Precocious Puberty
"All of our friends told us to cherish every moment," Claudia says. "When I started planning her first birthday party, I remember crying and wondering where the time had gone."
Even so, Laila's parents never expected their baby to hit puberty at age 6.
They first noticed something different when Laila was 3, and she began to produce the sort of body odor normally associated with adults. Three years later, she grew pubic hair. By age 7, Laila was developing breasts.
Without medical treatment, doctors warned, Laila could begin menstruating by age 8 - an age when many kids are still trying to master a two-wheeler. Laila's parents, from the Los Angeles area, asked USA TODAY not to publish their last name to protect their daughter's privacy.
Doctors say Laila's story is increasingly familiar at a time when girls are maturing faster than ever and, for reasons doctors don't completely understand, hitting puberty younger than any generation in history.
Comment: Perhaps these "never smokers" are people whose genetic profile means they actually need to smoke in order to supplement their immune systems, but have been scared away from doing so by the anti-smoking propaganda, leaving them exposed to developing cancers?
Smoking does NOT cause lung cancer, in fact it just might protect you from nuclear fallout
Smoking Helps Protect Against Lung Cancer
Let's All Light Up!