Educating about puberty?

[Supernrse01]

Do you all do this? the nurse before me did not do this education, at least to my knowledge. What age groups do you focus on? I'm thinking my 4th graders would benefit most from this. TIA!

[sharpeimom]

i was very lucky because my mom talked to me and answered my questions as they arose. i began menstruating when i was eight. third grade. i was taken immediately to a pedi endocrinologist and,

after many tests, no problems were found. she said i was just "ahead of schedule."

what if we hadn't already had "the talk" or at least a modified version? i did have the sex-ed component to phys ed every year from fifth grade through nineth grade, but that would have been

too late to answer my basic questions and to prevent me from thinking i was bleeding to death. that

was what i thought despite all of my mom's carefully laid out groundwork. so much for plan a!

my husband's parents, on the other hand, answered his questions by telling him that sex and anything

connected with it was something nice people didn't talk about or even think about. what he learned

from his friends and his coach eventually corrected and built upon, would have been better learned much

earlier. much much earlier.

there will probably always be a certain amount of discomfort involved when it comes to discussing sex with children and tweens, but the talks and classes are nesessary.

when my goddaughter was visiting us, we were loading the dishwasher and cleaning up after dinner, all of a sudden, out of absolutely nowhere, she asked me "if colored condoms worked better than regular ones?" she was nine and a fourth grader. i just about swallowed my teeth! i caught my breath and asked her why she was wondering about that? turns out an older kid was showing off some he had swiped from his big brother while they were on the school bus. she hadn't been touched inappropriately, wasn't experiementing with anyone, she was simply a curious kid! phew! i answered her question as matter-of-factly as i could, then asked (holding my breath) whether or not she had any more questions. she didn't. after she was tucked in to bed, i called her mom (my cousin) and filled her in, in case she asked more questions later.

i think it's very very important to answer children's questions as they pop up, but i think it's equally important to anticipate and talk with kids on an age appropriate level. answer what they're asking, not overwhelm with too much info, yet be sure to give them what they do need to know without making them feel that puperty changes and feelings about body changes and sex are somehow wrong or evil.

[Supernrse01, BSN]

And this is why I love this forum... You all are awesome! I'm still toying with the idea of starting this and I'm not sure I will be met with much approval from my administration, so it may be a long-time coming!

[meeka720]

We do the talk with the 5th graders within the first few months of school before they go to camp. We want them to be prepared for the year and for camp. Permission slips are sent home a few weeks in advance. We normally have a good turn out and the kids ask a lot of good questions. The guidance department and I do it together. It works out well! Good luck!