The Period Book: A Girl's Guide to Growing Up

My daughter got her period at 10 I bought this book and read it first. I wanted to make sure I was giving her the right tools to Cope with the changes going on with her. I have read a lot of negative reviews from some silly women and ignorant parenting to be honest. This book lets your daughter know that she’s not alone in the thoughts of feeling too fat or too skinny or not pretty enough and it empowers them to love themselves just as they are. But I’ve read some reviews where they say it’s fat shaming and skinny shaming and eating disorders and all of these things that we ignorantly think that our daughters do not already know with the amount of access they have to the Internet already at their fingertips and it gives us the power back to say these things exist these things are real wild sad it is a part of our culture that we will never escape from as much as we try so let’s talk about it instead. It’s crazy for parents to not remember what it was like to be 910 1112 years old and think that we were innocent at that age while we were innocent we weren’t understanding of why does that boy look cute or why am I feeling things downstairs why is there tingling sensations going on and it’s very scientific fact that biologically our bodies are maturing faster than our brains. My daughter read this book at 10 years old my daughter values her virginity values herself values everything that is going on with her is not ashamed that she has a period because she knows it’s a biological thing that happens to women, she knows that her body from now on is going to fluctuate in weight because she has a female body that is maturing and the book describes how eating disorders can happen and while they’re not good these things happened to little girls because they don’t understand their bodies. I saw a woman share a picture of a little girl checking out her vagina with a mirror and that it encourages that, I don’t know what girl did not sit in front of a mirror at some point in her life and look at a mirror and say that’s what that looks like shamefully and there should be no shame in the fact that we should know what we look like all aspects of us. It talks about knowing you CAN have a baby now. This book covers so many different areas of puberty and what’s to come and it prepares girls and if you think that your daughter is too immature to handle this book then you are the problem, because keeping your daughter locked up in the dark and not having her understand that things are going to happen to her that she cannot control as far as her physical development goes. The book also talks about things that she can control being strong and who she is and knowing what a sexual predator is knowing what harassment is, knowing what sexual harassment is, knowing the difference between the eating disorders and how to avoid them and how to love yourself full heartedly and I think that people can pervert any text out there but if you look at the core of it and then really put yourself in that nine-year-old to 12-year-old shoes you will remember that at one point in your life you felt that way as well and had wish that somebody would have helped you out. And I’d also like to point out that masturbation is extremely normal and regardless if you wanna talk about it or not but you don’t have to, your daughter is going to venture off and explore herself but to taint that it makes it seem like it’s a shameful is ridiculous to me and we should break that cycle.

My 12 year old daughter just started her period this summer. She was away from home visiting family, which makes me sad that I missed the first one. I went online that night and found this book. I read the reviews, and the comments about the content being inappropriate. One reviewer mentioned that she was appalled by a section that informed the reader that you could get pregnant if semen is introduced into the vagina by any means, such as a finger. While it might make us uncomfortable as parents to think about our sweet girls doing anything of the sort, the fact is that it happens. I for one would rather have her know the risks and avoid them, than keep her blissfully ignorant while she ends up pregnant because she "didn't know". They say you're supposed to have "the talk" by the time they are 8 years old now as it is. Now that she's able to get pregnant (cuz let's face it thats what periods are for) I want her to know. Keeping her in the dark isn't going to do her any favors, and telling her the truth won't hurt her. So anyways I bought the book and had it overnighted to her at my mom's house. My mom said when she handed her the book she rolled her eyes and was like "Oh God". But she sat down to read, and did not put it down again until she had read it cover to cover. She told my mom, that was a REALLY good book, it had a lot of good information in it. It also has a little log in the back for her to track her cycle. I'm comfortable in my choice to get her the book. Now I know she knows, and what she knows is the truth and not hearsay from other teenage girls or boys. You know they talk about it right? And they act on it younger and younger these days? Don't you want them informed?

I was able to talk to my daughter about the topic, but she didn't take notes. I bought this book to make sure I didn't miss anything. She read it straight through and now has a reference book to refer back to. This book made me realize how important it is for the kids to have access to the knowledge so they know they are normal and what it's all about. It has great advice on letting kids make decisions that are right for them and educating them on the types of products they can use. I read it quickly after she did and she wanted it back within 24 hours to go over some chapters again. Her favorite part was the Q &A. I think sometimes we forget how valuable these types of books are for our kids and I'm very thankful to the author for writing this book! The illustrations are great too!

This book is EVERYTHING Beautifully written, clear, concise, and so accessible for teens I'm a little conflicted however about the sections that mention eating disorders and the page speaking of the pressure to send nude photos As a therapist, I know first-hand how many teen girls were "turned on" to new ideas like anorexia by being exposed to content that described the process in detail. As a mom whose daughter doesn't have a cellphone, I don't feel good about her being taught about the way people send nudes. I want her to read the book, but I want to be careful about what kind of info she receives and from whom. I will be speaking with her about eating disorders, but I won't be going into detail about what they manifest like. I will be talking to her about sexual coercion and cyber safety, but not casually mention that nudes are a "thing". I would have liked to see the author separate the content into two books, one focused on puberty and the other focused on mental, emotional, and sexual health for teens.

I read this book before giving it to my 10 1/2 year old. It's well written and age appropriate. It's a great way to help a little girl starting puberty to understand what all is going to change in the next few years, ad also to give her context to start asking questions. I love that she encourages girls to look at their bodies and their genitals. I also love that she talks about why a gynecology apt is important and what will/should happen at one. I was a little surprised there was not more age appropriate information about sex in general. The author touches on it, but in her book "What's Going on Down There? for Boys," she goes into much more detail about the differences between male and female development and what constitutes "sex," which now days is a lot. I appreciated that the book told my sons the information and allowed them to ask questions of me and my husband. In the 'boys' book, the author touched on info I wouldn't have thought of so it was helpful for them to hear it at home instead of in a locker room with other teenage boys who were repeating info they might not understand or be accurate about. I may have my daughter read that book in a couple yeas as well so she can have a more rounded perspective.

I really enjoyed this book for my daughter, she’s 10years old and liked how it explained everything so well (her words). She did feel kind of weird reading it in front of me but she went to her room and read almost the whole thing the day she got her period and she said she liked it a lot and that it made her feel comfortable with her body changes (her words again) I was very happy when I saw how into the book she was and how she’d come to be and read a chapter or so of what she thought was interesting and then she’d run back to her room to read more. Also, I saw comments about how they thought the book was inappropriate for younger girls, and how they thought it was more appropriate for teenagers, and how the “nude picture sending “chapter was Inappropriate and I can honestly say that I read the whole book before I gave it to her I felt like it was very appropriate and relevant for the situation and taught her that it’s not something she should do. I also like how it explains growing up in today’s society and the expectations that most girls go through. Definitely recommend this book for girls going through puberty. I made sure I had a “period box” ready for my daughter for when she started and I included this book along with it and she really enjoyed it all.

This book made it so much easier to talk to my niece about growing up. She's excited to continue reading it and is giving her a positive experience about the changes she will go through. I think it's perfect for facilitating a conversation with a young girl and makes for a safe, comfortable experience for both of you.

If you are wondering what is the appropriate age for the content of this book , I would say that it is not the based on the age but on the maturity and needs of the child. I purchased this book to read together with my 9 year old daughter. She had been showing the early symptoms of puberty. At the time I kept the book with me and I would only ready and discuss the topics that were appropriate for the changes she was experiencing. It helped me begin the conversations in a way she could understand. I didn’t know where to start and this book was a very helpful guidance. She is now almost 11 years old and while we still read it together the time has come for her to also read it alone. It has been an educational aid and should be used as such. I prefer to read it together so that I can answer any further questions she might have. A girl’s anatomy should not be a taboo topic and I appreciate that this book educates girls about their anatomy. Please keep in mind every child matures differently and so she is not a defining factor, rather try focusing on the changes your child is going through.