Preparing Your Daughter

Sept 08

It was quite the exciting morning in my little household, its the first day of school.

My daughter wanted me to arrange her hair using these little pony tail holders she had found that apparently she felt were Quite The Thing. She probably has no idea how much I love that she still looks to me to "make her pretty."

She will turning 12 years old at the end of the month. She is now 5 foot two... shoe size an 8 (thinking she's going to be tall like me). She still has those same little girl freckles and dimples... but every day, I see a bit more of the woman she's going to become.

I'm a little concerned that she has a male teacher this year. I can tell that physically her period is going to start any day now. And I was her age when I got my first period.

In addition to being a man, he's also a young man, just a few years out of college. So should her period begin during school hours can make it a highly embarrassing event rather than a cool rite of passage that I see it being.

So in addition to packing her lunch, I included a little "emergency kit" in the bottom of back pack... the little mini-pads, panties and clean pants. I've always been incredibly open with my children about how the human body works, including the reproduction process. If they have the words to ask a specific question, they are ready to grasp the answer.

She will not panic and think something is wrong if blood appears on toilet paper or her panties. She knows what to do with the little pad I packed... I even had her practice fastening it to her panties.

Hopefully, she will smile with the secret knowledge she's now joined a different sisterhood of sorts... one her mother, grandmother and other female mentors in her life (my best friends basically) are in.

But the monkey wrench in my preparing her is that male teacher. If, God forbid, she doesn't discover it herself but another kid notices the red spot on her pants or skirt, will he know how to minimize any teasing? Will he know how to ease her embarrassment?

I know bumps in the road are a part of life. You will be embarrassed at times... possibly humiliated. Still holding your head high is what you need to be able to do.

Hopefully I'm teaching both my children this skill.