to be worried that my 12 year old dd has read 'How to build a girl' by Caitlin Moran?

[ProofBy1nduction]

My DD, almost 13, reads everything which is brilliant. She loves reading and has read most of my suggestions so far - the 'Anne of Green Gables' series, the Hungar Games, Malory Towers etc.

As she has got a bit older she has been reading more mature books for example the Adrian Mole books, and more recently 'We are all completely beside ourselves' by Karen Joy Fowler (which I was also a bit uncomfortable about.)

Last night I went to say goodnight and she said she had almost finished 'How to build a girl' by Caitlin Moran, and that it had a few weird bits in but everytime one came up she just swiped quickly through the pages.

I had downloaded the 'The Smart Girls' Guide to Growing Up' for her and I think she must have thought this was the same. Our kindles are linked so she has access to all the books that I have read which I had thought to be OK.

Anyway having skimmed over the book ( I read it a few years ago) it is riddled with talk of sex, periods, masturbating etc! I have had a sleepless night worrying about it.

Would you be worried about this? Do you censor your child's reading heavily?

Migraleve Sun 12-Nov-17 10:24:18
"And this is why we should check the content BEFORE our DC read the book. Seriously, it’s not difficult."

So how is this going to work, particularly if you have a very fast reader. Not allowed to read anything until mum (who is probably busy with work and housework and maybe other children) has had time to read the entire book? Not allowed to go to a library on their own? Not allowed to go to a bookshop and spend own pocket money?

I would much rather my dd learned about sex, period and masturbating from KM than porn and peers, which is the other alternative. ( ok, so no periods in porn, but you get my drift).
If you want something more educational, I've just bought my 13 year old the new edition of Our Bodies Ourselves, which saved my anxious life in the repressed 80 s when my big sister smuggled it into my house.
You could give it a look and maybe buy her that too. There is do much misinformation and myth around female bodies, every teen girl needs a copy.
You sound like a lovely mum

girlwhowearsglasses - my DS -14 read 'The Art of being a Brilliant Teenager' last year and it had an affect on him for about a month then he went back to normal again. I wish he enjoyed reading but he just doesn't.
My younger dd -9- also struggles more with enjoying reading but I'm hopeful she will be converted.

Thank you ohyesIam - same to you!
I will try that book - I never had any talk at all from my parents so found out about everything from school, Judy Bloom, Virginia Andrews

Haven't read it myself - but it's now on my list for the Christmas stockings of a few teenage boys.

Thanks!

To be honest she will either be mature enough to understand it or it will go over her head.

I read some quite adult books at that age and while I understood the words I have to say a lot of the finer points escaped me or didn't have the impact they would have if I read them now.

I remember reading one about the girls boyfriend pressuring her to have sex with him and "giving her something" to relax her.

I knew he wasn't nice and it was wrong of him to do what he had but the actual impact of what was being discussed was a little over my head in all honestly.

Oh and I meant to say that CM gets right to the bottom of patriarchal shite that controls and limits women's/ girls lives. And undermines it.
I am going to my DDS room right now to make sure she has nicked my copy. And if not I'm putting it on her pillow.
All the shite that girls get fed needs counteracting!

it is riddled with talk of sex, periods, masturbating etc!

at the age of 12 I had read all that thanks to just seventeen magazine. It was a good thing as it helped me understand things that were not spoken about. My knowledge was definitely ahead of my peers.

What is it that concerns you? If your DD did not want to read I'm sure she wouldn't.

Just remembered: is How to Build a Girl the one where she stays with that guy in Brighton in a band, with the enormous penis? Genuinely one of the funniest things I have ever read. And would probably put a teen off sex for years 😉