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Then there are those who believe the sexualized messages bombarding kids from all sides could be triggering changes in the brain that are jump-starting development. Drew Pinsky, a physician and co-host of MTV's recently canceled Loveline advice program, is a proponent of this notion. "MTV," he asserts, "is absolutely one of the factors in early puberty." But even though the idea sounds nutty, says Herman-Giddens, "it would not be scientific to dismiss it. If someone cuts a nice juicy grapefruit in front of you, you salivate. Seeing things can affect us physiologically."
Whatever the cause--and it may eventually turn out to be a mix of some of or all these factors--doctors say early development has become too widespread to be treated as a medical aberration. In the past, girls who developed breasts before age 8 were often given hormone therapy to slow things down. But in a report being prepared for the Pediatric Endocrine Society, Kaplowitz and co-author Dr. Sharon Oberfield of Columbia University argue that most girls between 6 and 8 who develop breasts or pubic hair should be reclassified as normal and left untreated. "Three-, four- and five-year-old girls should still be managed aggressively," he says, "but there are far fewer of these."
That doesn't mean that breasts on seven-year-olds can simply be ignored. Mentally and emotionally, these kids are no different from their undeveloped peers. "They're not dyeing their hair purple and talking on the phone all the time," says Dr. Francine Kaufman, head of pediatric endocrinology at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles. "They're still 7."
But they don't look it, which can lead to all sorts of problems. For one thing, it makes these girls very obviously different from their peers--a position that can be deeply embarrassing for early and late developers alike. More ominously, says Susan Millstein, a professor of pediatrics at the University of California, San Francisco, "people think they're older, and the kinds of pressures put on them are more than they can handle." Marissa Carter, Sharon's mother, puts it more bluntly. "Girls who look more mature for their age are like honey," she says. "They attract older boys."
For Chicago friends Angelica Andrews, 13, and Emily Jacobson Ranalli, 12, that kind of attention is such a source of pride that the girls are willing to use their real names. Says Angelica: "The boys tease me. They ask me, 'Have you had plastic surgery?' My friends get kind of jealous." Emily, giggling, says, "I've been mistaken for 17." But even they see a downside to looking a half-decade older than they really are. "Life gets harder and harder when you're developed," admits Angelica. "Boys walk up and hit your butt. They won't stay away. They're like dogs."