Great question for this community from the dad of a 10-year-old Mighty Girl: Im the single dad of a 10 year old girl and your website and page have been hugely helpful to me. Ive seen you post advice questions in the past so I thought Id give it a shot. My daughter has reached the age when I want her to feel prepared for whats coming with puberty ahead but being a single dad makes it all a little complicated. Ive thought about having my sister talk to her and may still do that but, as her only parent, I also want to make sure she feels comfortable coming to me with questions. I dont really see it as a one-time big talk but as the start of an ongoing discussion so I want to make sure that we are starting off on the right foot. Weve always been close but I know that puberty can lead to changes in the parent & child relationship so I was hoping to hear advice from other parents about how they have approached these conversations and keep their relationship going strong with their daughter through this time. It would be great if any dads out there could chime in though Id appreciate hearing moms perspectives as well. Thanks in advance! - Paul B. If you have any advice for Paul on how to approach conversations about puberty or on how to stay close to his daughter and encourage open communication with her during this transition period, please share it in the comments below. Thanks for sharing your question, Paul -- its the first weve received from a dad! From our perspective, an important first step is finding a good resource book for your daughter so shell have a high-quality source of information to reference even if she doesnt always feel comfortable asking you directly about everything. One resource we can offer is that weve put together several blog posts that provide an overview of the various developmental books for girls. These books go into different levels of detail about the various aspects of growing up so, hopefully, our overview will help you find one thats just right for your daughter. For recommended resources to help your tween understand the changes shes experiencing both physically and emotionally, visit our post on “Talking with Tweens and Teens About Their Bodies” at amightygirl/blog?p=2229 We also released a related post specifically about menstruation, “That Time of the Month: Teaching Your Mighty Girl about Her Menstrual Cycle” at amightygirl/blog?p=3281 The books highlighted in our final post are probably a little young for your daughter but for other parents out there seeking resources for preschoolers and early elementary-aged children, visit our post Talking with Younger Girls about their Bodies at amightygirl/blog/?p=2006
Posted on: Fri, 18 Oct 2013 00:48:06 +0000