YNHH directory assist. Yes, according to evidence reported in two related articles in the journal Pediatrics .
Breast development is the most reliable milestone used to mark the beginning of puberty.
Research is showing that Caucasian girls are developing breasts and pubic hair about a year earlier than previously thought, with African-American girls developing two years earlier. It also raises social issues, from deciding to begin sex education earlier in public schools to dealing with anxious parents concerned about their daughter's appearance. In 1997, Marcia Herman-Giddens and her colleagues noted in the April issue of Pediatrics that girls across the United States were developing breasts and pubic hair at younger ages than previously reported. By seven, the numbers jumped to 27.2 percent for African-American girls and 6.7 percent for Caucasian girls. Herman-Giddens and her colleagues concluded that practitioners might need to lower the age now considered normal for development, paying attention to racial differences.