8 year old dd has hairy armpits.

[Dolliebobs]

I’m worried my daughter is going to be going through puberty young.

she has been struggling with bo for the last year or so and has now got a considerable amount of underarm hair. She has also developed in other ways.

shes 9 in July. She is the tallest in her class so I don’t know if this makes a difference?

is it normal?!

Have a look on the NHS website but puberty starting from 8 years old is considered to be within the range of normal. Sounds like she started before she was 8 but now she is 8 I don’t think they would do anything anyway.

It seems so young :(

This was my DD. She started her periods at 8 and had some hair in her armpits. I was told it was within normal range and didn’t count as precocious puberty. However at the time she was the only child in primary that this happened to and they had to make some adjustments. I regret not talking to her about periods sooner. She was terrified when it happened. My advice is address this asap. Be prepared. I made up a little zip bag with pads, wipes, nappy sacks and a couple of pairs of spare pants so she was never caught short. Really difficult at such a young age but really not unusual. I started mine at nearly 14 so I was expecting similar for her. Prep is key.

Mine was like this but didn’t actually start her periods till 11 x

If she hasn't got breast buds yet then this is adrenarche not true puberty. It's different hormones from the ones that cause breast development and periods. Periods tend to start 2-3 years after breast buds first develop so if she hasn't got those yet she should hopefully make it to secondary school before periods.

Eight is on the youngest end of normal for puberty in girls but it does seem very young doesn't it. I didn't start my periods until I was almost 16 so was taken completely by surprise by breast buds on my daughter aged 9 followed by periods at 11.

On the plus side I do think DD is much more confident through having always been one of the older seeming ones in her school year. Also I think it is easier to deal with the teenage issues when they go through it earlier at an age where you have more control over them. I did feel robbed of part of her childhood though!

@LilyCandelabraMy daughter didn’t have buds at all. Still started her periods at 8.

She does have buds and has for the last 6-8 months. Actually to the point of her having to
wear a “bra”. (A training one). But they are very obvious. :( I was in year 7 when I started and so was my eldest.