Turn the Page: The Girls Guide to Sex Education
Photo by Suad Kamardeen on Unsplash
So this seems a book out of the ordinary of what I would read for my enjoyment. Generally the books you find here are more than likely fiction novels or even an autobiography... or three. But this time around, I read the self-help book called The Girls' Guide to Sex Education: Over 100 Honest Answers to Urgent Questions about Puberty, Relationships, and Growing Up by Michelle Hope. Let me be the first to say, this is not an area I often venture into. However, when you get to meet the author and hear why she created a book, even if it is not exactly directed at you, you read it!
This book was a fairly easy read--which is great because it’s meant for parents to get their just-about-to-hit-puberty-young-girls. This book is divided into 5 major sections to give guidance to young girls and answer the vast array of questions they could have. But even better, it is meant as a way for these girls to foster a relationship based on communication with their trusted adult! Yep! That means you!
Why would you need this book?
You need this because there is a point in every kids life where they go from almost worship like adoration of their parents, listening to what they have to say to totally shunning you. They get to a point where what their friends say or think has more value than what you say. They get to a point where you are no longer the first person they talk to when they have an issue. AND if you have not been that great about having conversations about sex and sexuality, changing bodies, puberty, and the like, you are not likely the person they would even feel comfortable speaking to about it.
Wait up now. This does not mean that hope is lost. Because the author, Michelle Hope, does give you some hope yet. How? Because the whole idea behind this book is not only to give a basic answer to some tough questions about friendships, crushes, and sex, but the hidden goal is to keep reminding the girls that they should speak to their parents, aunts, uncles, close family friends, and other ADULTS who would have a tight grasp on the information--she refers to you as the Trusted Knowledgeable Adult. Meaning that it would help to reduce the misinformation given back and forth between adolescents who may not have accurate information. (You know how the game of telephone goes).
Anyway, this is one of the books I recommended to the folks who attended my workshop SEX TALK: PARENT EDITION, which you can access, too (and with a discount, I might add).
Recommendation:
If you have a child/adolescent in your life who isn’t talking to you about sex and relationships yet, get them this book. The Girls Guide to Sex Education can help to open some of those lines of communication. I also recommend the webinar SEX TALK: PARENT EDITION. No, I don’t just recommend it because I created it, but because being trusted, does not necessarily mean knowledgeable. It can be hard to keep track of ALL the information, but more importantly it can feel wrong and icky to speak to your kids about sex. I get it. The webinar gives the tools to find good info and hand it out like candy! BUT, it also helps you to address some of the reasons you may not even want to speak to your kid, neice, nephew, younger sibling, or other young one, about sex. I recommend them both together!