. It tells the pituitary to release hormones that will stimulate the ovaries or testes to begin making sex hormones. African-American girls have a higher risk than other children do, for developing precocious puberty, but obesity is also a risk factor. Precocious puberty can be a hereditary disorder in about 1% of girls and 5% of boys. Underlying medical conditions that may be responsible for causing precocious puberty are McCune-Albright syndrome or congenital adrenal hyperplasia a condition that involves abnormal production of the male hormones (androgens). Rarely, precocious puberty may be associated with hypothyroidism or accidental exposure to hormones.

Elevated sex hormones detected in blood and urine can confirm a diagnosis of precocious puberty. Checking bone age by x-raying your child's wrist and hand can also indicate if your child is developing too quickly. If the cause of your child’s precocious puberty is a medical condition such as a tumor in the brain, ovary, or testicle; test like ultrasound studies, imaging and scanning tests such as CT scans, MRIs (magnetic resonance imaging) can help doctors with the diagnosis.

The treatment goal of precocious puberty is to stop or reverse the sexual development, and halt the rapid growth and bone maturation. Doctors will either treat the underlying medical problem or use medication to lower the high levels of sex hormones. Current approved hormone treatment is with drugs called LHRH analogs. Usually within a year of beginning treatment, sexual development will either halt or actually reverse and shrink back to the size expected for their age. Growth rate and behavior will usually also return to age appropriate levels. Psychological counseling may help your child and your family in coping with these changes.

Related Reading:
Delayed Puberty

Pituitary Dwarfism

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