8 Yr Old Girls Development

I agree. Might be time for the Care and Keeping of You book, which we also thought was great. My stepdaughter got a copy when she was 9ish and was glued to it for weeks. It's a good ice breaker and talks about a lot of things she might want/need to know.

Hi,
Your girl may be starting her development. She will have spurts
of growth, which occur on the inside, so you may not really see anything on the outside.This is the actual breast tissue doing it's thing, before the fat begins to deposit. You will probably have this issue for a few years, usually one-three before menses starts.The usual sure fire detector there is pubic/under arm hair. I am a firm beliver that if they ask, you should tell. Explain to her using the real words, like breast and tissue..a girl should know EVERYTHING about her body and what it is doing. I had these and the sex talks with my daughter as soon as she started asking questions. I do not sugar coat things.ie having babies hurts..because, it does! =0) One lady gave you an excellent suggestion, and that is the book, the care and keeping of you, by the folks at American Girl. They actually have another, called the period book. They are straight fwd, easy to understand, with
illustrations and info that all women need to know. If you are embarrassed to buy them, go to amazon.com, and purchase there. You can often get a two for less deal. It is time to teach her about her body Mom! Best wishes
W.

My 8 year old is going through the same thing. I started at about age 9 1/2 almost 10. I've heard that the daughter will go through it about a year or so earlier than her mother. My dr also said that it tends to be more tender if it is happening quickly. Also that it IS the very 1st sign of development, periods could still be years away. BTW, she has a friend that started wearing bras age 7, neither girl is chubby AT all. I am not a small person (bust wise) and both my husband's side AND mine run large so I just told her that she is developing and that she'll be changing to look more like me & her aunts as she grows older. I VERY recently started thinking about doing the whole birds & bees thing - I want to tell her before any "friends" do, but looked up on a government website that's being advertised on tv about talking with your kids. It does NOT recomend the actual sex talk at this age but making sure your kids know how to treat others with respect and dignity and that they are to expect the same treatment. Kind of more of the don't allow bad touches talk. Another big thing is to help her to not feel uncomfortable about it, that it is natural and what all of her girlfriends will be experiencing soon enough. Maybe show her some pics of you before & then after so she sees how you came to be the person you are that she loves so much. : ) Good luck! I'm not really "ready" for this myself & I have her sister 1 1/2 years younger. lol.

Ditto with the other responses, and...if she has any siblings, make sure they are careful around her when horseplaying because they do get really tender. I'm also not trying to suppose anything, but if your daughter is a overweight, Dr. Oz said the hormones in fat cell make more estrogen in the system causing early development. Dunno if that's even an issue. Just thought it was interesting.

I agree with the first responder. The same thing happened to me. I did not get my first period, though, for another two years. Just explain it to her, along with the rest of the birds and bees.

There is a book by American Girl called, "The Care and Keeping of You." you can find it in Target for about $8. It is done like in cartoon style but goes over everything such as (and it includes pictures) pubic area and breast change. How to keep your hair, nails and body clean, feelings, what to expect when you come on your cycle and everything. I have told alot of friends about it and they have all purchased the book. I have three girls and my oldest is 12 and I had her read the book and then come to me with any questions and it really helped her when she started to develope and come on her cycle. Hope this helps.

Well tell her the truth. This is the age where she starts growing up and her breasts will start to grow. What more is there to say. As my mom taught us answer the kids questions but no more they will ask as they are ready.

C.,
I am going to approach this with a different view point. I don't know what kind of food you feed your child but I know that if you are giving her soy milk it has super high amounts of estrogen and testosterone that cause early development which is not healthy for your child. Also if you are feeding her cows milk and it's not organic then it is also loaded with a ton of unnatural hormones and additives that can also cause her to develop early. Just some food for thought, no pun intended. :) You should just look on the package and see what additives are in the food. Organic foods are the way to go but in this economy it's hard to follow through with all of that. We feed our kids rice milk that has been enriched with vitamins and calcium. We also do organic eggs. Everything else is kind of a toss up. I wish we could do all organic but we can't.

HOpe this helps.

they are sensitive because they are growing and shes going through puberty.