When you buy pads or tampons, do you try to hide them from your kids? Do you avoid talking about your or your partner’s period when kids are around? If so, I respectfully suggest you try the opposite approach: Use periods as a conversation opener. Really. Having a period is a normal, healthy thing; it’s […]
“What If I Get My Period at School?”
Going back to school can trigger a lot of anxieties in teens and tweens: worries about social dynamics, finding classrooms, and how demanding teachers will be. If your kid is a daughter, she may also be worried about something more intimate: the horrible possibility that she might get her period at school and not know […]
When Your Daughter Develops Early
If I had the chance to live my life over but had to go through junior high again, I’d pass. The stage that’s now called middle school is a brutal one. Puberty plus jockeying for social power equals a hot mess that can be painful for almost everyone. That age can be particularly hard for […]
TalkStarter for Kids: “How I Learned about Puberty”
Let’s face it: puberty and sex are awkward topics. And when you do gear yourself up to talk to your child about it, you probably get cringing and eye rolls. But you don’t want your kids to enter puberty and have no idea why their bodies are changing. Even if their school does a good […]
What to Teach Your Daughter about her “Girl Parts”
Little kids notice early that boys and girls are different under their underwear. Boys’ genitals are more obvious than girls’ and seem to get talked about more openly. Female genitalia are more hidden—with the odd result that girls, even today, often don’t know their own bodies. Starting when kids are young (toddlers, even), parents can […]
What Your Son Wants to Know at Puberty
Many parents make a point of talking with their daughters about puberty, at least about periods, so girls won’t be scared when menstruation starts. But parents may not be as likely to talk with their sons. This is a mistake. Although the signature event of boys’ puberty (first wet dream) is more likely to be […]
What Your Daughter Wants to Know at Puberty
Every girl should know about periods well before she starts puberty. (By age 9, please—it’s terrifying for girls who aren’t told what to expect.) But there are many other aspects of sexual development that girls also want to be informed about. The young adults I surveyed mentioned many things they wish they’d known sooner or […]