I. What is precocious puberty? Precocious puberty is an abnormal sexual development characterized by the early appearance of sexual maturity. Precocious puberty is the appearance of secondary sexual characteristics, i.e. breast development, appearance of pubic and axillary hair, and development of external genitalia, before the age of sexual development. The incidence of precocious puberty in children is about 0.6%, with more females than males. In China, it is currently stipulated that precocious puberty is defined as the appearance of signs of sexual development before the age of 8 or the onset of menstruation before the age of 10 for girls and before the age of 9 for boys. There are many causes of precocious puberty, which can be divided into central (true) and peripheral (pseudo) according to whether the hypothalamus-pituitary-gonadal axis function is activated in advance. Central precocious puberty (CPP), also known as true precocious puberty, is due to the premature activation of hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis function, and the child has the development of ovaries or testes in addition to the development of secondary sexual characteristics. The process of sexual development follows the same sequence as normal pubertal development, but at an earlier age. About 80% of girls with CPP have idiopathic precocious puberty, while only about 40% of boys have idiopathic precocious puberty. In other words, organic central precocious puberty is more common in boys. 2. Peripheral precocious puberty is also called pseudoprecocious puberty. It is not controlled by the hypothalamus-pituitary gland and gonadal function caused by precocious sexual maturity, there is the development of secondary sexual characteristics, there is an increase in the level of sex hormones, but the hypothalamus-pituitary-gonadal axis is not mature, no gonadal development. The common ones are: gonadal tumor, adrenal tumor, congenital adrenal cortical hyperplasia, exogenous such as estrogen-containing drugs, food, cosmetics, etc. 3. Partial precocious puberty: early development of simple breasts, early development of simple pubic hair, early menarche. The hazards of precocious puberty: 1. Children with idiopathic precocious puberty are affected by sex hormones in the body, and their physical growth is accelerated prematurely, epiphysis fusion is advanced, growth period is shortened, and growth stops early, resulting in the final adult height is lower than the height of normal children of the same age according to normal puberty development. The premature development of sexual characteristics of children, but the level of psychological and intellectual development is still the actual age level, premature appearance of sexual characteristics and development of reproductive organs will lead to immature children psychological disorders, will have low self-esteem, autism, but also bring a lot of inconvenience to life, and even affect learning in serious cases. Can precocious puberty be prevented? Generally speaking, it is impossible to prevent precocious puberty caused by central and peripheral tumors and adrenal diseases. In recent years, many biologists at home and abroad have proposed “environmental hormones”, the pollution of rivers, lakes and seas or air, the widespread use of cosmetics and detergents, as well as the feed and fertilizers used by artificially raised or cultivated plants and animals, all of which may cause disorders in the ecological balance on earth and affect human health, including reproductive dysfunction, precocious puberty or sexual function, infertility and so on. These have become more and more concerned by society. The prevention of precocious puberty should also be a common concern of the society, care institutions and parents. To provide healthy food for children, the relevant departments should strengthen supervision and testing, and introduce relevant testing standards in a timely manner. The staff of childcare institutions such as childcare centers should have sufficient professional knowledge and good professional conduct, and should not sell the so-called child health products to parents. Parents should have the right knowledge of childcare, do not blindly believe and blindly follow some exaggerated propaganda, to give children abuse of tonic products. For example, royal jelly, pollen preparations, chicken embryo, high protein powder, colostrum and large tonic herbal products. Give your child a balanced nutrition and a healthy diet, and eat less anti-seasonal vegetables and fruits, premature poultry, fish, foreign fast food, fried foods, etc. Give your child a good growing environment and avoid bad visual stimulation. Ensure adequate sleep and proper exercise. As the child grows up, the school and parents should also give the child relevant sexual knowledge, so that the child can face the sexual development frankly. What should I do if my child has precocious sexual development? Parents should take their children to the pediatric endocrinology clinic of the hospital for timely consultation, further examination and early and clear diagnosis. At the same time, parents should pay special attention to the child’s psychological changes, do not show anxiety in front of the child, not to blame the child, increasing the child’s psychological burden. Let us all take our own responsibility for the healthy growth of our children.