Archive for November 2011
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THE BIG PROBLEM
BY TEAGHAN, age 9
Once there was a penguin named Bubbles. He loved bubble gum, but what he loved to do is blow bubbles with bubble gum. Bubbles has a best friend named Josh and he never minded Bubble’s problem until this day. That day, Bubbles went to school and was chewing gum. He blew a huge bubble and it got all over his friend Josh. Josh said, “Why did you do that, Bubbles?” “I’m so sorry,” said Bubbles. The next day, Josh took him to the doctor to get rid of his bubble problem. As they felt the warm breeze when they walked in the office, Bubbles had tears going down his face because he was scared. Josh told him, “It will be fine.” He conquered his fear and they entered the room. “Hello” said Dr. Penguin. “You must be Bubbles.” “Yes, that’s me,” he said. “Well, your friend Josh told me about your problem and if you take this Bubble Gum flavored medicine every day you’ll be sure to be better with it,” he said. “Yummy,” said Bubbles. “I’ll take it!” Every single day Bubbles took the medicine. After a while, Bubbles wanted to blow bubbles MORE! He ran to Josh’s house. “JOSH! JOSH! JOSH!” Bubbles yelled. “What?” he exclaimed. “I don’t think the medicine is working.” “Why not?” asked Josh. “I feel like I want to blow even more bubbles than usual.” “OH, great,” said Josh. “Well I guess I’ll have to bring you to see Dr. Penguin again.” So Josh took Bubbles to see Dr. Penguin. “Well, Bubbles, I bet the problem is the flavor,” said Dr. Penguin. “What flavor?” asked Bubbles. “The bubble gum flavor. I guess I will have to give you grape,” said Dr. Penguin. “Either that or sour lemon.” “I’ll take the grape,” Bubbles aid. Bubbles took a dose and it tasted HORRIBLE, but the feeling of chewing bubble gum was gone! He didn’t want to blow any more bubbles either. Bubbles was so happy! He was glad that he didn’t have to blow bubbles any more. When Bubbles came home, Mamma and Papa Penguin were so proud of him.
Having the Puberty Talk
Posted on: November 1, 2011
- In: momblogger
- 3 Comments
When my daughter was 9, we read “The Care and Keeping of You: The Body Book for Girls” (American Girl Library). We read it at night while she was cozy in her bed and the dim light made it less embarrassing for us. On several nights, that was the book she wanted to read TOGETHER, and I was stunned at the ease of our puberty talk.
My misstep is that I assumed this talk was a one-time deal. I brought the topic up again recently, but my daughter, now two years old, clearly did not want to go there again. In hindsight, I realize that The Talk should actually be a series of tender conversations that grow as your child grows.
Here are some helpful links to get you started and keep the conversations going:
Check out Amy Lang’s Birds + Bees + Kids: http://www.birdsandbeesandkids.com/
“The birds and the bees can be tough to talk about, but with a little information, skills, some careful thought and planning, it’s possible to have comfortable and effective sex talks with your kids that don’t make either of you nuts!”
Melissa Taylor, an educator and author of Imagination Soup, says, “Don’t forget that another part of a child’s puberty education is the mis-education at recess.”
read. laugh. write. repeat. 