normal
Puberty
development
Typical age for the beginning of puberty
Girls
Typically, puberty begins after the age of 8 in girls. By age 8 or 9, roughly 50% of Black or African-American girls and 15% of White girls have signs of breast buds or pubic hair or both. Generally, Black or African-American girls go through the stages of puberty at a younger age than White girls and Hispanic girls.
Boys
Typically, puberty begins after the age of 9 in boys. By age 9, roughly 20% of Black or African-American boys and 4% of White boys have signs of pubic hair. Generally, Black or African-American boys go through the stages of puberty at a slightly younger age than White boys and Hispanic boys.
Common signs of puberty
Learn about puberty in girls and boys by clicking through the common signs below.
Have you noticed any
of these signs?
Watch Karen Klein, MD, pediatric endocrinologist, discuss the
signs of puberty starting in girls and boys.
How normal puberty
development is measured
Stages of puberty
The growth of breasts and pubic hair in girls measures the stages of development in puberty.
The growth of the penis and testes, as well as pubic hair, measures puberty in boys.
Average growth in
height by age
See what the average height is for girls based on age.
See what the average height is for boys based on age.
Check your child
with
the Signs and Stages
of Puberty tool
Use the interactive tool to compare the
signs you see in your child with the stages
of puberty in normal development.
Need help
talking to the
pediatrician?
Create your own discussion guide to ask
the right questions and get as much
information as possible during the visit to
the pediatrician.
Find and
download helpful
resources
Download information sheets and find
links to additional websites with information about CPP.
