No, Rachel hasn’t hit puberty…yet. But it’s not that far away. Puberty can start as early as age 8 in girls! Now that she’s 9, we need to make sure that she’s ready for what is coming next.
Rachel and I have been part of a mother-daughter group for the last few years. There are 4 moms and 4 daughters (al of whom were born in 2004). It’s been a fun experience. We’re working on building our relationships with our daughters as they grow up.
We’re using the book Mother Daughter Project
as our guide.
Each chapter is focused on a topic that is relevant for the age that the girls are at. It starts at age 7 and works it’s way up through the teen years. Ages 7 and 8 focuses on the mother-daughter relationship and friendships. Now, at age 9, we’re looking at the changes that happen as the girls get older.
Ch-ch-changes
Recently, we a nice chat with the girls about the physical changes that will be happening to their bodies in the next few years. We talked about hair, body odor, hygiene routines and yes, periods.
I’m so glad I have these supportive women with me to share this experience with. It made the whole thing much more comfortable and we had a great conversation with the girls. It was just a mom telling her daughter what will happen. It was questions and answers. Feelings and emotions.
We each purchased a copy of The Care And Keeping Of You (published by American Girl) for our daughter. During our chat, we pointed out a few diagrams that were in the book that illustrated exactly what we were talking about.
Continuing the conversation
Since our get-together with the moms, Rachel has been reading the book. I check in with her to see how it’s going. She is really enjoying the book and is getting a lot out of it.
Just yesterday she was telling me how women get properly fitted for bras: where they measure, what the measurements mean and she listed cup sizes. Only trouble is that she decided that she needed to tell me this as we waiting in line at Old Navy. Her confidence and comfort level with these topics will be good as she reaches each “milestone”.
By her talking about this so freely, I am encouraged that this might continue in to the future. I really want her to feel that she can come talk to me about anything!
(Now I need to get ready for the next big conversation – sex! Hopefully we can hold that off for another year or so!)