8 yr old son with pubic hair? Pls Help!

[GSimmons]

I am a 37 year old single parent of 2 boys ages 12 and 8. My concern is with my 8 year old. Austin has always followed delay patterns where walking, talking, potty training, and school is concerned. He is not clinically slow, he just takes his time to learn. He learns a lot from his bigger brother, in example he understood about when he was 6 that big boys bathe themselves. I supervise him from time to time just to make sure he covers most areas and I help with the back.

Last night was one of the nights I supervised his bathing. When he was drying, I noticed that he had a few pubic hairs just beside his penn!s. I was shocked beyond words as his 12 year old brother has not shown any signs of puberty. I guess what I am trying to say is, I did not know what to think. He has small hairs under his armpits too. I got on the internet and saw most boys may show signs of scrotum enlargements at 9, but not even pubic hair at 9.

I called my best friend who suggested that since Austin's father had all over body hair, this may be the reason that Austin is showing early signs. I started questioning my self as to whether its because I started Austin on deodorant (the kind I use - Secret, Suave or Dove) when I noticed about 2 years ago that he sweat a lot.

My question is:

Are there any cases out there of 8 year old boys developing this early and is it normal?
Do deodorants enhance testosterone levels?
Should I stop him from using Antiperspirant deodorants? OR what should I use.
Should we see the pediatrician?

Concerned and Worried Mom

[maggiesmom]

My pediatrician has told me about early puberty in children. She said that she has seen pubic hair in toddlers (!!!) due to the hormones in milk. My son drinks a lot of milk & she's been recommending that we switch to organic. When I was discussing this with my neighbor, she told me that she had noticed body odor on her daughter when she was only 7. At that time, she switched to hormone-free milk and has not had a problem with it since then.

I would talk to your pediatrician about it and see if the hormones in food could be causing this & if your pediatrician has seen the same thing in other children.

[iswhaticrave]

Have heard the same thing about the milk...but certainly talk to your doctor!

[sgsg]

Did you go talk to the pediatrician about the odor and body hair problem? And if you did then what did he say, because my daughter is having a same problem

[Cynister]

You said your son is sweaty, does that include b.o.? I would stay away from putting deodorent on him since on the back of deodorents "ask doctor before use if you have Kidney disease". A warning like that causes me alarm, I wouldn't use it on my kid.

I have heard about that milk thing though. I would definitely ask my doc if I were you.

Then again, my sister got her period when she was 7, my mom at 8 & myself at 9.
I know being overweight was a contributing factor for them but I was skinny. So maybe he's just maturing faster then his brother.

Sidenote: my friends baby was born with a unibrow, just like her hairy daddy.

[autymsmommy]

My 6 year old is developing breasts, and she's pretty skinny. Puberty just seems to be happening earlier these days. According to my doctor, it's pretty normal.

[StarbucksMama]

I have heard of kids developing sooner and sooner also- with the hormones in milk and meat.

Just the other day there was the instance of a 10 yr old girl in the news who gave birth to a baby after she was raped by a man. This means that she was at LEAST ovulating at 9 (my daughter is 9!!!!)...

It's nuts...

My almost 8 yr old has a distinct body odor and uses deoderant. It's scarey.

[lou]

Are you kidding me a ten year old giving birth? did she do it vaginally or what? I don't beleive in abortion as a form of birth control or any thing of the sort but in instances of rape (when proven beyond a doubt) or incest you bet I do. Who let a ten year old have that baby? I'm just astounded by this. She isn't even physically ready for child birth, is she okay?

[tiffanyreedy06]

My 3 year old daughter got pubic hair and i asked the doc. and he said it was nothing she was just a little girl well i didnt believe it so i asked another doc. and he was upset and sent us for an ultra sound and that is when they found a tumor the size of a grape fruit on my daughters adrenal gland. Yes it was Cancer! So to everyone saying it is nothing there is nothing wrong with being extra sure!! Adrenal Carcinoma is not normal in the U.S. but my daughter has it and that is how we found out from the early puberty! and yes it can happen in boys! I am only 21 so listen if you want but dont ignore it!!!!

[black_swan]

Puberty at 6-8 is not normal. It seems the food we eat and we give to our children is full of "stuff" designed to increase shelf life and production and revenue for companies. Nobody seems to give a second thought to effects.