Before She Gets Her Period: Talking with Your Daughter about Menstruation

As a young girl, I seem to remember ordering a book about this subject all on my own after seeing information in a magazine. I also seem to remember my parents telling me that they had heard of girls in India having babies as young as 7 or 9. However, they didn't tell me how a girl could get pregnant, nor do I remember being told that I should expect my body to change. I read it all in books that I either found at the library or ordered with my pocket money. If I was mature enough to look up the information on my own, then I'd assume that most of today's young girls are mature enough to understand the importance of learning about menstruation. Would this book have been helpful to me at age 10-12? I think this book is an excellent choice for parents, but is definitely too mature for an 8 to-9 year old to read. The author recommends that you talk to your daughter at age 8 and explains that by age 9 some girls are already starting their menstrual cycle. The average age is 12. I think some 12-year olds might find this book interesting if you select a few stories. Some of the stories would not be appropriate to read to young children and even when reading these to an older 10-12- year old, you have the option of leaving out any details that are not age appropriate. The Glossary is filled with detailed information that actually might interest girls who are 11-12 if they are interested in educating themselves in the finer details of being female. You might want to read everything first to see what is appropriate for your daughter. So, I'd recommend this book to parents who are interested in reading a book about menstruation in order to explain the details to their daughters. There are three sections: Start Preparing: How culture shapes the experience, stories of various experiences, ages, etc. Brush up on Basic Facts: What to tell and when. What your daughter should know about mood swings and PMS. Face to Face: How to talk to your daughter and how to talk to men about menstruation. There is also an interesting section called: "Menarche is a time to celebrate." Jessica B. Gillooly, Ph.D., is a Marriage, Family and Child Counselor who is also the Assistant Professor of Psychology at Glendale Community College. Over the years she has conducted workshops on single parenting, fathering, mother/daughter issues and many other parenting challenges. Jessica gives some excellent advice and explains the finer details of making the "talks" more comfortable for you and your daughter. She also includes a list of books you might want to order for additional information. The list of "ice breakers," "challenging situations," and "questions to encourage dialogue" makes this book very practical. ~The Rebecca Review

I, too was dreading the talk with my 10 year old daughter. Not knowing where or how to begin. This book really helped put things in order. It brought back some funny and not so funny memories of certain embarrassing situations which opens the door for discussion. I really think this is a great book for all mothers with daughters.

I am a 12 year old girl, and I got my period last month. Before that - I had learned about Menstruation in school. I had a lot of questions, but I didnt think that my mom was the type that I could talk to about this. I found this book in my library, and I thought that it might have some answers. Its a good thing I read it, becase a few weeks after, I got my period. It wasnt as scary as I thought it would be. Afterward, I talked with my mom, and told her that I got mine. She asked me if I had any questions, and instead of replying, I gave her a speech on what I knew. This is a great book, and it teaches that growing up aint bad at all! :)

After I read this book, it made me realize that I hadn't talked to my daughter about growing up. I hope that the selling ranks go up so that other mothers can realize how important it is to talk to their children about menstration!

I was really dreading talking to my ten year old about her period when I chanced upon this book at my bookstore last month. My mother never really got to it until my period started and I thought that I was bleeding to death. This book provided the right framework to help me initiate talking to my ten year old. I feel that these discussions have been some of our most special times together. Thank you, Dr. Gillooly