Is it normal to have periods at 10 years old?

The sign of every woman's maturity is menstruation. Nowadays, girls in big cities start menstruating earlier than girls in rural areas. Nowadays, girls generally start menstruating between the ages of 10 and 16. It may seem a little early to you, but it is a normal physiological phenomenon. It is important to develop good eating and working habits in daily life, and also pay attention to personal hygiene.

It’s a bit early, but it’s normal. Keep a good attitude and learn some hygiene knowledge. Here is some information for your reference!

The age of menarche in girls generally fluctuates between 10 and 16 years old, with most cases occurring between 13 and 14 years old. But some girls begin sexual development very early, and their first menstruation occurs at the age of 9 to 10. According to a large number of surveys we conducted in Chengdu, this type of girls accounts for about 1%. When faced with such situations, most parents feel surprised, fearing that their children are not developing normally or have some disease; the children themselves are also prone to panic and do not understand the physiological phenomena occurring at such a young age. At this moment, the care and correct guidance of parents and teachers will help eliminate the girl's emotional tension.

This apparent early onset of menarche is due to individual differences in children's development and has inherent characteristics when observed as a whole. Generally, girls who start menstruation early will enter puberty earlier. While other people experience a sudden growth in height at the age of 11 to 12, these girls grow greatly in height at the age of 8 or 9 (7 to 8 cm per year) and weigh nearly 40 kg. Normal girls begin to develop breasts around the age of 11, but this type of girls begin to develop breasts at the age of 9 to 10.

Another important feature is that the bone age of girls who have their first menstruation at the age of 9 to 10 years old is significantly older than their calendar age. For example, some girls started menstruating at the age of 9.5, and their bone age was already 13.3 years old at that time. We conducted detailed physical examinations on more than 60 girls who had their first menstruation before the age of 11. The results showed that the bone age of their wrist bones was over 12 years old, and the average bone age was 2.66 years higher than the calendar age. This is because bone development and sex development are both regulated by endocrine hormones, and the two are closely related. Bone age can be determined by taking an X-ray of the wrist bones.

In addition, the psychological development of most girls with physiologically early menarche is also synchronized with this. Their self-control, ability to adapt to the external environment, and ability to regulate emotions are better than those of their peers.