Six Year Old and Underarm Hair

I would discuss it with the doctor before anything else. I know many people suspect hormones in meat and dairy products but historically, young girls have been hitting puberty earlier and earlier because of better nutrition (average age at one time was more like 16!). Girls that are overweight may have earlier onset of puberty as well. There are so many other factors that it's hard to pinpoint it to just one thing. In my mind, fine blonde underarm hair is less concerning than dark underarm hair.

Not sure about the arm hair. Not normal at that age, so I'd get it checked out.
As far as the meat and milk products, we avoid them when we can. We drink Almond milk, organic yogurt, and sometimes buy organic meat. It's so expensive though! We try to do a lot of meat-free meals. We also avoid soy products.

I can only tell you what I experienced myself, and that is yes, that organic does make a difference.

My dd was 6 when I started noticing her starting to develop at a rapid pace (and my daughter is VERY thin, so this wasn't just excess weight, etc.) We switched to organic milk and meat (we've since switched to raw milk from a local farm and meat from Wallace Farms.) Within maybe 6 months, she had not only STOPPED developing, but gone back to normal.

She started developing "at the right time" at age 11, but still does not have armpit hair, etc.

I would absolutely change your eating habits (we don't eat any meat out at restaurants either unless it is "safe" organic/grass-fed.) Give it 6 months, at least, and see for yourself. It definitely can't hurt (other than the price- ouch!- but rather pay that than pay medical bills later!!! And who can put a price on those unknown things like possibly preventing a hormonally caused cancer down the line... who knows!)

You can certainly talk about this issue with your doctor, but don't be surprised if he/she doesn't have much information to offer. Our experience has been that while we go to a very highly regarded pediatric practice group, the docs there are not open to issues like hormones in food causing problems in our kids. That being said, we have a good friend/neighbor whose daughter started to have serious underarm odor at age 4. Her doctor wanted to start her on deodorant. The mom did some research on her own, and switched to all organic/hormone free meat and dairy. The problem went away in two weeks and never came back. Body weight also has an influence on development -- it takes some body fat to make that estrogen. So, that's something else to keep an eye on. I know that everyone says girls just develop earlier now than a generation or two before, but I don't really like that. The health implications of this trend are not good. First of all, if you get your period when you are nine, when do you enter menopause? Will it be harder to conceive at 28 or 30? Will all that early exposure to hormones lead to higher rates of breast cancer? I'm in favor of posponing these changes for as long as possible. Good luck.

I don't know about the hair I think I would just call the doc or nurse and ask abou if you need to bring her in or not.

It is the hormones in the foods that we eat that help make kids go into puberty earlier. It is also because we have better health and our bodies can do what they need to without having to store up so much stuff first. But, that being said, if you want to do what you can, you can buy things that don't have hormones or that have been genetically modified. This doesn't have to be organic, but organic will ensure that it is free from them. I buy "Natural" after reading the label because organic meats are so expensive and I am opposed to the cruelty in animals that organic brings. But that's another story.
Soy has a lot of estrogen like qualities, so it can get mixed up in the developing body. This was one of the reasons my pediatrician wanted my son on Alimentum (hypoallergenic) formula instead of soy.
I would do some research yourself and see what you can find out for yourself; you'll be able to make your own decisions then. Good luck mama!

Wow. I heard about some kids going pruberty sooner. My husband and I both went through pruberty later. So that most likely my kids will go it later. My oldest ( boy ) almost 13 has not gone pruberty but 2 of his friends started going it before they turned 11 yrs. I have noticed over the past number of months both my two older boys 8 yrs and almost 13 yrs have stinky underarms. I started making my older son wear deodrant. That didnt go over good. My sister in law got her period very early she was 9 yrs. Not sure when she started pruberty. I also heard if kids are heavy the have a more likely chance to go through pruberty.

Per our Pediatrician, any puberty signs/changes that occurs before 8 years old or even 7, he sends the child to a Pediatric Endocrinologist, just to make sure of things.

Or, maybe your daughter just has peach fuzz under her arms.
Or maybe it is, underarm hair growth.

MANY things, can cause precocious puberty. ie: early puberty.
The hormonal & endocrine system is VERY VERY VERY complicated, and for that reason, Pediatric Endocrinologists, are not all that common.
It is a very complex, thing... and CANNOT simply be attributed to milk or meat or foods.
One kid our Pediatrician told us about, was getting precocious puberty. After MUCH exhaustive testing and interviews with the family... it was found, that the Dad's "bald head" hair treatments, was causing it in their child. that product... was altering their child's endocrine system.

It is NOT only foods, that affects the endocrine system.
There are diseases as well, that can affect the endocrine system.

This happened to our friends daughter in kindergarten. They said her pediatrician said he is seeing this more and more due to the growth hormones injected into animals. They had to put her on a medication to stop her from menstrating!! Marla, 'all natural' does not mean anything. The term is not FDA regulated. They can say anything is natural. The only term FDA regulated is Organic. It does make a difference. I have done sooo much research not only with this but other aspects of our food besides protein products. Watch some movies, Food Inc., etc. read some books, get fb updates about our food. Educate yourself on what we are putting into our body. This body is the only thing we have for our life, splurge on it before anything else. Long term it is important.

Our daughter got her first 2 teeth at 3 months old. By 11 months old she had 13 teeth. Our pediatrician and pediatric dentist told us that she would probably menstruate early too. I was shocked to see her first pubic hair at 5 years old and she had to start wearing deodorant at 5 too because she smelled like a woman! She was my first and only child and it was pretty shocking to me but all tests proved there was nothing wrong and the doctor told us this was not unusual and he was seeing this more and more. She got her period at 11 years old and she turned 18 this year and starts college in a few weeks. They grow up soooo fast.

Yes, you need to see the Dr.

I would talk to her DR about it. My DD just turned 12 and only has hair 'down there' and nothing at all at her underarms. Every child is different but I would discuss it just in case.

S.