Editor’s note: This is the debut column from Dr. Jane Sadler, a
family medicine physician in Garland. A graduate of Texas A&M
University (where she majored in exercise technology) and the
Texas A&M College of Medicine, she’s been quoted as an expert on
women’s health issues in national publications and appears
regularly on Dallas-area TV and radio stations. You can read her
at healthblog.dallasnews.com. I just came from my son’s middle
school party and I was stunned. Something had awakened and
altered children’s appearances. There had been a hormone attack!
The result: beautiful girls, handsome boys — and nervous
parents. Understanding pubertal changes will make you a more
patient and empathetic parent. Recognizing that these hormonal
fluctuations are a temporary cause for a poor attitude might
help prevent an outbreak of civil war in your household. As
anyone who survived the teen years knows, around middle school,
wave after wave of hormones affecting growth and physical
appearance arrive. These changes beg