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!

I would assume "good" vodka isn't being used. I'm envisioning "still taste the charcoal, smells like rubbing alcohol, $7 a handle, frat party" vodka. Lol.

You know what? Kids these days are pretty top shelf. I can see them using decent vodka.

Geez. I know we have to keep up on this but... Geez. :(

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Anyone else reminded of the Fuzzy and Fluffy Bunny Sex-Ed video? Or am I the only one who is that much of a die-hard Simpsons fan?

I remember Your Testicles and YOU, from the 80s Michael Keaton movie, Johnny Dangerously.

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Specializes in ICU.
You know what? Kids these days are pretty top shelf. I can see them using decent vodka.

Geez. I know we have to keep up on this but... Geez. :(

Well if they're using top shelf that really is a waste, it's not like you're tasting it 😳

But so many things wrong with it. I first heard about tampons and vodka (didn't know it had a formal term) a couple years ago and my instant reaction was "what the f***?!?!?!". It wasn't all that long ago that I was considered a "kid". I don't remember doing anything like that.....

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Specializes in ICU.
It's sad, usually the ones that need sound, correct information the most are the ones that don't get it. This year was the best yet as far as I'm concerned. Fewest opt outs I have had so far! When I sent the letters home that this was coming up, I had several parents come in to review the approved course outline.

I agree. It's sad how resistant our culture is to sex ed. I watched a documentary once, I believe it was called "Sex in the USA" where they compared sex ed in the US to Switzerland (I believe). I also worked in an evidence based/global health perspectives project in school focusing on this. It's mind blowing how much more open their culture is AND their rates of STIs, teen pregnancy, etc. are also dramatically lower.

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I would assume "good" vodka isn't being used. I'm envisioning "still taste the charcoal, smells like rubbing alcohol, $7 a handle, frat party" vodka. Lol.

According to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), vodka is an odorless, colorless, tasteless spirit

Levi was kind of a spoilsport.

This will really put a damper on your whole night: There are NOT 10 commandments, there are 613!

The Talmud tells that there are 613 commandments in the Torah; 248 Positive Commandments (do's) and 365 Negative Commandments (do not's). However, the Talmud does not provide us with a list of these commandments.

Several great Jewish scholars have compiled a complete listing of these commandments. Although they all agree on the vast majority of the commandments, they do disagree concerning a number of them. The arguments are for scholastic purposes only, (Source: Judaism 101: A List of the 613 Mitzvot (Commandments))

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Luckily, I cannot read.

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Luckily, I cannot read.

Luckily being able to read is not one of them…

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Luckily being able to read is not one of them…

I heard one can go blind...

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Specializes in as above.

wow! we are so sensitive to such a subject. Most good questions will not be answered at home. You cant teach all in one class. Ask the kids if THEY have questions. The 'sensitive' questions are never asked in class..Keep it general. Good luck.

For a culture that is so open about sex (look at health magazines), we are closed to it. But its the parents and the school board admin that are still in the Victorian Age. If you are comfortable with kids asking sex queston, enjoy! They need someone to talk with, not at.

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Specializes in School nursing.

Values do not belong in a sex ed classroom. My opinion does not belong in a sex ed classroom. I teach the facts. I answer questions as healthy vs. unhealthy, not good or bad. Values are best discussed at home and I encourage that as everyone is different ("Everyone is different" is my answer to a lot of things...). Respect is important as is decision making tools. At the end of the day, I won't be making that decision - they will.

I love letting kids take the lead, but I don't allow slang in the classroom - we use the proper medical terms. If they know it is slang, I ask them to whisper in my ear the term and I give them the medical term out loud - or they drop the term into the question box for me to address next class. Rap music has a lot of sexual slang in it, which has me reading urban dictionary more than I ever thought I would in my life...

I am passionate about this subject if you can't tell :yes:.

Another anonymous question: "Can a member fit into another member?" :wideyed:

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Another anonymous question: "Can a member fit into another member?" :wideyed:

"Everyone is different..."

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Specializes in IMC, school nursing.
That's why I try to give the parents a chance to answer the questions. Of course we have around a 1/4 of students that opt out of sex ed every year.

And unfortunately, the majority are the students whose parents will never teach them. The same parents that are amazed when their daughters end up pregnant because they "shouldn't know about that".

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