Is my GD too young at 9 to start her periods?

Katie59 saying it's puppy fat is the biggest lie my parents ever told me. There is no such thing as puppy fat. Because I believed them and being made to think it would magically disappear as I got older I was a fat child and teenager who turned into a morbidly obese adult. Who lost weight time and time again . Gave up and put on again. Finally 5 years ago being seriously ill with jaundice and having no one dependent on me anymore finally decided to get rid of the fat once and for all. I was a size 32 and well over 19st. I am only 5' 2". I am now a 16 and 12st 3.5 lb I want to get to 11st.

If there are any fat children or teenagers in your families please for their sakes encourage and help them lose the weight now. I was bullied terribly at school . I was fat ,short ,shy and clever. An easy target for the bullies.

I am 63 now how I wish I could have told my 10 year old self what was in store for me if I didn't stop stuffing my face .

When I was at school several girls started their periods between 9-12. I was 11 when I started mine.

My daughter had her first period age 8, it hit me very hard she didn’t understand at all.
Her head teacher was so good with her, she also started he4 at 8 years old,,

Shandy57

I was an overweight child and had a miserable time, NH glasses as well. I remember the teacher lending me some long john style knickers to wear on sports day to stop chub rub!

I hope your DGD can go dancing or swimming regularly and lose her weight.

Ditto - every time I see a fat kid I feel like glaring at the parent. Do they not understand the cruelty that is meted out in the school social mix to fat kids? How that affects you for life? Well fat is not where it's at - ever.

My daughter is coming up for 40 she stated her periods when she was 8 she had good support at school as her headteacher also started at 8.. it was very hard because she didn’t understand what was happening to her..
She is only 5ft tall now and never been overweight..

Thanks to all who have commented on this thread and contributed lots of interesting information and advice. It has all given me a lot to think about and particularly as to how I might approach the family about the issue. Because, I have realised, it may be a whole family thing. Food issues have played a huge part in their family life because the eldest DGS has had lots of allergies from babyhood and even now has several. The middle child, DGS, can eat everything apart from nuts. My DIL developed diabetes during pregnancy and now is actually a diabetic. She tried to control it for several years by eating carefully but has now had to start injections. My DS has always had problems with his bowels and is now following (on the advice of a dietician) a special diet (which is actually very restrictive). The DGD who is under discussion was breastfed until she was 3 (obviously only to settle her at night or when she was poorly) and then Mum stopped. I think DGD has never quite forgiven her for this and I have a feeling that part of the problem is that she used fussy eating as an attention seeking ploy but has probably now just has adopted it as a behaviour pattern. This does all sound very complicated and I think sorting this out may not be easy.

Some girls were starting their periods at 9 when DD was in primary school - and that was in the early 1980s.

My daughter was overweight, but did not start her periods until she was 13. Much the same age as I did, and I was a really skinny little runt at that age.

Some of my DD's friends were nine, GDs were eleven, my DD was twelve but I was sixteen so they didn't take after me.

I would support the weight theory. My daughter was tiny and didn't start her periods until she was 15.

The only way to get her to eat healthily is for the whole family to eat healthily and there not to be all the foods in the house that lead to an unhealthy diet. She may refuse to eat somethings for awhile, but she will eat when she is hungry.

Good food and plenty of exercise for everyone, so she sees she is not being singled out and what is good for her is good for all of you.

She is not too young to start her period but she is certainly too young to have weight issues. What a shame it has been allowed to get to this.

A niece of mine started at 9. She was slightly overweight but not too bad.

Doctor just said it happens and that was that

She did adapt very quickly and didn't have any upset.

There's not really a lot you can do. As has been said at 9 someone is buying the unhealthy foods and enabling the ensuing weight issues. It's quite possible that she could be starting her periods. I suspect that she's very unhappy. All you can do is support what ever efforts are made to encourage a healthier lifestyle.

One of my twin daughters started her periods whilst at Primary School and yet her identical twin sister was 13 before she started hers. Both were slender.

BlueBelle

Katie59 I don’t agree at all, the opening post says this 9 year old eats loads of chocolate, biscuits and crisps and she is very overweight this is not the elusive puppy fat you refer to She is indulged in, eats all the wrong things and is very difficult and your advice is she will be fine ??‍♂️

That’s funny I did say ”as long as she does not get sugary Junk food”

Katie59 I don’t agree at all, the opening post says this 9 year old eats loads of chocolate, biscuits and crisps and she is very overweight this is not the elusive puppy fat you refer to She is indulged in, eats all the wrong things and is very difficult and your advice is she will be fine ??‍♂️

Puppy fat is normal in young girls and they usually loose it in their early teens - as long as they don’t get a lot of sugary junk food. Keep her active, sports if possible, these days girls sports include Football and Rugby where a “well built” girl will do well.
Don’t refer to her as fat, steer her in the activity direction, she will be fine.

Lait sorry

What cafe au pait said

Sorry. Apologies. Wrong name!
That was to the OP - singingnutty. My head is stuffed with cotton wool right now.

As you tell us ‘lots of people’ in your family are overweight Granny666 she possibly feels this is quite normal ‘to be big’.

I was an overweight child and had a miserable time, NH glasses as well. I remember the teacher lending me some long john style knickers to wear on sports day to stop chub rub!

I hope your DGD can go dancing or swimming regularly and lose her weight.

Your GD may be hormonal, or have mental health issues, may be on the spectrum, or she could just need a bit of parenting before this gets out of control. I assume that at 9 she is not doing the household shopping or cooking so someone else is buying all the addictive crap she is eating, someone else is pandering to her fussy diet. I do get exasperated when people look for a medical reason for what is caused by bad diet. If your GD is about to start her periods at 9, it is even more important that she has a better diet.

There is nothing unusual in girls starting their periods at 9.

If she is going to start soon, there will be other signs her mother will have noticed: breasts beginning to develop, body hair.

Whether or not these signs are present, now would be a very good time for her mother to make quite sure the girl knows about periods, and the other changes that will occur in her body soon.

A lot of today's mothers think girls learn all about it at school - some schools do cover the subject carefully, but in my experience as a teacher there are still eleven year old girls who haven't understood, or haven't been told anything.

Have a quiet word with DD or DIL - I can't see from your post which it is, and make sure she has discussed sex, periods, where babies come from and what boys get up to with her daughter.

Encourage the child's mother to tackle the issue of weight and diet.

A nine year old girl will be teased at school for being what her school-mates will have no hesitiation in calling "fat"

I was 12 when I had my first period and my daughters were around the same age. They both knew and understood what to expect and I would have been concerned had it happened sooner, when they were in junior school. I do think younger girls might not understand.
The OP DGD doesn't have a healthy relationship with food by the looks of things and I'm sorry, but that's the parents fault. Do they not understand that the excess weight this child is carrying will have a severe detrimental affect on her health in general. Her major organs and joints will all suffer in the long run and she is in danger of developing Diabetes.

Yes periods can start at age 9 , so don't think it's that unusual. Your GD may not be stroppy over food just because her parents indulge her unhealthy diet - although I wouldn't dismiss that. There may be other issues - ADHD or autism. So many children are diognosed with these or similar conditions. It's always been there , but is now recognized - thank goodness! If your daughter does have a condition , then she will not respond to parental rules as other children do. This makes family life extremely difficult and parents are living in extreme stress. On the other hand it may be that your GD is simply anxious about her weight but will not have the maturity to assess the situation and act appropriately. If this is the situation then action from parents is essential. In either case parents need help to support their daughter, try and talk to Mum / Dad without being judgmental. I can 'see' you are very concerned and want to help in any way you can . It is very difficult sometimes to talk to adult children about their children - they are naturally defensive! Encouraging the parents to seek professional help . A visit / call to the GP is obviously a good first step. I wish you all good luck .