Comments on: RACE FOR PUBERTY - The irreversible phenomenon

By: shubham

shubham — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 07:53:10 +0000

Thanks Clech… and Milk is a primary source of nutrition…

By: chelch

chelch — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 14:25:01 +0000

I’m a little late in joining the conversation, but I’d like to point out that a physiological change like puberty is unlikely to be influenced by parent’s expectations.

The biggest cause of earlier puberty may just be improved nutrition (because people need to have a minimum % of body fat to be able to menstruate). A child growing up in today’s cities is simply more likely to eat 3 meals a day, and eat nutritionally dense food. Compare that to their grandparents who were more likely to be undernourished.

Some studies have also indicated that an early puberty in girls could be linked to chemicals in the environment. BPA (Bisphenol A) in plastics mimics estrogens, and estrogen drives puberty. Also, if cows are injected with hormones to increase milk production, these hormones could get passed on to humans.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puberty#Variations)

By: sarah

sarah — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 20:42:48 +0000

dear shubham, education is the answer here in zambia, but not solely children’s education, we must educate all… men and women of all ages. but at the same time we must not be patronizing, we also have a lot to learn from the strength and endurance that can be witnessed in the people around us. when we speak of education we must also remember that it is not just ‘book learning’ that we must teach our children, it is ‘life skills’ and values - and these can not be found in books.

By: shubham

shubham — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 18:09:13 +0000

Thanks Sarah…your response infact throws so much light on what happens in another part of the world that is far behind the developing nations. Indians take a note of the developed nations (and so do the other developing nations) but a nation hardly looks back at other nations trailing behind (that’s how life should be, ain’t it?). However in midst of questions lies indicators to what might be a social dilemma, like the unanswerable dilemma that you have hit. Who is to find the balance? A few days back I questioned Dr. Robert Epstein (drrobertepstein.com) if he thought there existed any education system in the world that he would classify as MODEL…and sadly he confirmed that there are none. Then I am forced to think that MODEL has so much of a local connotation attached. A two year old kid mauled sexually…a virgin cures AIDS…that’s their definition of education. We come back to the primordial question…how do we bring people in Zambia to realize that they are ALIVE?

By: sarah

sarah — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 10:44:45 +0000

I believe that the reason for earlier physical devlopment here in rural africa is a direct result of both ‘hardship’ and ‘life expectancy’.

The average life expectancy of a rural woman here is 42 (and a rural man 40), so there is a ‘need’ to procreate earlier (especially as the average rural village woman here has to ‘fit in’ approx 6 children).

It is also out of necessity that there is seemingly no childhood for the average village child - life is hard out there in the village - no education, poor diets, limited health system, hard manual labour - there simply is no time for ‘fun’ with mouths to feed and so much work to be done. It is not uncommon for me to see an 8 year old girl, with a 2 year old strapped to her back, walking 2km to the nearest water point with a 25lt plastic container on her head; and you know when she has finished task, she will be sent to the field to hand weed an acre of crops! (I hasten to add it is the girls who shoulder the bulk of the manual labour here, it is far more common to see the boys and men sitting under a mango tree drinking!)

Re your comment on the mother trying to prevent the impending maturity of her daughter - I don’t blame her! sexual abuse is rife here. Unfortunately in a country with such a high HIV/AIDS problem there is a phalacy that sex with a virgin will cure a man of HIV, and so as to be sure that his ‘victim’ is a virgin, some men are going for younger and younger targets - I recently treated a two year old girl with gonorreah as a result of sexual abuse by her paternal uncle.

I can see no immediate and sustainable way to give these girls (and boys)an ‘easier life’, perhaps education is the answer? but from what you are saying in India education can perhaps be pushed to hard on a child… where I think education could give african children a childhood; perhaps ‘too much to soon’ on the education front in India could be denying those children their childhood - an unanswerable dilema?? - a balance must be found!

By: shubham

shubham — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 09:46:40 +0000

I remember seeing an episode on NatGeo, somewhere in Africa. The mother of a ten year old girl-child administered hot iron to her breasts every day so they are contained from growing and beats puberty. The motive: keeping the girl safe from any sexual assault from the boys in the community. If puberty is so undesirable then what could be reasons for such an early puberty? Our biological clocks don’t change their gong timings without reason. Since you are around Zambia, can you think of a reason how it fits in their life (as in the village life?). Would you call such a community too primitive? What could the purpose be?
You also say that the black girls grow up much faster than their white counterparts…why are they required to grow up so fast? Why do they need to be carrying a small kid on their backs when they should actually be playing? What makes them play the role of an early mother and play it well indeed?
I. Brute life -> II. Evolved Awareness of Existence –> III. Urge for a quick climb up the social ladder
It might take more than a few generations to slow down…however , an ‘easier’ life is a must to ‘RESET’ ourselves. There you have answered it again. An ‘easier’ life is the key. The target could be, how do I have an easier life? Though the irony is that everybody (in III) is striving for the same WORD, with different definition for ‘ease’. In II, the definitions are not that misleading, III makes the interpretations wantonly chimerical. How do we agree?

By: Sarah Kingdom

Sarah Kingdom — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 09:24:14 +0000

whilst i agree with your theory i wonder if cause and effect can happen so fast… would it not take generations? i do believe you have a point about the ‘missing out on childhood’, here in zambia i see it from a different angle (almost in reverse) the black girls (and boys for that matter) here develop physically (breasts, periods etc) much earlier than the white girls and i believe this has something to do with their background… the girls in the rural villages really have no childhood, they work in the fields as soon as they are big enough to hold a hoe, they have baby siblings to look after from an early age (Usually tied on their backs from age 5) and they usually are physically developed and having periods from the age of 11 or 12, sexually active from 13 or 14, married from 15 or16 and their own kids shortly afterwards. whereas the white kids have come from a background of more leisure and the girls usually only start to develop about 14 or15, so what i am seeing here is kind of what you are saying but in reverse. as the africans have left the villages and started leading ‘easier’ lives they start developing later. the black girls i see at school develop later than their counter parts in the village, but still earlier than the white girls who have had the ‘easier’ life for generations. what i am saying in a nutshell is that i agree with your theory but think it may take more time than a generation??

By: Mamta

Mamta — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 04:11:18 +0000

I totally agree on the conclusion!
I guess the so called modern parents today,must realize how important it is to educate their children about sex,so that the kids do not get into doing things at the younger age. Right things at the right age!
Also,having grand parents around is such a wonderful experience. You feel much more secured with them being around even if your parents are busy with other work.This is something,which I have experienced and since I was very close to my grand parents I know how important it is to have them around.