Puberty in Girls

Many moms have asked us to provide some help on this topic (surprisingly, as we thought most parents in Malaysia would be pretty well versed on the topic)

Actually, puberty in girls is a rather complicated topic. We've tried to summarise the usual changes that occur in a female teenager's body. There are 5 stages (known as the Tanner stages) of of a female body.

Stage 1

No physical changes are evident.

Stage 2

Development of breast buds (ie: thelarche). This occurs between ages 7 to 13 years of age. Breast budding may begin on one side first and is often accompanied by tenderness, which usually disappers in a few months. At this stage, your girl would alos start to develop public hair.

Stage 3

The amount of pubic hair increases to an almost adult amount. This usually happens just before the menses begins. At this stage, the growth spurt usually begins.

Stage 4

Menses begins between 2 to 2.5 yeras after the onset of breast development. This means that the menstrual cycle can be expected to begin between 9 to 15 years of age. For the first 1 or 2 years, it is common for the cycle to be irregular.

Stage 5

During this stage, the growth spurt would have probably ended. Most girls stop having bone growth between 1.5 to 2 years after menses begins. At this stage, a girl's body would very closely resemble a fully grown adult's.

For more information on puberty, checkout our article on puberty in the Malaysiamums Parenting Encyclopedia.