Sahana's post
about a 6 year old attaining puberty shocked me and I was intrigued
enough to google the net for more information and this is what I found.
Do have a look at her post.
Wikipedia describes the above syndrome as:
It brings me to ponder about how people approach "attaining age" or puberty with an unscientific attitude. When I was growing up, there were many households that practiced the "staying aloof" during periods. Separate beds, separate plates, not allowed to enter the kitchen or touch the vessels in which the food is cooked, someone would have to serve the girl, the clothes worn would have to be washed by the girl herself, in short, ostracized for the entire 4-5 days in a month. I don't know if such practices are still being followed. (I sure hope these have been abandoned). Imagine a girl attaining puberty at the age of 8 or 9, which is becoming a norm these days, being made to undergo all this. How traumatic it can be for such a child? Such customs make a big deal out this natural phenomenon and worse still treat it as though it is a curse to befall on womankind. I remember my sister and I having to "sit aside" during those times and although we attained menarche at 13 or 14 years, it was still very difficult to accept those restrictions. It was mostly imposed by our grandmother who looked after us. Mother used to work and hence could not really rebel on behalf of us. Also, my mother being a product of those very restrictions, maybe even harsher during her times, was conditioned to accept such things without protest. Of course, it is a different story that after a few years, I turned into a complete rebel and refused to comply with most of the restrictions. The girl undergoing physical and emotional changes has enough on her plate and does not need social stigma and taboos enforced on her. Especially, when these beliefs do not hold much water in our modern age.
Puberty can be confusing, traumatic, embarrassing and depressing at varying degrees depending upon the conditioning at home. Peer-pressure can be at it's peak and pre-teens who are amongst the first ones or the last ones to attain puberty are the most affected. Onset of puberty not only announces the arrival of hormonal upheaval, it also marks the distinct cross-over to man/woman-hood. The twin-challenge of dealing with changes in the physical appearance as well as the emotional roller-coaster ride may cause a lot of distress. Precocious puberty or not, the most important factor here would be the support of the parents at home and the teachers at school. I do not remember being schooled for this eventual physical change. It happened as it did for many others and life went on. I never asked much questions when I was younger and accepted things at face-value. However, children are a lot more curious now and they do not shy away from questioning things. And, thank God for that. Of course, I am dreading the questions regarding the changing body, raging emotions, confusing relationships with peers of the same and opposite sex, when the time comes. But I also understand that it would be best that these need to be addressed with utmost honesty and clarity as it would be appropriate for the age. Because, if not us (the parents or the teachers), the next resort would be the internet or friends which can prove dangerous. The plethora of information on the net can be a boon if there is a support system always available at home and school but can turn dangerous if left unmanned in the hands of an impressionable young.
An open environment at home is so much needed today so that our children can approach us first for any kind of discussion. I do hope in earnest, 'am able to provide it for R.
Wikipedia describes the above syndrome as:
As a medical term, precocious puberty describes puberty occurring at an unusually early age. In most of these children, the process is normal in every respect except the unusually early age, and simply represents a variation of normal development. In a minority of children, the early development is triggered by a disease such as a tumor or injury of the brain. Even in instances where there is no disease, unusually early puberty can have adverse effects on social behavior and psychological development, can reduce adult height potential, and may shift some lifelong health risks. Central precocious puberty can be treated by suppressing the pituitary hormones that induce sex steroid production.When I spoke to Sahana about this article and requested her to share this information with the child's parents, she said she would be happy to do so but hoped that the mother would take it in the right spirit and not say things like, once the periods start they should not be stopped. I was aghast at this possibility and I would not have imagined myself doing that had I been in the mother's position. But of course, the point of my post is not just to draw attention to the existence of such a syndrome which is not to be confused with early puberty and leave it untreated.
It brings me to ponder about how people approach "attaining age" or puberty with an unscientific attitude. When I was growing up, there were many households that practiced the "staying aloof" during periods. Separate beds, separate plates, not allowed to enter the kitchen or touch the vessels in which the food is cooked, someone would have to serve the girl, the clothes worn would have to be washed by the girl herself, in short, ostracized for the entire 4-5 days in a month. I don't know if such practices are still being followed. (I sure hope these have been abandoned). Imagine a girl attaining puberty at the age of 8 or 9, which is becoming a norm these days, being made to undergo all this. How traumatic it can be for such a child? Such customs make a big deal out this natural phenomenon and worse still treat it as though it is a curse to befall on womankind. I remember my sister and I having to "sit aside" during those times and although we attained menarche at 13 or 14 years, it was still very difficult to accept those restrictions. It was mostly imposed by our grandmother who looked after us. Mother used to work and hence could not really rebel on behalf of us. Also, my mother being a product of those very restrictions, maybe even harsher during her times, was conditioned to accept such things without protest. Of course, it is a different story that after a few years, I turned into a complete rebel and refused to comply with most of the restrictions. The girl undergoing physical and emotional changes has enough on her plate and does not need social stigma and taboos enforced on her. Especially, when these beliefs do not hold much water in our modern age.
Puberty can be confusing, traumatic, embarrassing and depressing at varying degrees depending upon the conditioning at home. Peer-pressure can be at it's peak and pre-teens who are amongst the first ones or the last ones to attain puberty are the most affected. Onset of puberty not only announces the arrival of hormonal upheaval, it also marks the distinct cross-over to man/woman-hood. The twin-challenge of dealing with changes in the physical appearance as well as the emotional roller-coaster ride may cause a lot of distress. Precocious puberty or not, the most important factor here would be the support of the parents at home and the teachers at school. I do not remember being schooled for this eventual physical change. It happened as it did for many others and life went on. I never asked much questions when I was younger and accepted things at face-value. However, children are a lot more curious now and they do not shy away from questioning things. And, thank God for that. Of course, I am dreading the questions regarding the changing body, raging emotions, confusing relationships with peers of the same and opposite sex, when the time comes. But I also understand that it would be best that these need to be addressed with utmost honesty and clarity as it would be appropriate for the age. Because, if not us (the parents or the teachers), the next resort would be the internet or friends which can prove dangerous. The plethora of information on the net can be a boon if there is a support system always available at home and school but can turn dangerous if left unmanned in the hands of an impressionable young.
An open environment at home is so much needed today so that our children can approach us first for any kind of discussion. I do hope in earnest, 'am able to provide it for R.
