Girls as Young as Six Are Hitting Puberty

I was in Eighth Grade when my period finally started and my self-perceived late development was an endless source of angst. The other girls in my class had breasts and bras -- why didn't I? Girls today have a different problem -- they're starting to develop in elementary school, according to a recent article in The New York Times, and that's causing a whole different kind of angst.

Girls as young as 6 and 7 are showing signs of puberty. A large 2010 study, cited in the article, found that 10 percent of white girls, 23 percent of black girls, 15 percent of Hispanic girls and 2 percent of Asian girls start developing breasts by age 7. The result? Children who look like teens, and parents who worry about that their daughters will a hard time negotiating childhood in womanly bodies.