Puberty - 8 year old girl

trolleyrun

Open talks and open doors is the way forward. By open doors I mean that your DD can come to you at any time, even the middle of the night. Things I remember from that age is that I knew what was coming and how it all worked. What I wasn't told about though was discharge. I thought I had something really wrong with me and cried for days! Some panty liners can help as well.

About the hair, I was never shown how to shave or given the option to shave. I once cut myself quite badly on my bikini line with a kitchen knife whilst away on a school trip as I was getting bullied for having hairy bits on show and was desperate to get rid of the hair :eek: After that, I borrowed my step-mother's rusty and discarded razors I found lying around. How I didn't get an infection I don't know. I'm still not very good with razors.

So keep talking, be open to answer weird questions with a somewhat straight face. Bodily functions happen to everyone and can't be taken too seriously. Maybe buy some extra knickers in case of spillages as well? I like the idea of the washbag with everything she might need. Perhaps add a mini hot water bottle when she goes away? You can usually get them in a £ shop if some sort.

Good luck for when the hormones kick in properly

Person_one

Lunar_Eclipse wrote: »

Hair removal (under arm) started at 8/9
All very normal.

Such a shame that this is considered 'normal'.

clairev36

My youngest turned 9 a few weeks ago and for the last 4/5 months I've noticed her armpits can smell of body odour.
No other changes as yet. This is new territory for me as my 13 and half year old has yet to start her periods and has never had noticeable BO although she does have the hair and breasts starting.
I brought the kids deodorant, one for each of them but it's a roll on so quite sticky. I would Dove maximum protection (around £5) it's a cream one which is designed to be applied in the evening so we do it after her bath/shower (we also try and supervise this more and make sure she washes under their armpits properly) saves time rushing around!
I did look into early puberty and whether we should go the Gp but this age is considered acceptable for changes to start.

Jacko_amz

Hiya!

8 is quite normal now for girls to start going through puberty, i am a school nurse and teach puberty in year 5/6 in schools.

I have known some mums to make like a hamper for there girls with things like deodorant, pads and all things girly in.

Also if shes struggling to get to grips with puberty and what it all means then i'm sure her school's school nurse would be happy to have a chat with her and answer any questions she has that she may not wish to ask you.

Its fab your so willing to talk and help her as some parents shy away from this sort of thing

Mimi_Arc_en_ciel

So.... On my way back from work I nipped into boots and got her some 'bits'

I've shown her the washbag and explained i got it for her trip (put other stuff in like a fold down hair brush, some bobbles and a face cloth so it wasn't all puberty related!)

DD2 had some new clothes delivered so we sat together and showed DD2 her new stuff, then I showed DD1 her washbag.

I got her a cream cleanser, a body spray and deodorant as well as some wipes (school said they aren't having showers!!!!!)

Anyway we went into the bathroom and I showed her 'my' (now our!) Shelf and showed her the sanitary pads. She said she knew where they were and I told her to ask if needed.

She jumped in the shower and put some snug pjs on then we sat together and smelt her body spray and talked about what they were for, I then asked her again what each was to see if she remembered then she used her stuff.

She seemed to like the body spray, said she was looking forward to 'smelling nice' then asked whether she could come in the bathroom with me in the morning so she didn't forget how to use her stuff then riddled off upstairs to play!

Hopefully I didn't make TOO much of a fuss but that I did enough so she understood but also so that she wasn't embarrassed.

Thanks for all the advice, really appreciate it

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

The other thing is to have a nice chat with her teacher and find out whether they've considered the facilities for changing for PE; it's not nice for girls developing breasts and body hair to have to get changed in front of the rest of the class, as anything will be remarked upon, whether by boys or girls who haven't started puberty yet.

With the DD's, nothing was firm until each respective teacher had been seen by three or more parents, at which point there was enough girls for it to be regarded safe and acceptable to allow them to go and get changed in the toilets instead. Admittedly, this was 6+ years ago, but the issue is still the same.

S_Wales_Saver

DGD aged 7 has been using deodorant for around 18 months. If she didn't no one could live with her. She's very sweaty. Even after a bath she would come back from school smelling like a manual worker with no access to water! She also has a lot of pubic hair and underarm hair.

She uses either a natural crystal deodorant or a deodorant stick, neither of which has aluminium in it.

She is also very moody and tearful on a monthly basis. I agree that girls show signs earlier these days but we have been requesting that she be tested for precocious puberty since she was five and been refused. We have recently demanded to be referred.

I suspect she's the first in her year to show these signs, including her twin sister who shows no signs of puberty at all.

PlymouthMaid

That sounds like a lovely Mum and daughter time handled really well I must admit that I had no idea that girls now could start puberty that young - I was 14! I had better make the most of my grand daughter being little as that stage is going to go so fast.

morocha

My daughter is 8yo. She uses deodorant, just not antiperspirant yet ( japanese brand from Holland and Barret, I think Tesco sells it aswell, it is a salt based deodorant) I am pretty hairy myself so my daughter has hairy legs and arms, and it is starting to get hairy in private parts too. I took her to the doctor 6 months ago because of headaches, the Gp referred her to see a consultant, which said he is seeing more and more 7 years old hitting puberty early.

I used to be super hairy when I was a child and my mother would not let me to remove my hair, which resulted in me buying cheap razors and shaving my legs and many scars. My daughter is very uninterested in getting rid of her body hair so I just let it be. She is young for her age, always has been.

balletshoes

morocha wrote: »

My daughter is 8yo. She uses deodorant, just not antiperspirant yet ( japanese brand from Holland and Barret, I think Tesco sells it aswell, it is a salt based deodorant) I am pretty hairy myself so my daughter has hairy legs and arms, and it is starting to get hairy in private parts too. I took her to the doctor 6 months ago because of headaches, the Gp referred her to see a consultant, which said he is seeing more and more 7 years old hitting puberty early.

I used to be super hairy when I was a child and my mother would not let me to remove my hair, which resulted in me buying cheap razors and shaving my legs and many scars. My daughter is very uninterested in getting rid of her body hair so I just let it be. She is young for her age, always has been.

i agree with this approach - I never mentioned, or put any pressure on, my daughter with regard to hair removal etc, I let her come to me, but I listened to her when she had issues about it on certain parts of her body, and I didn't discount her concerns. I don't have locks on my bathroom door so she knew where/what I shaved etc. As questions come up, answer honestly, and let her know she can always ask. I also had (still do actually) the Usborne book for girls.