PUBERTY IN GIRLS

Since I am not a girl and I am  a man, so many of you will ask yourselves, “What does he know about puberty in girls?’

There are four reasons why I am familiar with puberty in girls. The y are—I spent a year at the University of Toronto studying abnormal psychology.  I was a senior supervisor in three Indian residential schools, I was an aquatic director at a girls camp and I have two daughters and four granddaughters and I watched them growing up during their puberty phases.

Every child develops at a different rate and depending on where your child falls on the puberty scale will, of course, determine when you need to begin conversations with them about puberty. But as a general rule, at the age of 8-9 there are several things your daughter needs to know about puberty.

What is puberty?  This is not a difficult question at the age of 8-9 because you are simply starting to go through that stage in their lives.  t This is the age to start explaining that in the future your sweet little girl is going to become a tween and things are going to change.  She already notices the difference between her body and yours so explain that those changes take place in this magical world called puberty.  It is when her body says, “Ok, let’s start growing up and becoming a big girl.”  For most 8-9-year olds, here is   enough information to consider.

You can explain to her what these changes are doing to her body without being  too specific.

She may notice some of the more developed girls are wearing training bras or sports bras.  Scientifically, I could spend an entire post discussing the harmful effects of hormones in overweight children but that is obviously not the point of this article,  so, I will explained that at this age, every girl is different.

Girls will start their puberty journey at different times. Some girls are taller and weigh more so  they have begun  their journey much sooner than the smaller girls.  Ask your daughter  to wear one of her sports bras to school.

Now, talking to your daughter when she is is 10,  is much different.  It involves hair growth, shaving the areas  of her armpits and the groin and tell her why her body shape is changing. 

Your daughter by now is paying more attention to the hair on her legs and the few hairs under her arms.  She notices the girls that have started shaving.  She asked why the hair is growing and what does it mean.  Explain t0 her that  it is part of that great chemistry experiment her body is working on right now.  

Tell her that her hormones are causing  her hair to change in colour. Tell her that when her leg hair becomes dark. she can shave her legs if she chooses t0 do that even when she is still an elementary student and if there is no need for the shaving then there is no harm in not starting. Learning to shave takes time and practice, and is not something to rush into. Of course, pool parties can be embarrassing if she have hair under her arms.  Men have hair in their armpits but some  men don’t have hair in our armpits  since are hormones didn’t bring hair into our armpits. I am one of those fortunate men. 

When your daughter  is in her early teens, she will notice many chest changes at this age, and lots of questions will arise from these changes.  I urge you to be honest.  If you don’t know the answer to a question then get online and find the answer.

 Your daughter may notice fat deposits around their mid-section and thighs at this age.  This is a normal part of puberty. The body requires a certain amount of fat to effect the change it is working on so storing is completely normal and it is  not something to fret over.  Usually the girls that are already thin will notice this more than the girls that have some weight on them to begin with.  Keep in mind that eating disorders begin early in little girls so it is imperative to explain now that after puberty their body will change for the better and their puffy baby tummy will turn into a slim stomach.

When should you talk about periods?  This all depends on your daughter’s stage of development and what her friends are talking about This is where communication and knowing your child and their friends is imperative.  If you don’t know what they are talking about on the playground, then you may already be too late.  And a friend explaining the female body to your child is never a good thing.

Every child should know about puberty before they attain puberty so that they can accept the changes with confidence.

By the time they are in their mid teens, they already know where babies come from so there is no need to explain to them that wonder in nature.

Fortunately for me, my wife explained to our  daughters what was happening to their bodies and they did the same thing with their daughters.