Here’s what parents can do to either help prevent early puberty or slow its progression once it starts:

Avoid hormone-laden food

All milk contains hormones, but raw or organic milk won’t have the added bovine growth hormone. Choose hormone-free meat and keep soy, which mimics estrogen, to a minimum.

Buy organic fruits and vegetables

Create a green household

Numerous chemicals found in household cleaning products, personal care products, herbicides, insecticides and pesticides mimic human hormones.

Keep the kids lean and active

Obesity strongly correlates with early puberty.

Don’t let children chew on soft plastic toys

Phthalates, linked to early breast development, are added to plastic toys to soften them.

Drink filtered water

Many endocrine-disrupting chemicals can make their way into the household through the water supply.

Take supplements and eat foods that detoxify

Broccoli, cauliflower and other cruciferous vegetables help the liver remove environmental waste and provide protection against pollution.

Go BPA-free

Choose water bottles, sippy cups and baby bottles that do not contain bisphenol A.