Precocious Puberty: The Basics

I wish that there was no reason to write this blog, but there is and it's a big one.

A disturbing phenomenon has been underway.  Maybe you've heard about it through the media. Maybe you know someone who is dealing with it within their own family.

The condition is called "precocious puberty" and it has been on the rise for reasons largely unknown.

There are plenty of Web-sites offering medical information about precocious puberty.  The basic symptom of this condition is when any sign of puberty is detected in girls younger than eight or in boys younger than 9.

So what we are talking about is very young children, mostly girls, who, along with their families, are confronting this reality much sooner than anyone had expected -- and in the majority of cases the cause is unknown.

This is where things get really interesting.

Yes, in the majority of cases the cause is unknown, but there is plenty of research and speculation about what could be behind the rise of precocious puberty.  The purpose of this blog is to go through these hypotheses and studies one by one to evaluate the rigor of their methods and to discuss their findings.