As parents, we are assured that we have quite a few years to prepare for having ‘the talk’ about puberty and sex with our children – no one would ever expect to have to tackle those issues with a toddler.
This has turned out to be the case for one family in India, however, after their toddler was diagnosed with precocious or early onset puberty.
According to reports, the one-year-old boy – referred to by the Hindustan Times as Vaibhav – was diagnosed with the rare condition after his parents noticed he was growing and developing at an alarming and ‘unnatural’ rate for his age.
As well as beginning to grow facial hair, Vaibhav had fully developed sex organs and displayed ‘exceptionally high’ testosterone levels.
“We thought maybe he was just a big baby, so we did not take him to the doctor…But by the time he was one, it was apparent there was something wrong,” his mother told local media.
At just 18 months, Vaibhav was diagnosed with the condition which, according to his doctor, is extremely rare.
Dr Vaishakhi Rustagi told local news outlets that precocious or early onset puberty occurs about ‘once in 10-odd years’, and added that it is ‘traumatic’ for the child who is ‘not able to understand what is happening’.
