Girls and Puberty

Well, over Christmas I’ve noticed some tiny changes in my 9 1/2 year old daughter. She is in the early stages of puberty. Before I can wrap my brain around all this she brings a letter home that her school is going to be watching a video on sex education. Wow! We’ve had numerous discussions on puberty and body changes for her since she was 3. However, I have not delved into the world of sex education yet and thought I had a little more time. Now I’m reading books on how to approach the subject. A friend recommended a book by Kevin Leman, called a chicken’s guide to talking turkey about sex. I am impressed just by reading the first chapter. I wasn’t sure if it would take a bury your head in the sand approach as a good number of Christians and adults seem too but it is very blunt and I am getting very helpful parenting advice. 

My parents never really said anything about puberty or sex other than “don’t have sex before your married.” So when I became a parent I spoke with my husband and we decided we were going to be open, honest and delve into this as a family conversation. I want her to be comfortable with her body through these changes and understand it’s normal. I want her to feel she can come to us at any time and ask any thing she wants. I feel like as a parent you need to research, learn and grow. This is a topic that is so new to me as far as teaching my children so I want to get it right. 

Almost everyone I have spoken with said their parents never said anything about sex or puberty we all learned it from TV or our friends. I want my relationship with my daughers to be different. So I am very nervous but I will it’s important and hopefully it will get easier when my now five year old goes through this in a four or five years. 

Our school allows us to watch the video they are showing before our children will view it so I am going to do that. If it lines up with our values and what I would be discussing with her then she can view it. I definitely do not want her getting wrong information from her friends. 

I cannot believe my first born is old enough to be learning and going through this already. Time flies so quickly and she’ll be graduating high school before I know it.  

Physical Therapy

My oldest daughter is going through PT. To think I almost became a PT. I could be saving a lot of money if I had. She has one leg shorter than the other as well as her hip so PT is supposed to loosen up her hamstrings and heal cord. Praying it will help her!

My 8 year old forged my signature

Well, I thought this day would be during her teenage years but my 8 year old forged my signature on her reading log. She forgot it at school yesterday and I went to sign it for tonights reading and saw it had been signed yesterday. She just learned cursive so she did a great attempt and what a smart kid to think of it so she would not get in trouble. I had to bit my tongue. She is a sweet kid who always does the right thing so I was laughing inside that she thought of this. My friend said it best, ” We’ll call this funny but wrong!” We had a little discussion that it is never okay to forge mommy’s name. She apologized and said she would not do it again. I pray not, yikes!

My kids have the flu for Thanksgiving 2010

As if this month could be bad enough my 8 year old started running a 102 temp late Saturday night. I was able to get her temp down with Ibuprofen. I figured she had strep. Her only complaints were throat and head. Her temp did not go above 102 and she did not have the usual flu symptoms. I took her to the pediatricians office on Monday and they ruled out strep. He thought she may have another sinus infection however I questioned him on the medicine since she just got over one. He decided to check her for flu and sure enough she tested positive for type B. My girls have never had the flu before until now. When I got home my youngest was running a low grade temp. Fortunately my peds gave me tamiflu for both of the girls. My youngest is considered high risk because she was diagnosed with asthma. So far so good, they seem to have a very mild case.  Most of the cases I have heard about this kids are really bad off so thank you God that my girls were spared.

This month was already horrible but for my girls to get the flu before Thanksgiving thats just icing on an already crappy cake.

I do think they will be better by turkey day though and for that I can be very thankful!

Words no parent wants to hear

I am sitting in my car waiting to go through the afternoon carpool pick up. The line is more than a mile long and we are just starting to move. I hear my three year old say, “Mommy I have to go potty!” Oh no the dreaded words no parent wants to hear especially when you are stuck in a line or something you cannot get out of. All I could do was distract and pray. We picked up my daughter and made it home just in time.

“Is Puberty In Girls Coming Too Soon?”

I saw this report on ABC World News last night. I was one of those girls that started getting breasts at 8 and started my period at 9. I never wanted that to happen to my daughters. I understand what they are saying about obesity triggering estrogen and this makes sense. I also understand they are looking at environmental factors as well but what about all the hormones that are in our chicken, eggs, milk, cheese, yogurt and beef? They did not even mention this on the news last night. Is it because we are in bed so to speak with the dairy and beef industry this is a taboo subject. I purposefully by eggs, and chicken with no hormones or antibiotics. We do not eat too much beef and my girls cannot have dairy.  Other than the body odor that started at age 6, my oldest has absolutely no signs of puberty and she is 8 and I am so forever thankful. I am glad they did this study but they need to address food and hormones as well as the other things they have suggested.

Teacher Orientation

My dad started praying over me before each school year back when I went to public school. He would pray for favor, the right teachers and for me to do well. I have continued this with my girls. We just met my oldest daughter’s third grade teacher and I love her. She is a believer and she is very nice. I have heard third grade is tough because they are tested ALOT and there is so much more responsibility. She taught Kindergarten four years ago so she still has that nurturing side to her. She LOVES teaching and said it is her “calling”. Anyone who loves what they are doing are usually phenomenal at what they do. We have loved every one of Sarah’s teachers. Prayer is a powerful thing! If you are not accustomed to praying over your kids or for who they will get as teachers I encourage you to do so. God honors those simple request as well.

Kids Today

My hubby was reading Ps. 127 to our 8 year old daughter, she asks him, “Can you pause it while I go potty?” he said, “Pause the Bible?” “Yeah, I’ll be right back.”

Our girls are so used to pausing TV to go get a snack or to use the bathroom that I guess she thought you could pause the Bible too.

“Why don’t friends with kids never have any time?”

This is the best article on motherhood and why friends with kids never have any time. Carol nailed it! This is my life. An errand that may take someone who does not have children 10-15 minutes, takes me 30 -45 depending on if I have one child with me or two. I can do twice as much when my kids are not with me. I get so much more done because I am not having to break up fights, clean up messes, grab 100 snacks and take the kids where they need to go. If I do get to sit down it is usually late at night after everyone has gone to bed. My job as a mom is 24/7. I don’t regret it or hate it. It is a fact and sometimes it is like a roller coaster. You have your ups and your downs. Before you judge people you really should put yourself in their shoes for 1 minute, 1 hour or 1 day. When we say we don’t have time, it is not a lie. We are telling the truth. This is why I got an iphone for Christmas so I can keep up with friends via my phone. I rarely have time to sit down at the computer but I can stay in contact with emails, FB etc via my phone. It really is my lifeline to the world.

Sensitive Children

My favorite mommy blogger in the world is Ohmommy. She wrote a fantastic post on sensitive children and I have to share it. My oldest daughter is similar to her son Jay and we used to say she was a drama queen. She used to cry at every little thing. Throw tantrums like no one else and hide behind my legs and cry at parties.  As she has grown up, she does not cry as often. She has a lot of friends even though she is always labeled the quiet one. The thing I love about this post is she is not trying to break her son but help him to adjust. She is building character. Boys should be in touch with their feelings. I think our society is a little hesitant about that. It does not mean they should cry at every little thing or whine. My husband is a very passionate person but he does not always share his feelings or thoughts because teachers, family and friends shut him down when he would cry or share something. It is hard sometimes because I would love for him to share things with me. Each child is unique and quirky. I think we should embrace this instead of trying to fit each child into a mold. I know I have dealt with this with my own two daughters. Teachers pointing out all their quirks and flaws as if there is something wrong with them. My oldest daughter can be a drama queen but she can also be quiet and observant. She has been like this since she was a baby.  She is the kid that always friends the new kid or the kid no one wants to be around. She is compassionate, sweet and funny. She loves to read and make art. Every year I get the same thing in conferences. Pookie is a delightful child but she is too quiet. Of course, if she was talkative that would not be acceptable either. Peanut is polar opposite of Pookie except in large class settings. The entire school year Peanut was labeled as something was wrong with her. The teacher missed out on an entire year of getting to know peanut because at the end of the year Peanut showed her true self. She tells jokes, she is articulate, she is smart and funny. She is also very loving and yet she was labeled because she was SO shy. They did not take into account she had never been around a large group of kids for four hours without me before. She also was the youngest in her class. Oh and she was 3!

My friend’s son is also a wonderful, compassionate, smart, and funny kid. This teacher missed out on a opportunity to get to know him because he cried too much at first. She did not take into account that he  had never been away from mom before or maybe he had a little extra anxiety.

I am so tired of people putting our children into a box or mold or label because they are different. I worked with elementary children and preschoolers. Some had disabilities, some had autism and  some were just different but I LOVED all of them!! If we were all made the same how boring would this world be? God delights in our quirks and differences!