Food, Glorious Food! Or is it?

Today I learned that a friend’s daughter started puberty when she was SIX years old! The early onset of puberty, especially in girls, isn’t old news as can be seen in articles like this, and ties back to the type of chemicals and hormones the food industry adds to what we eat, but this was the first time I’d met someone who had seen this happen firsthand. I can’t imagine what it’s like to be a parent of a 6-year-old girl who’s looking down at herself and trying to figure out what’s going on in her body and why it’s not happening to her peers. Children are cruel enough. The early onset of puberty can only make awkwardness and bullying worse. Childhood is supposed to last for quite some time. Six years old?!?! That’s positively crazy and terrifying. I wish Elaine and I had the money to consistently buy organic, but we don’t. Like most of America, we’re subjected to what we can afford in the grocery store, but maybe it’s time we buy specific organic things: berries, chicken, apples, grapes? Even then, we can’t really control what she eats in restaurants. We don’t really know what WE’RE eating!  All I know is that I want Sienna to have a nice, long childhood, and I’d like to avoid having to buy her maxi-pads until she’s truly a tween. Six years old?? Maybe it’s a good thing my daughter refuses to eat her dinner.