Throughout history, this was always a time when children were free of the burdens and responsibilities of sexuality. Also, many children of single parents are exposed to dating or cohabiting parents. This close view of inappropriate intimacy erodes childhood's innocence. Dr. Marcia Herman-Gidden, a physician and associate professor of public health at the University of North Carolina, last year confirmed that girls are reaching puberty as young as age 8.
Physical causes are easier to determine, although there is no one culprit.
In animal husbandry, it has long been known that weight triggers sexual maturity. Cultural influences also play a part. There's just no time to be a kid anymore. He didn't feel comfortable with the responsibility of a driver's license, and there was no way that I was going to push him into that. They're assaulted through the media, in their schools and from their peers.