How Much Faster Do Girls Really Develop Than Boys? — Here’s What the Science Says

There is endless debate about this, the surprising thing is, the answer is surprising

It’s widely known that girls develop and mature faster than boys. In fact, it’s a reality that’s been known for as long as we have existed.

After all, there’s a reason that historically girls became adults at 12, boys at 14, and that the average age of parenthood from across all of human history is 31 for men versus 23 for women, girls develop faster and it’s obvious.

The question is though, how much faster do girls actually develop than boys, and especially what does the science say?

It’s complex is the answer, and to understand why, we first need to look at puberty.

Puberty tells us a lot about male versus female growth rates

Girls typically go through puberty between one and two years before boys, with girls on average entering puberty between the ages of 8 and 12, and boys entering between 9 and 14.

To go with this, girls typically go through each of the five stages of puberty on average a year before boys (the growth spurt, stage III, two years), this is why frontal gray…