9.5 year old daughter and puberty

[porolli]

I have just noticed that my dd who is 9.5 has started to develop. She has slightly raised/swollen nipples and a small amount of pubic hair (not noticeable unless you look very closely - saw it when applying cream to eczema on her legs).
I was initially a bit horrified by this evidence of puberty but, having read around it, I see that this is within a normal range. I am concerned, though, as she is very small indeed. She is only 3 stone 4 and about 4'2" tall. I'm worried that if she goes through puberty now she may end up very very short as an adult. Has anyone got any words of reassurance for me?

Oh dear, no one!

Sounds like entirely normal development to me.

Not quite sure what you're worried about - isn't puberty a very gradual process that takes several years from hair/ breasts to periods.

Thanks for replying. I understand that's it's normal development and whilst that upsets me a bit because I don't feel ready for her to be at that stage, that's not the issue. I'm worried about her being very small and whether her having pubertal changes at this stage will mean she stays v small. She is showing no signs of a growth spurt, which I thought would precede or happen at same time as breast changes etc. so I suppose I was hoping that other parents could reassure me that their smaller children aged 9 maybe had been through something similar and their children's adult height was what they expected.

My dd is ten and experiencing the same thing, she is also very small (about the same size as your dd) It's something I'm wondering too. My older dd started her periods at 11 and stopped growing when they started. She was reasonably tall at eleven and now at twenty is a small 5 foot 2 (a small size 6 dress)
Dd 2 shows no signs of a growth spurt and wears age 8 clothes. I was told that periods don't start until a girl weighs 7 stone which is absolute nonsense as dd was only 5 stone and is barely seven stone now and has had regular periods from the start.No advice but wanted to let you know you aren't alone.

It's good to hear, insanity - thanks for posting. The other girls I know starting this process seem to be the tall ones who have already filled out a bit...I was like your elder dd and have not grown height wise since 11/12 and am 5'2"

I think the height/ weight thing is completely random!

Dd has tall flat chested friends and short busty ones. Years 5/6/7 seems to be a time of huge changes, but never what we expect...

Once a period starts, the bones start to fuse together. Not sure how long this process takes but from speaking to friends, it seems there's a rapid growth spurt almost immediately after then growth continues but very very slowly for the next 2 years. My daughter grew 3 inches in the 3 months after starting her periods and at 5'8 and aged 12, I'm hoping she's not going to get much taller even though she's aiming for 6ft. In my daughter's year, the smallest, slightest girl (chinese) started her periods first, in Year 5 and she's now around 5'2 and still going if that's any reassurance.

Porolli
just wandering how your daughter grew at puberty? My DD was also small but started puberty early and it affected her height. I don't think much is understood about early puberty in the small child.

My dd is 9.9 and periods are imminent I think!! She has had bad cramp for a few days. No boobs at all but some hair. She is more than ready for it all she says!!

I'm glad it's worked out. My DD was small with untreated advanced bone age from early puberty, so she stopped growing too young and fell off the bottom of the growth charts just when it was too late to do anything. She had buds first but stopped growing when her periods started. It's all so much more complicated than I imagined!

Dd started her period at 12 (she will be 14 soon) I'm not sure whether she is still growing (she might be growing a fraction of an inch slowly) but she is about 4 foot 11 at present and she is hoping to make it to 5 foot.