Puberty can be a tumultuous time for adolescents. It can be a puzzling experience for kids as they navigate their bodily changes due to hormones. Parents can anticipate emotional outbursts or unusual behavior because their kids are going through puberty.
But some children experience puberty much earlier than when they become a tween.
A little boy in India, who is two-years-old, is experiencing a rare hormonal disorder which has caused the little boy to go through early puberty.
The little boy’s parents noticed there was something wrong with their son at 6 months old. His genitalia was growing rapidly and he was experiencing erections, despite his body remaining small.
The little boy would be aggressive and violent and it wasn’t until the little boy turned one, that a paternal grandma encouraged the parents to take their son to a doctor. When taken to a doctor tests showed the one-year-old had hormones of a 25-year-old man.
The rare disorder where children undergo puberty at a very early age is called precocious puberty. And this is what the little boy was experiencing.
The disorder can mean that boys have large genitalia, body hair and hormonal changes before the age of 9. The disorder can affect girls by causing early menstruation, breast growth and body changes before the age of 8. Girls are 10 times more likely to experience precocious puberty.
The disorder is very rare and only occurs one in every 5000 children.
The case with the little boy has attracted world-wide attention, but it’s not the only case that has sparked medical interest. Girls young as five have given birth because of the disorder. While we may shake our head at the incredibility of the consequences of the disorder, imagine the trauma these children go through as they navigate these new body changes. Most tweens find it hard to understand or put into words what they’re feeling when they go through puberty at the normal age, so imagine how young children feel when the experience it.
The two-year-old Indian boy will most likely experience trauma of his own and will work through his feelings of wanting to be violent, due to the raging hormones. There is also a real chance that his growth may remain stunted through all stages of his development, as commented by his doctor.
Medication can be given to delay further development.
The biggest question around precocious puberty, is why it occurs? No reasons have been found at this stage, although some believe the environment may be the cause of the early onset of puberty. But generally, worldwide, the normal age for puberty occurs between the ages of 10 and 14 for girls and 12 to 16 for boys. It usually takes two years to complete.
If your child develops symptoms of precocious puberty, take them to a doctor. Most importantly children that do go through early onset puberty shouldn’t be laughed or ridiculed about their body changes.
For more information about this condition, head here.
