Puberty, the Announcement.

[la_rainette]

I have told Froglet about Impending Puberty, obviously. All of a sudden Husband is Very Pleased that he has only girls and doesn't have to give the birds and bees talk himself. I have neglected to point out to him that me being a girl never bothered my mum: whenever I asked a question she didn't want to answer ("How are babies made?"), she would grab my hand and drag me to see my dad.

YOUR DAUGHTER, she would tell him, JUST ASKED ME HOW BABIES ARE MADE!!!!!!

Don't worry, he would answer. If she's asking you, it's because she already knows the answer. She just wants to make sure you know the answer, too.

And people wonder why I was so close to my dad.


ANYWAYS. So I HAVE told Froglet about Puberty, but since then she's had a CLASS about it and thus has been Properly Enlightened.

She has also been given her first sanitary towel. In a pretty plastic bag.

She stormed in after class and threw her thin self onto a chair, and then adopted her moodiest pout and just sat there, looking dejected and suitably fed up with life.

What's up, I asked.

I had a DISGUSTING class, she said. Just DISGUSTING.

And then she showed me the sanitary towel and said: Do you really mean that FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE I will have to wear DIAPERS once a month?

Me: You used to be a baby. You wore them all the time.
Froglet: *rolls eyes* and your point is?
Me: ... Do I have to have a point?
Froglet *sighs ostensibly*
Me: So, what did they give the boys, then?
Froglet *perks up considerably*: OH MAN, that was SO FUNNY! You should have seen their faces!
Me *fights off sudden condom thoughts*: ... surely not...
Froglet: DEODORANT! HAH!
Me: Oh. Right.

To Be Continued. Alas.

Comments

[scribbulus-ink.livejournal.com]

Y'know, that was pretty much my reaction to having my first period. I was thirteen, and I couldn't wait for menopause. Still can't, actually!

[la-rainette.livejournal.com]

Oh yes. Though what's LESS fun about getting nearer to menopause is, you still get your period, but at COMPLETELY RANDOM TIMES. I could do without the suspense, frankly.

[drazzi.livejournal.com]

I can only say my family had great fun (http://drazzi.livejournal.com/4863270.html) when Heather-Feather was taught about puberty at school :3

[la-rainette.livejournal.com]

*DIES* "It's not a willy, it's a penis!"

I once babysat a three-year-old girl for a friend of mine, and when I took her to the bathroom (mainly because I really needed to pee), she suddenly asked me very very loudly DO YOU HAVE A PENISH OR A VAGINA? and I was o_O.

[lonespark.livejournal.com]

But...tampons?

Deoderant should be for everybody, no? But perhaps the boys need to be more strongly encouraged to use it?

[la-rainette.livejournal.com]

She's ten, we'll get there eventually. :D Pads are probably easier at first. I mean, she knows what tampons are, but considering the way she can't cut a piece of paper with CRAYOLA SCISSORS without injuring herself, we may want to wait a little for tampons.

And yes, deodorant should be for everyone, I agree -- I think it's mostly that they were giving the girls something and wanted to make sure the boys got something too.

[darthrami.livejournal.com]

aaaaahahaha

[la-rainette.livejournal.com]

:D

[la-rainette.livejournal.com]

Well, in French we don't refer to it as "The Curse", and I don't think it's seen as something shameful. Fertility is a wonderful thing, no doubt about that, but getting my period once a month is still a BLOODY INCONVENIENCE as far as I am concerned. :D

[plantmom.livejournal.com]

It seems like such an inefficient design. I mean, why have periods for decades when the underlying mechanics are only used a couple of times?
If it were a business someone would get called up in front of the board of directors. ;) I love God and all, but, NOT one of His best designs.

[la-rainette.livejournal.com]

Hah! Interesting. I didn't know that, but it makes a lot of sense, actually.

[plantmom.livejournal.com]

That's fascinating!

[la-rainette.livejournal.com]

*grins and hugs* Is okay. And yes, I would totally like to have a menstruation hut where I could sit and chat with my friends for a few days every month.

I'd like it even more if I could be entirely isolated for the two days BEFORE my period unexpectedly jumps me (yeah, somehow it always manages to take me by surprise), if just to avoid the whole HELLO DRAGON LADY trauma that goes with Intense PMS.

[hobbitblue.livejournal.com]

Don't they give tampons? We all got a wee box of those after "the talk".

[la-rainette.livejournal.com]

Nope, just sanitary pads. And honestly, Froglet being the phenomenal klutz that she is, I would be afraid if they did. :D

[hobbitblue.livejournal.com]

I guess :) Just less of the "icky diaper" factor (I don't care if we're supposed to love and embrace the miracle of being a woman, the joy of being on the pill and no flippin' bleeding every month is my idea of fun these days... :> )

[la-rainette.livejournal.com]

IAWTC OMG SO MUCH!

And I also agree that tampons are GREAT, it's just that she might panic and stab herself in the thigh with it. :D But she'll learn -- I'll do my best to guide her. It might take awhile though, because like most kids her age, she's becoming very Private about her body.

[hobbitblue.livejournal.com]

Hehe, that's one way to learn what's where, though...? I started out with the non-applictor kind cos I could never get the angle right, makes for messy hands though and I was a fastidious kid..

[plantmom.livejournal.com]

I love the way you write.

Yes, it's hard dealing with these new (to them)feelings and experiences.

I believe you do a great job with your daughters.

[la-rainette.livejournal.com]

Thank you! *hugs*

And yes, it's not easy. Froglet sees it happen around her a lot (she is in a grade 5/6 split class, and many girls are way taller and more developed than she is), so she is ... a little worried about what comes next.

[plantmom.livejournal.com]

I hope she avoids what Em went through at one point. A stage where everyone in the world was categorized as fat or not-fat, and it was evident there were a number of girls in her class who were borderline anorexic, if not worse. Luckily Em seems to have come to terms with her body. That's not easy with what they're exposed to in our society today!

[la-rainette.livejournal.com]

Oh god -- yes. This is something that scares me, actually, the whole fat/not-fat thing, and it's already starting at her school, especially with the grade 6 kids.

I've had friends who were anorexic, not just borderline but completely there. It's a scary and dangerous thing.

[la-rainette.livejournal.com]

*g* I think that's pretty much what they tried to do too, but Froglet really Doesn't Want To Hear About It (even though the young female teacher who did this is a good teacher, a really good role-model for girls and a lovely person in general).

I keep waiting for Froglet to ASK ME QUESTIONS, but she doesn't, not that much. *sighs*

What did you believe, then? :D

[la-rainette.livejournal.com]

That is so cute! *dies laughing* Love the gender switch concept.

I wish I could tell you my beliefs, but sadly I do not remember them (and the few I do remember I really cannot share).

I have no idea what Froglet knows or doesn't know at this point. She tends to run for safety whenever I try to Give Her The Speech (or anything that even remotely resembles it), and I just don't run as fast as she does. :D

Froglet: Why is this spoon so wee?
Me: it's a BABY SPOON!
Froglet *half giggling, half scolding* MUM!
Me: see, when a daddy spoon and a mommy spoon love each other very much...
Froglet: I DO NOT WANT TO HEAR THIS *flees*