“I just wanted to pretend it wasn’t happening to me,” she told the U.K.’s Daily Mail newspaper. “Then, one evening when I was in the bath, Mum popped in and I remember her asking me how long I’d had hair like that.”
Fortunately, Tara’s mother reacted calmly and took her for medical evaluation. It was discovered that Tara had a condition known as early-onset puberty.
Puberty is the time of life when children's bodies begin the changes that indicate they are maturing into adults. They start rapidly growing bones and muscles, change in size and body shape, and develop the ability to reproduce.
Normally, girls usually experience puberty starting around age 11. In boys, development begins at approximately age 12.
But some children begin developing early signs of puberty as early as ages 6 to 7. These instances are classified as early-onset puberty (sometimes called precocious puberty).
Normal Vs. Early-Onset Puberty
Full early-onset puberty usually happens at approximately age 8 in girls and before age 9 in boys. Signs include breast growth and the initial menarche in girls. Boys grow facial hair, develop a deepening voice, and the testicles and penis become larger. In both sexes, pubic or underarm hair grows, they develop acne, and adult body odor is present.