Why are girls starting puberty so early and what can parents do to support them? 

The age at which girls first begin to develop breasts is dropping. We ask experts why this is happening and what parents can do to support their children

Early puberty is a reality for many families. Picture: iStock 

She’s lining up her dolls, ready to play her favourite game. This morning you showed her how to use a sanitary pad. Not quite 11, your daughter has just got her first period. You weren’t expecting it so early.

Many girls are hitting puberty earlier than their counterparts of just a few generations ago. The first sign of puberty in girls is breast-budding – or thelarche, to use the medical term – and the age at which it starts has dropped worldwide by almost three months per decade from 1977 to 2013.