Female Puberty
What is the best thing about being a girl?
I asked this to all of my classes and unlike with the boys, I never received as many responses to this as I would have wished. A few examples:
Girls do not have to fight
Girls can wear prettier clothes
Girls can have long hair
Girls can have babies (take note- some of the boys think that NOT having babies is the best thing about being a boy!)
Girls: You are changing!
Time to review the changes- both inside and out.
Height and weight- both of these changes can cause major angst with girls, not only on the middle and high school levels but for the elementary students as well.
At this age, the girls may be growing at a very rapid rate. This can cause some anxiety and self consciousness. I loved telling the tall girls about my own daughter who grew at a very young age. I told the girls that they reminded me of my beautiful Jenny. I also told them that in spite of the fact that she is very tall, she buys very high heels because she wants to be even taller!!!
Height can be an issue that you may not even think about until it has a direct effect on your child, whether she is growing rapidly or slower than her peers. The sign below could cause real heartache to a child who is old enough but not tall enough to qualify:
Weight also becomes a source of concern for even the very young girls. As we all know, this can turn into a serious issue and one that we will discuss in depth in a future post.
This is a good time for a discussion of genes.
While it is tempting to say that you may look at your biological family to get a good idea of your future size, this is not foolproof. Check out this picture of my family- that is my husband on the left and my son on the right. As you can see, genes can play funny tricks on us!
By the way, that is my very tall daughter in her very high heels.
“Girls don’t have to worry about sweating”
This seems to be the opinion of most 10- year old boys. Obviously, we know that this is not true. In fact, most likely owing to the fact that girls tend to enter puberty earlier than boys, when teachers came to beg me to address this particular issue with a particular student, the child in question was almost always a girl.
As we discussed in an earlier post, the children often are unaware of their own body odor. Parents! It is up to you- be aware and be ready to supply your daughter with the necessary supplies. I always gave the girls a deodorant sample- despite the giggles, they were excited.
Breasts
We live in a very ‘breast conscious” society. This causes problems for the girls who do not develop but also for the girls who develop at a very young age. Be very aware of your daughter’s need for a first bra. I have had more than a few conversations with parents who simply did not notice that their daughter was developing. You do not want your daughter to be the girl in a t-shirt and no bra. For the girls who are not developing as soon as their girlfriends, there is no law that says you may not buy a beginner’s bra for her.
You will also want to explain the biological function of breasts.
My favorite nursing mother, Stormy.
Menstruation
It is important for girls and boys to understand the process of menstruation. Keep it simple. The uterus has a lining of blood. If a woman is pregnant, the baby needs a soft, warm place in which to grow. The blood is perfect for this. If a woman is not pregnant, there is no need for the blood so once a month this blood leaves the body. This is a menstrual period.
There it is- the great mystery, put simply.
I have a lot of other information for the girls so I have always scheduled a lesson for just the girls. I call this lesson “Girl Power”. In my next blog post I will review some of the advice and helpful tips that I offer to the girls.