In the first moments, your new little one seems more like an alien than a bundle of joy, but after a bath for baby and a few deep breaths for the new parents, your little angel looks their part. Their little red face is all scrunched up, and the sounds that voice from their puckered little mouth are the most precious notes you could ever hope for. You ache any time the nurses take them for tests, and you deny offers from well meaning friends and family who offer to hold them while you get some sleep. All you want to do is be with your new baby, and you'll forego food, water and sleep to do just that! Babies Tale
When I was in the fifth grade, the school nurse set aside a special time when she pulled all the girls out of the class. Sequestered in a room without any males (apparently their presence would be detrimental to us females for the next 45 minutes), the school nurse proceeded to show us a video that explained the basics of the female reproductive system. The next week, the boys were given their own video session.
Too bad half the girls already had started their periods and half the guys were able to demonstrate via jokes a working understanding of what guys were supposed to “do” with girls.
Schools have been teaching sex education in late elementary school for years. The problem is, that just doesn’t cut it anymore-kids are reaching sexual maturity at an earlier and earlier age, and as parents, we need to have a concept of what is affecting the development of our children so that we can be prepared.
First, genetics has some influence over when a child matures. If you’re a woman who was a late bloomer, odds are you’ll have daughters who are, too. The same goes for men-if your voice didn’t drop fully until you were 17, don’t be too anxious if your son is still able to sing alto in choir his freshman year in high school.
Secondly, nutrition plays a role in development in that a child’s body cannot mature sexually if it doesn’t have enough vitamins, minerals, or caloric intake. Girls who don’t eat enough for one reason or another, for example, have been shown to start menses later than girls whose diets are nutritionally sound.
