Health Education

Hello
My son is 11 and a fifth grader. This is the year that they will learn sexual reproduction/education. My son started asking questions a year or two ago, mostly just random things, like "What is a tampon" or "What is gay?" I just answered enough to make him understand. The tampon question came from simply watching commercials!

If she asks questions, I would definately answer them. I wouldn't think she would start her period at 8, unless that is when you or another relative started theirs.

I say just go with her lead!

Hi S.,
I started talking to my daughter about periods when she was about 8. There is a great book by the American Girls series called Your body and you....it is very helpful and has lots of information that is presented in a way young girls won't be grossed out by! My daughter is 10 and her elementary school just had the big group discussion with all the girls and I feel like my daughter was more prepared and less freaked out by it all. I thought it was very necessary to have these discussions with her ahead of time .... my mom and I didn't talk about it either and I was a very early bloomer still in elementary school when I started and I was horrified!!! At that time the elementary schools weren't "equipped" for these things either so I did not want this same scenario for my daughter. I think any age is ok and you don't have to give all information at once! Just little by little is how we have gone with it and as she has questions she is comfortable talking to me because I brought it up first. Hope this helps. Have a great day!
K.

I work in a school and out reproduction talk is in the middle of 5th grade. I know that is when we talked about everything when I was in 5th grade as well!! GOOD LUCK!!!

I remember getting the talk at school in 5th grade. I didn't really understand it....but then again I didn't have amom open enough to discuss it either. I think its a great thing to open the lines of communication, talk to them on their level and let them know you'll always be around for questions.

Hi S.,

My husband is an elementary school teacher in KY, and at their school he has to give "the talk" to the 5th grade boys - I think that's around age 10... hope that helps!

I think around 5th grade is when the schools start their education. I am 24 but I can remember my mom talking to me from around 8 or 9 telling me that its alright to ask questions and she would just bring it up sometimes so that I didn't have to feel weird and ask out of nowhere. She was very up front and honest with me so that when I started my period I wasn't all that upset, because I knew somewhat of what to expect from things! Good luck!

I know that when I was in school (ok that was like 100 years ago but still) they covered all of that in 5th grade. Fact is that some girls start their period as young as 8 and as late as 18. My daughter will be 9 this month and I told her about 6 months ago when she started asking questions about why I have to buy tampons all the time and what are they used for. Kids are really great for letting a parent know when they need to learn something.

i remember wheni was in 5th grade, they separated all of us girls and showed us a basic video and gave a handbook about menstration. i think 8-9 is age appropriate to start teaching her. just give her the basics...nothing too in depth. at christmas time i saw a book at bath n body works...it was for pre-teen girls. it explains about body changes, mentration, personal hygiene, has illistrations, etc...looked very insightful.

I started to my girls around 9. But it also depends on the maturity level of the girl. good luck!

Hello my name is Mandy I have 3 kids, a boy 11 his name is garry and a boy 9 his name is Austin and a girl 7 her name is Amber. My oldest son went throught sex ed in the fourth grade and he will be doing more this year in the fifth grade. I think I am gonna start talking to my daughter about all this stuff like next year even though she is only in first grade. I want her to learn from me and not off the streets. If this helps you any which I hope it does. Well talk to you later..

~Mandy~

Don't know about other places, I started learning about reproductive health in 4th grade, so I supposed I was around 8 or 9.
Good Luck!

Hello, I am a mom of four 2 girls and 2 boys. I remember talking about reproduction in the 5th grade. I gave both my girls the "talk" at about 9. Some girls can start that early and others wait until 12 or 13. now that they know what is going to happen to their bodies they are more open to talk to me about anyhting that is going on with them or any questions they have. Hope this helps and God bless.

Well, I started my daughter as soon as an opportunity presented itself. Either when she asked questions, or saw a box of maxipads in the bathroom. I figured it would be a step program. The opportunity actually really came when she was helping me with laundry and saw a pair of my underwear that had gotten stained from my period. (I know, I know) At any rate, it was an opportunity to present it without a bunch of hoopla. So it comes across as everyday normal stuff, which we all know it is!

I married my husband when his daughter was 9 (her mom had passed away when she was 5). We started talking about things like that pretty soon after that. Girls around here seemed to moving rather fast as far as boys were concerned and I wanted to get a foothold with open communication. Plus, her cousin got her first period at the age of 10 and I wanted to get it talked about before her first time!

I think the Elkhart Schools, start sex ed in the 4th grade. Hope this helps, J.