What is the mechanism that causes a “daddy’s girl” to mature later? How does that happen?
We now know from recent findings that fathers emit chemical signals that inhibit menarche and delay the onset of sexual maturity. These emissions are called pheromones, which are hormones detected through the sense of smell, although neither girls nor their dads are aware of them.1 When fathers are absent or uninvolved and the pheromones are not emitted, menarche occurs earlier.
Footnotes:
1. R. L. Matchock and E. J. Susman, “Family Composition and Menarcheal Age: Anti-Inbreeding Strategies,” American Journal of Human Biology 18, no. 4 (2006): 481–491.