When I was 11, the closest I got to “loving” a boy was swooning over “Candy Girl” singers, New Edition. Needless to say, times have changed since then…or so one study leads us to believe.
Kids (girls specifically) are growing up more quickly and their bodies are maturing way before their brains. In one recent study, and as we discussed here, the average age at which puberty begins for girls is still on the decline, beginning around seven or eight. One of the biggest repercussions of hitting puberty this early is not only the physical toll it takes on our girls, but the social and emotional consequences they will go through as well.
When I saw a U.K. study that said there is a “huge rise” in the number of 11- and 12-year-old girls prescribed the birth control pill, I thought, oh no, now there are so many pre-teens having sex that their parents and doctors are putting them on the pill?!
But a deeper look at the study shows that it is based on figures from the General Practice Research Database (GPRD), which indicates that 1000 girls age 11-12 annually are prescribed hormonal contraceptives (usually the pill or injection).
