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>But I think the falling age of puberty is real Yes -- puberty onset is occurring earlier currently than it has in some other eras, and later than some other eras. It has to do with changes in nutrition, population pressures, environment stresses, pollutants, and a bunch of other things. > and is a pathology There is nothing pathological about puberty occurring earlier (or later). It is a response triggered by genetic predispositions and environmental variables/influences. > and is a pathology that makes life harder for kids. I can think of a thousand things that are challenging to children's lives while growing up, things that "make life harder" for them. I don't think that the age of onset of puberty is very important, given the other factors that trouble young people growing up. >If this can be mitigated, it should be. Says whom? Why should we muck around with the results of a person's genetic predispositions, which is what we would be doing most of the time? If, as in the case of environmental pollution by certain precursors of human hormones, puberty is being affected, then, yes, that is pathological. And the answer is to eliminate those pollutants. But normal development, as it occurs on the bell curve, and is not an extreme outlier, should just be accepted. Trying to play god (or mother nature) is not something that usually achieves good outcomes. Let nature take its course. >The underlying causes are not fully understood, Nothing is "fully understood" but what triggers puberty is very well understood -- the "underlying causes" are already laid out in the scientific literature. >and may be difficult to address. No. They are well understood, and fairly easy to address. >In the meantime, Since you claim that variations in pubertal onset can never be fully understood, then you're asking for blanket permission to always medicate to alter otherwise normal courses of development, because "the underlying causes are not fully understood". >blockers could allow kids to make choices about when they want to undergo puberty, Yes -- but with serious physical/emotional/social ramifications. You can't screw around with the balance of hormones in a person's body without risking very serious harms to that person. > possibly leading to friends choosing to do it together. So if two friends agree to try to coordinate the occurrence of natural bodily development, then they should be allowed to disturb their hormone balance, with unpredictable, but potentially very serious, harms resulting? >The randomness of its natural arrival It is not random. It arrives when it is supposed to arrive, according to the factors I have mentioned above. It tends to run in families. >can be isolating and even traumatic. Weasel words. The variety of outcomes can be vast, and not limited to those two possible, but unlikely, outcomes. Variety is the spice of life. Variations are completely normal, and to be expected -- and to be appreciated! Not to be eliminated. M. I greatly appreciate most of what you post, but I think that you've got it wrong when it comes to screwing around with hormone balances... |