Why are there so many PRE teens asking?

Question

"Why haven't I got my period?" I'm like 12!!!

I didn't get mine until I was almost 16! And I thought I had a good reason to want mine since it came so late. But now 6 years later I am not excited to see it every month. What do you think about it?

If you are older (over 18!) does it seem like girls are starting a lot earlier than they used to. A bunch of people I was friends with didn't get there's until they were 14 or 15. Now there are 10 year olds asking when they are getting theirs.

I don't want anyone to answer saying "well i got mine when I was 9." I have heard of that.

I know it is a sign of "womanhood" but I mean if they knew how Unglamorous it is going to be would they be wishing for it?

Answer 1

Yes, 10 year olds are expecting it, 11 year olds are getting their period, or are late.

Hormones in the milk that we drink....... and in other dairy products.

Too bad, losing innocence so young.

Answer 2

Uh yeah I thought periods sucked when I was in grade school and high school but I don't really mind it anymore. It's going to happen anyway so why not just get used to it. I'd rather be able to have children and have a period every month then not be able to have children at all. I got my period when I was 13. It's not harmful for them to be curious especially when you look at all the other questions about periods on the site. It has to make them wonder when they are going to get it. I don't necessarily know if they want it, maybe they just want a good idea of when it could be coming so they can be prepared. I know I always worried about starting mine at school and not knowing what to do. Luckily I didn't, and not everyone's period comes with horrible cramps and bloating. It's just like another normal day but with a tampon for me. I find that sometimes I forget I am on my period. Also I know that for myself, getting my period every month is somewhat of a relief because I know I am not pregnant. I am on birth control and take it religiously but I am still happy to see it every month for a little reassurance.

Answer 3

Thank you! It's like, if only they knew what they were begging for. I mean, what's the big deal about getting your period anyway? That doesn't make you a woman like lots of girls believe.

Answer 4

i dont see why they want it, its a mess and hard to do stuff with it. the only thing its good for is making babies and i wonder if thats why they want it. so they can start having s*x or something. i got mine when i was 10 and like it sucked so much having it in school and stuff so why would they want it.

i never ate mcdonalds or any fast food growing up. it was just fresh stuff from the garden and animals from the farm.

Answer 5

I got mine when I was 12. A bunch of girls are getting them a lot earlier because of the foods they're eating. I don't look forward to it coming at all. I hate it its such an inconvenience. I wish they would stop wanting it its really not fun

Answer 6

Young girls are growing up too fast these days! I mean I'm only 20, but I can't remember ever wanting my period when I was 10!!

Let our kids be kids! What's wrong with that??

Answer 7

they just want it because they want to grow up and fast! but eventually, like all the other females, they immediately realize how inconvenient it is to have to choose between tampon or pad and then to actually wear it and experience how uncomfortable and uneasy you feel wearing it.

to top all that, you also experience PMS and mood swings!  

Answer 8

Yeah they are definitely crazy for even wanting it! life was so much easier and cheaper not getting a period!!! I didn't start getting mine till i was almost 14. and i loved the fact that while my friends all had to sit by the pool i could still go in cuz i wasn't on my period. kids are growing up way to fast nowadays!

Answer 9

The age of menarche (onset of period) has been going down for quite some time. Probably artificial light and estrogenic compounds in food products have played a role in this. Anyway, the point is girls are getting periods sooner than when you were young.

Answer 10

Too Much McDonald's with the hormones in the beef....

that is what my kid's ped. thinks, and I do too.

Answer 11

I started my period when I was only 11 and I've hated it ever since. It's a curse. I think most girls want to start their periods young because it'll make them feel more like women. It's stupid.  

Answer 12

I've seen many things on the news about this....girls as young as 7-8yrs old are beginning to get their periods now!!  I remember being 13 and just getting mine....I didn't want it then and I certainly don't want it now.  I blame the North American lifestyle - eating too much junk and exercising too little (since body fat content has a lot to do with the growing of b*****s and the pituitary gland).

There have also been A LOT of kids on here that know absolutely squat about their bodies and do not want to talk to their parents about it...so they look it up on the internet.  I believe that's fine if they want the information but there is a lot of information out there that is false and so a lot of young people are getting false information that can lead to trouble down the road.

Answer 13

I think kids are know a lot more than they used to about s*x and pregnancy etc.  Im 18, and when my friend got hers (at 11) I felt there was somthing wrong with me and i was worried i might never start! So i think it is worry more than anything

Answer 14

I know exactly what you're talking about I didn't get mine until I was almost 17 and I thought maybe there was something wrong with me but my mom told me there wasn't because she was a late bloomer, too. I don't understand why these little girls are wanting to grow up so fast. I remember in 6th grade there were girl dating and I was still trying to figure out if they had cooties or not. lol. Now, my 10 year old sister is already getting b***s...it's weird.  

Answer 15

I had b*****s and my period at 10 and I didn't even know what it was! I guess with TV, magazines and the internet kids just find out about these sort of things at a younger age.

Let kids be kids - that's what I say.

Answer 16

I can assume PRE teens are on here asking because their best friend got theirs or because a few girls they know have had theirs for a year. Times are changing and kids are maturing way faster due to food induced hormones. I am 17 and I got mine later than all of my friends. I was a lucky one--my sister got hers at 12 and she too was lucky. Most of my friends had theirs by 9 or 10---12 at the latest!!  

They think its not normal to have it because all their friends have it. If you notice not one of them has gone to an adult and talked about.  I find it funny just wait for the rude awakening they are going to get when they finally get it!!  

Answer 17

I think it is because all of the other girls are maturing faster than they are and they have their periods earlier age than the ones asking. When they hear of others having it then they want it. I never liked mine that's for sure and since being on birth control shot for 4 years and don't have a period now I definitely don't miss it. Why would any woman want a curse like that. I didn't want mine when I started at age 10. I never liked it and wanted it. In fact, I wanted to give it away.

Answer 18

Lol!! Probably not! Give them all one month of nasty cramps THEN ask.

I think it's a case of "monkey see, monkey do." One person they know got it, and it was "cool" - that girl was more "mature" and "grown up."  Overall, I think the pre-teens are a bit more obsessed with s*x than we were at that age (I'm in my mid/late 20's).  This generation is used to saying "I want it" and some one will provide it - they can't do that with biology! :)

I'm not sure I buy the whole "hormones in the food" argument.  My mother (now in her 50's) and grandmother (she's over 80) started young (10, same as me).  On the other hand, both my aunts were 16. I think it really just depends on your body, ya know?

PS - interestingly, at 10 me and the one other little girl WITH our periods were pariahs.... we were "weird" and "gross" for having a period that young.... gotta love how stuff changes :p

Answer 19

Yes, girls *are* beginning their menstrual cycles at earlier and earlier ages... and it's a trend that's been ongoing for more than two centuries, mostly due to improvements in nutrition.

"Normal" first periods are now between 8 and 18 years of age, where back in the early 1800s they were in a much narrower (12 to 18) age-range.

If parents bothered to teach their daughters properly about their bodies (especially about their s*x organs), the girls wouldn't be so anxious to begin having periods and they wouldn't be so freaked out when they first get them.