Precocious Puberty
Puberty is when kids develop physically and emotionally into young men and women. Usually, this starts to happen in adolescence - no earlier than about 7 to 8 years of age in girls (the average age is about 10) and 9 years of age for boys (the average age is about 11).

But what if a younger child - for example, a 5-year-old girl - begins showing the signs of puberty? How would it affect her?

Precocious puberty - the onset of signs of puberty before age 7 or 8 in girls and age 9 in boys - can be physically and emotionally difficult for kids and is sometimes the sign of a health problem.