This is exactly what I had to deal with just a few weeks ago.
I have a nine year old daughter, and I had to sit her down to tell her all of the In's and outs of puberty.
My mother had previously pointed out to me that my daughter was developing rather earlier than the average child her age, so it would be best to inform her now what to expect.
Puberty can be a scary topic for a parent, and in my case I had to first overcome the denial that my daughter had grown - to me she is still my little girl and after all, how do you talk to your child about puberty?
I had a plan of attack, first I would find a health website that showed a woman's uterus. Then I grabbed some props- a tampon, water, shot glass and a menstrual pad and I booted the boys out of the house for a while, so it was just the two of us.
Without trying to scare the life out of my daughter, I asked her if she knew anything about a woman's period not knowing whether or not her friends might've beaten me to it. Thankfully she said "no", so I began with my first ever puberty talk.
Step 1:
I began with telling her WHY we needed to have a talk,which was that her body is starting to go through noticeable changes. It was also important that I told her that at anytime during our talk on puberty, she could ask questions even if she thought they might be silly.
Step 2:
Once she was happy with that, I then went on to tell her what happens to a woman when she is going through a menstrual cycle. Now this is where my picture of a uterus came in handy...lol!
I talked about why a woman has a monthly cycle, with the egg travelling into the uterus and when it is unfertilised it is then passed from the body by the menstrual flow or blood.
Step 3:
Now came the scientific exercise....I told her about what we woman use to combat the menstrual flow, using tampons and sanitary pads and how we use them. With the pad, I told her to pour a little water on it to see what happens, then with the tampon, I told her to put it in the shot glass that had a bit of water in it.
She was amazed with the tampon expanding and absorbing all of the liquid and too my surprise she said "this is just like a science experiment mum!" Here I was thinking she would be freaking out!
Step 4:
Discussing at all times, that getting your period is not painful like a cut finger etc. but sometimes what it feels like, is like having a little pee, but most of the time you don't feel it at all apart from period cramps now and then.
Step 5:
At this point, she was bombarding me with a lot of questions, which was great because I knew she was listening to what I was saying.
This is where she was curious about how an egg, turns into a baby.
Taking my time I had the "sex talk" with her. I told my daughter about intercourse and how babies are made. I assured her that kissing a boy will not make her pregnant. ( this seems to be a huge misconception with kids)
We discussed what contraception is and that when she is of age, and she is thinking about having sex with her boyfriend.... (God forbid!) that she will come to me to talk about it and we could look at contraception for her.
I do have to say however that I sternly told her that she should at least wait until she is the age of 25.
Yes, I know I am dreaming but a mother can dream!
Conclusion:
It is important to take the motherly role and educate your child on puberty, even if it makes you uncomfortable.
Using pictures help - can you imagine what a child may think when you tell them what a "fallopian tube" is!
Make it less scary by introducing a science experiment. Most children absorb things better by doing.
Above all, have an open discussion, encourage feedback and questions let her know she can talk to you about anything.
Now when my daughter watches an ad on t.v for tampons, she tells me "I know what those are for now mum"
