27
Jan
2009
I am girl, almost twelve, and don’t have hair in two places that I think I should have. I’m also short. Am I going to be slow in puberty, or is it normal? Most of my friends talk about puberty, and I’m always left out.
Although the age at which one’s body begins to mature varies from one person to another, the order in which these events occur is fairly set. Often if a girl seems to be maturing a bit later than average, it will turn out that her mother and other female relatives also tended to be “late,” since these trends seem to run in families. The same is true for boys and their male relatives.
At almost twelve, you still have plenty of time for your body to begin to mature. In most cases (96 to 98 percent), the events of a girl’s puberty occur in the following order and age ranges:
- For the very first hint of breast development, the average age is about 11 or 11 1/2, but the normal range is from about 9 to more than 13.
- For the beginning of the growth of pubic and underarm hair, the average is about 11 1/2, but again the normal range is from about 9 to nearly 14.
- The beginning of menstruation or “periods” occurs later than the other two stages. Men-struation begins at about age 12 years 4 months, but an the normal age range is very wide, from 9 to 17. The vast majority, though, are between 11 and 15. The height no “growth spurt” occurs sometime during these events, often just months prior to the onset of menstruation.
Tags: Adolescence, general development, growth spurt, physical change, puberty, teen body, teenager body
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