Girls in the U.S. and Africa: a guide to getting your period

In my last post, I talked about girls getting their period, and kids in general starting puberty. You can read that here. The call was sponsored by HelloFlo, which is a subscription box service offering women their monthly supply, which comes a few days before you need it, so you don't get caught having to run to the store at the last minute.

You might have heard of HelloFlo from their awesome video that went viral, Campy Gyno. It is hilarious, and something you might even want to share with your daughters because it's so funny.



I participated in the call because I was interested in hearing what Dr. Cara Natterson had to say about puberty and the period, since I have a daughter in that age range. But as thanks for participating in the call, Hello Flo sent us a period starter kit, which I was interested in seeing. Hello Flo Founder Naama Bloom wanted to help parents help their daughters figure the period out, and to celebrate its arrival, not to treat the period like the beginning of a monthly dreaded event.

Here's what the package contained:

Girls and Puberty - is your daughter normal?

I recently took part in a phone call with Dr. Cara Natterson, author of The Care and Keeping of You, an American Girl book. You might recall that last year I wrote about some puberty books for boys and girls. This is one of the books I covered.

Dr. Natterson was a practicing pediatrician, but is now a full time writer. She's also the medical advisor of HelloFlo, who sponsored the call (founder Naama Bloom was on the call too). More on them later!

Since I have a tween daughter, the puberty issue is of interest and I was curious to hear what Dr. Natterson had to say about it.

Review: Puberty Books for Girls and Boys

With a tween girl at home, we've been starting to have "the conversation" or rather "the conversations" (plural). Well, we didn't just start - the talks have been happening for awhile. Friends have taken the Heart to Heart: for Girls Only class at Stanford, for girls and a female adult companion and spoke highly of the class.

The class has a book list of possible puberty books you can share with your daughter. I bought a few of them (plus one for a boy). I read a bunch of reviews on Amazon before buying them. I reviewed these books from an adult perspective because I don't think my daughter wants me to share her thoughts on issues like these.

Puberty Books for Girls

What's Happening to My Body - Book for Girls by Lynda Madaras
This 230 page book is comprehensive. Unlike the books for boys that I reviewed below, it's much more serious and reads like an adult book, with illustrations that are realistic and not cartoonish, unlike what the cover depicts. The book is aimed at girls 10+ and includes quotes from girls on what they think of certain topics discussed. Definitely read this book before giving it to your daughter. It's got a lot of great information, but it is thorough and mature. The book covers:

-puberty (and growth)
-sex and anatomy (with drawings and descriptions of both male/female parts; no drawings of couples together)
-boys' puberty changes (including erection/ejaculation etc.)
-ovulation/menstruation (and how to care for yourself during that time, using tampons and pads and dealing with cramps, etc)