The Puberty Talk

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Hi all!

I'm a first year certified school nurse and I'll be giving the puberty talk today to the fifth grade girls (I have a male teacher that agreed to cover the boys).

I have a video that covers a majority of the discussion for me, but wanted to see if any of you had any words of advice? Are any of you in charge of the puberty talk? What kinds of questions were you asked that I should prepare myself for?

Thank you!

Specializes in as above.

time for a pint! we are at all odds, so lets agree to disagree! Time for a beer!

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I combined it with hygiene---did my own powerpoint with funny pics of dirty hair, hands then threw in the menstrual info with pic of chocolate----done. No one stressed--they didn't know what hit them----

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Training bras.

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I did this 20+ years ago (in SD) and some parents were pretty freaked out about what we would say. We had to get permission for everything, which I do understand, to a point. We had some questions on a paper that they could mark if they wanted to ask, but were too shy to ask in front of friends. So...maybe pens and papers and a bit of time dedicated to questions, but you have to decide if they are appropriate first/which ones to choose.

Remember nowadays some girls at age 9 and 10 are already menstruating. Some are not told ANYTHING by their parents....their knowledge levels may be all over the place. FYI - you may want to mention/have along the American Girl series of books called "The Care & Keeping of YOU" .....we bought those for reference for my girls, their friends, and for stuff they may not want to talk to me about. I'm very open but sometimes kids are still quite embarrassed about it. One is for younger girls, one for older - the older ones includes stuff about tampons otherwise they arent much different. EXCELLENT books, factual and not over the top in any way.

Pls mention hygiene/showering and why it's important.....man, teen and preteens dont get this!

My kids have been friends with girls who have been told nothing by their parents, who are often quite religious and full of a healthy dose of denial. This is awful. I do understand opting out though - only because, IMO, this info needs to come from me first, not the school. I'm comfortable with this topic and am passionate about it. I've been telling my kids everything for years, but age-level. When you do this, there is no "The Talk" because you've been doing it all along. Unfortunately, many parents dont do this.

If you cant talk to your kids, pls let the school do it. Denial helps no one. Even with speaking about it age-appropriately whenever my kids want to, they still often "forget" what goes where and what sex is, etc. I"m amazed at how much they dont quite understand/forget even though we've discussed it many times. Goes to show kids need the topic revisited, as their ages/needs change.

Years ago I saw a thing on youtube by Julia Sweeney (formerly "Pat" on SNL) when she spoke to her 9 yr old dtr about the "birds and the bees." Funniest thing ever!!! Check it out if you can find it.

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Last year was my first year with "The Talk". Another nurse and I covered the girls while the PE teacher talks to the boys. We show a DVD and then let everyone ask questions. My biggest piece of advice: no WHAT IF questions! I swear those will go on for days! "What if I'm at the beach and no one is with me and I don't have a change of clothes and I start my period and..." "What if I'm at my friends' house but only her dad is home and I'm afraid to ask him for a pad and I start my period and I need..." Come on ladies, none of these things are actually going to happen. My favorite question was "Can you get your period more than once in day?". I also enjoyed the mortified looks you get when you explain that this will happen once a month(at least) until they are, like, super old!

Whadda mean, super old?😀

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Menopausal. Which means, we can ask Mrs.Nurse(x2)

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Menopausal. Which means, we can ask Mrs.Nurse(x2)

men on pause….

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men on pause….

Go sit with Mr.Nurse(x2) and wait it out, dude.

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This should be included in every talk: Respect your body. No naked selfies. DASA is the word of my day today. :banghead:

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This should be included in every talk: Respect your body. No naked selfies.

This! If I could just get teenagers to understand this!

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This should be included in every talk: Respect your body. No naked selfies. DASA is the word of my day today. :banghead:

Important lesson: There is NOTHING to be gained by showing your boobies to camera.

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Important lesson: There is NOTHING to be gained by showing your boobies to camera.

Just ask Coco from Fame.

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