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Arts and crafts, as well as homemade treats, help groups raise funds during holidays.
• A list of this year's nonprofit bazaars in South Sound
Lisa Pemberton
Each Sunday, former Olympian reporter Lisa Pemberton will write about the everyday challenges and rewards of raising three children.
Post a comment or send her an e-mail at lisapemberton@rocketmail.com.
It feels good to know that I’m not alone.
Inspired by the Oct. 18 Busy Mama column, “Brace yourself for the inevitable birds and bees talk,” several readers shared their experiences and thoughts on the importance of talking openly with kids about puberty and sex.
Lately, I’ve been doing more research on the topic as well. I found a great Web site, www.talkingwithkids.org, which is published by the nonpartisan research advocacy group Children Now and the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.
According to the site: “Studies show that kids who feel they can talk with their parents about sex – because their moms and dads speak openly and listen carefully to them – are less likely to engage in high-risk behavior as teens than kids who do not feel they can talk with their parents about the subject .”
The Web site offers tips, links and resources on talking to kids about several of the biggies: sex, violence, HIV and AIDS, drugs and alcohol. I’m planning to study up on all of them. I don’t want a repeat of the awkward nondiscussion that took place about two years ago when my daughter asked where babies come from.
Here are some of the reader responses to my earlier column:
Cute.
It reminded me of when my grandson Seth got to be in the delivery room to see his baby brother born.
As I drove him home afterward, I asked, “Wasn’t that wonderful to watch your brother come out?”
His answer, “Yes! But how did he get in there?”
P.S. If your daughter is nearly 9, I think it’s time that you brought up the topic instead of waiting for another question! Haha.
– Karen Strand, Lacey
Your daughter, you say, is almost 9. A wonderful age. Your column brought back many memories.
The first was starting my period with no warning whatsoever on the subject. When I went to my mother thinking there was something wrong, she handed me a pad, belt and booklet. That was it. At 12, I was initiated into the sneak-a-pad-out-of-mom’s-closet club.
When my daughter was 9, I knew I had to do better.
Looking at her I could see the beginning of pubic hair and breast buds. I went to the library and got the best books I could and gave them to her. These weren’t all that good but they gave the idea. She didn’t believe them or me. I finally had to get her teacher to affirm the information.
Make sure your daughter understands what is being said, but do not push her for answers.
Most girls will show signs of maturing before they “need” the information, but be cautious as some will not.
Girls mature earlier now than before, according to doctors. (I blame the hormones in milk and other food substances.) When I was young, 12 to 16 was normal for the first period. Now it can occur much younger.
Please let your daughter know that this is a normal sign of maturing – do not call it “the curse” or “Eve’s punishment” or any other thing that makes it sound like women are not fit members of society.
Women are and always have been strong and equal participants in life, and acceptance of our bodies is the first step in being strong and active all though life.
– Virginia Towne, Olympia
Oh, you have moved the dust on the craniums of every parent with the column today.
It matters not that I am 70 years old – I remember my own parental sequence like it just happened.
As the mother of two boys and as a high school biology teacher, that sequence was referenced many, many times as I worked with my students to help them understand the plight of the parent.
There is something about talking to one’s own children that is so much more difficult than doing it in a public school setting.
In any event, I just had to comment on how much I enjoyed and empathized with the content of today’s contribution.
– Vicki DeBoer, Olympia
Former Olympian reporter Lisa Pemberton is busier than ever with her three children. She can be reached at lisapemberton@rocketmail.com.
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