It’s not the conversation you are looking forward to, is it? Not for most of us, anyway. It’s always hard to know when that magic moment is – sometime before she gets her first period but after she is too young to deal with it. Since I came horribly early to that little party I always was careful to tell my girls while they were still quite young.
It’s a hard conversation for some; impossible for others. My technique was to take them for a little grown-up one on one time to Starbucks, and choose a quiet table for our conversation. It was always a great way to make it a little more comfortable for both of us.
Along the way I have learned a few things.
The average age for the big event is between ages 10 – 12. Usually your daughter will start to develop before her period starts. Once you see her figure change you‘d better make a date with her.
Keep it casual. Back in the 1960s, all of the girls were taken to a private room where we were given a long speech filled with words like uterus, menstruate, and ovum. Your daughter needs real words that aren’t going to make her brain numb.
Remember the scenes from Charlie Brown when the adults talk? “WhaaWaWaWaWaaaaâ€Â. Watch her face and when she starts to zone out, wrap it up.
Spend most of your time reassuring her that everyone is different. Make sure she knows that you are always available to answer her questions or just chat. Good communication is the only way to get through the next few years without losing your mind and this is a good place to start.
photo credit: a loves dc
