Which book should I get for DD?

[cuddlyevil]

MIL & I strongly suspect she has reached the cusp of puberty (her hips are wider/rounder and her moody swings have been epic lately). DH & I have had talks with her that were age appropriate, but now I think we've reached the point where she gets the in depth talk.

So, here's my question, should I get her a copy of "our bodies, ourselves" or "you, the owner's manual. teen edition"? She'll be 8 in October, but I think she can handle either.

I need to prepare H too, he's not ready for this--and with his luck, she'll get her first period when he's home and I'm not.

[cuddlyevil]

I feel like I should add that she and I would read it together. But she likes to have something to refer back to on her own--that's why I am kind of leaning toward "our bodies, ourselves" because she can use it when she gets older too.

[tiramisu]

I think You, the Owner's Manual. She'll be able to refer back to it for a while and then, as she gets older, you can introduce Our Bodies, Ourselves.

I've seen some books that were geared towards kids and teens that really did a nice job of trying to normalize that we're all different shapes and sizes and talking about the coming changes in kid-friendly language.

[cuddlyevil]

Thanks. I don't want to scare her, but I want her to be as informed as possible so she's prepared for when it all starts in earnest.

[dixienormous]

TEEN WORKS! Binder 2 was awesome.


www.xojane.com/fun/especially-for-girls-teen-works

[cuddlyevil]

I have never seen those before Dixie.

[dixienormous]

my mom got it for me when I was younger. Some of the stuff in it was hilarious. The so completely late 80s - early 90s fashion tips... OY

[neonpink]

I think it's cool that you want to get her a book. I remember having a class in 5th grade and they gave us a little paper book about it. I remember reading about what was happening and referring to it.
I was also unfortunate that I was home alone with my Dad when I got my first period. My Mom and brother had gone to check out a college. I remember going to my Mom's cabinet grabbing stuff and being upset and annoyed that my Mom wasn't there. I would have been mortified to mention it to my Dad.

[starrieskies]

I have no input on which book to get her, but I do want to say that I think its awesome that you want to do that for her!

I was very ill prepared for my first period. I was out of town with a friend visiting her grandparents and didn't know what to do... I cried a lot on that trip.

[cuddlyevil]

I know she's going to freak out when she gets her first period, so I want her to be as prepared as possible--even if it doesn't come for another year or two. I want her to be ready so she'll be like "Oh, Mom & I talked about this. I know what to do". H is totally fine buying stuff for me, but it'd be sign #735 that his little girl ain't so little anymore and he can't handle that (he gets weepy if he finds an old baby sock of hers).

My parents got my sister and I some sort of encyclopedia thing, but they never discussed it with us. DD goes to a Catholic school, so they will teach her up to a point, it will probably not go beyond abstinence--so we need to be more involved.

[starrieskies]

Yes, speaking from personal experience, the Catholic school curriculum on these matters is, shall we say, inadequate. I think its great that you are talking to her now about it so that it's not a big shock when it happens. It's not something that we talked openly about in my family.

[cuddlyevil]

With the way things are today, I think we'd be stupid not to have an in depth discussion about it. We'll do the same for the boys when they're older too.

[starrieskies]

I agree. I love my parents and I know that they did everything they thought was right, but I wish that we had more open dialogue about puberty and "adult matters" when I was a kid. But the adult subjects were for adults and we were kids.

[Wrath0fKuus]

No matter what you get her that's nonfiction, add a copy of Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret.

[Muddled]

I was given, "what's happening to me?" I'm sure a million books on puberty have been written since, but that one will always hold a special place in my heart.

In addition to "are you there, god...", "starring sally j freeman as herself" is a fun one.

[Wrath0fKuus]

I loved that one, too.

[captainmel]

People actually talk to their kids about this stuff?!
My mom still hasn't given me the sex talk.

[bab]

Did I read this wrong? She's SEVEN years old and reaching the "cusp of puberty?" What? If you think this is actually the case, you should probably talk to the pediatrician.

I think seven is too young for either of the books you suggested.

[cuddlyevil]

She'll be eight in October. I totally realize that the big stuff is a year or three off but we are seeing changes in her moods. I want to start preparing her for what is coming.

[dragonfly08]

Another option is "The Care and Keeping of You" from American Girl. They have two now, the first for younger kids and the second for age 10 and up.

I recently gave my almost 10 yo a copy of the original (from when they had just one book) and she found it very helpful and written in a way that didn't scare her.

[poppyseed]

My mom bought me "It's a Girl Thing" by Mavis Jukes when I was about 10 or 11. I really liked it and it was easy to understand. I'm 27 now so it may be too outdated, lol. Worth a look, though.

[Chirp]

My school had the puberty talk in the beginning of 5th grade, so the students were all either 9, 10 or almost 11 years old. I remember that for some of the girls, it was already too late. There were lots of A cup boobs (one girl, no joke, had C cups in 5th grade) and some had gotten their period and started developing hair in 4th grade... so IMO, she's not too young. Especially since she's in Catholic school and probably won't learn much about it there.


I don't have any book suggestions. I'm 31 and I still haven't had the puberty talk or the sex talk with my parents.