My daughter is almost 9 now and my husband and I feel that maybe we need to have a more indepth discussion about where babies come from or at least discuss a few more things about growing up. She is aware of the anatomical differences between girls and boys (she has a little brother) and we have had numerous discussions about body privacy throughout her life. I am not sure what is appropriate for her age, but we also want to be able to bring some subjects up at an age that she will actually listen to us. Any advice on books or websites that I could look into or any thoughts on timing or subject matter? She hasn't asked any questions, but boys are becoming a little interesting, but just in a "boys on tv" kind of way. Thanks for any advice.
As far as discussing puberty the best book I found was The Care and Keeping of You. It is an American Girl book and I found it at Barnes and Noble but is also available on the AG website, Amazon etc... It was a big help when my daughter was that age.
B.,
I recently heard Mary Flo Ridley speak about this very topic, when and what to tell your children about sex. It was a great lecture and I think if you google her name (she's local here in Dallas) you can find a website with lots of resources including books and a cd of her lecture. I highly recommend it. Good luck!
my 16 year old sister in law has been staying with us for a while and I had to sit her down and go over everything with her (her parents neglected to do so). I went to planned parenthood and got alot of lititure that helped me out alot! There were pictures and everything. It talked about sex, STD's, babies, ...just everything. If you'd like, go get it by yourself and you can look through it and pick out what you want to go over with her. Good luck!
Hi B. my name is A. i have a 9 year old daughter and a 10 year old daughter i understand what you and your husband are talking about. Honestly their is never the right time or age to talk to your child. It is going to be hard and weird for yall but let your daughter know that when ever she is ready to talk or has any questions you and your husband are here for her. That way she knows that she can come to yalland talk to yall about anything that is going to happened in her life at any age. Even though that im a mom of 4 kids and a wife i still can go talk to my parents bout anything that is great feeling have at any age. Hope this was some help to you.
Hello B.. I had the same delimena with my daughter. Many young girls need to know about their bodies and have their parents address these isssues before they're misinformed by their freinds. There is so much on tv and our young girls are bombared by too much information too fast. I developed a Girls baskets for young girls 9 and up. In this product it includes a book from American Girl that discusses issues of growing up and body development. If you don't want the entire gift set, you should able to find the book"The care and keeping of you" Please fill free to visit Uniquegiftbaskets4u.com and click on the link "Mommy I'm Growing Up". I hope this helps you out.
B.,
most 5th graders get a talk at school, which is somewhat helpful at opening the door.
A good book is ABC's of the Birds and Bees by Marilyn Morris.
My suggestion is to start talking about it and never stop. You can add more to the talk as she ages.
I give an enthusiastic second to "The Care and Keeping of You." I love those American Girl books -- they have one on almost every topic (puberty, friendship, feelings, starting middle school) and they are very well-done and sensitive yet realistic.
Some 9-year-olds are getting their periods already, so I applaud your decision to be proactive and talk to your daughter now. I think it would be awful to get your period for the first time and not know what's going on!
My personal philosophy is that if I try to drop things into the conversation whenever they come up naturally, my kids don't make too big a deal about them. We have openly discussed body parts, how babies are made, etc. since they were little, and so they don't see it as a big secret.
Speaking of that, there are two great books to explain the birds and the bees -- "What's the Big Secret?" by Marc Brown (the Arthur guy) and Laurie Krasny Brown, and "It's So Amazing! A Book About Eggs, Sperm, Birth, Babies, and Families" by Robie Harris.
Good luck!
B.,
I have heard this woman speak a couple of times at my MOPS group and she is absolutely outstanding. She gets rave reviews everywhere she goes. Her name is Mary Flo Ridley and she has given me the best advice ever. The name of her presentation is "Shaping Your Child's Sexual Character" and you can order a copy of her audio CD at this website. I promise you won't be disappointed.
