Ready, Set, Grow!

WARNING: Explicit material.

Okay, first let me clarify and say that this material really isn't that explicit. The pictures included within this text are normal body parts and the conversation is normal as well. There is however, potential for things to be taken out of context or for people to be offended thus the warning.

Please understand what I explain is our family's position and I respectfully ask you not to judge us for our choices nor would we judge you. Thank you, enjoy :)

A few months ago, Macy mentioned the word puberty. She used it totally out of context so we had a chuckle about it then & I very briefly explained what puberty meant. You can view the previous post here. For some reason, I've been pressed to share some things with her. I don't know why, but I kept having a reoccuring feeling that I should share the REAL facts with her. I don't think she needs to know all about sex, that's too mature for her, but I do think she needs to know about her own body & what will happen in the next few years. Fact: Puberty begins between the age of 8 1/2 and 11 +/-. Macy is almost 8. Lots of girls in her grade are already 8 & have been for some time, she is young for her grade. I also happen to know that Macy hangs with a couple sweet little 5th grade girls in her after school program. Anyone know how old a 5th grader is? Yeah, they're 11. Besides all those things, there are some things a mom just knows. I didn't want to miss an opportunity & I wanted to make sure she heard legit information, delivered in a developmentally appropriate way.

So, we got the book you see here. I read the book first to make sure it was developmentally appropriate. Turns out, it is developmentally appropriate and explains stuff well. After reading the book by myself, I reminded Macy of the time she talked about puberty . She recalled that conversation & got a good laugh about it again. I then explained that probably some of her friends were going through puberty. She concurred, telling me "Yeah A__ has her period and so does A____." I asked her if she knew what a period was & how it happened, she said "No, just that you have blood from down there." I agreed & told her we'd read this book about puberty (and showed her the book) so she could learn about it if she would like. She agreed & asked me if we could do it before she went to bed that night.

The book has about 10 chapters. I read them aloud to her a few nights in a row. We stopped whenever she had questions, talked about it, she'd share a story if she had one & then we'd move along. We also talked about the necessity for privacy & what was appropriate to share or not share in public or with other people outside her home. She understood all those things.

Have I told you before our family is pretty humorous? Well, there was one page in particular, p. 73 to be exact, where it showed a picture of the vulva. It used the term "lips" to describe the labia. The point of the whole blog is this hilarious statement that caused the two girls in our home to fall out of the bed laughing so hard ...

"Well, yeah-uh, you can see why it's called lips! Look at it, if you turn it this way (turns book on its side) it looks like lips." ---Macy

Then followed with ...

"Mom. Can you make sure whenever I have my period that you don't make a big deal about it? That you're not all (said in very high pitched, happy like Minnie Mouse voice) ooohhh yeaaahhh, I'm so happy!", followed by her demonstrating very rapid hand claps.

Me: "Sure. I can do that. So you want it all business, right?"

Macy: "Yes. All business."

Me: "Got it."

And all I could hear in my head was this: