The Care & Keeping of you

[Carowiththegoodhair]

Canvassing opinion on this book on puberty before buying it.

It looks like a curate’s egg, lots of good stuff but slightly concerned about the section on body care, underarm & leg hair. There are graphics of girls removing hair and given the book is aimed at 9-11 year olds, it’s grinding my gears a little. Does this lay down negative foundations about self-image for girls or am I being over-sensitive?

Is there anything good on the market at the moment?

Get a second hand copy of Our Bodies, Ourselves. It covers everything.

I’m looking for something useful on puberty suitable for a girl in Year 4.

The Usborne Book 'Whats Happening to Me? was the best I found but maybe aimed slightly older.

Many do include removing hair but more sensible ones say it is optional

Yup, I'd steer clear of anything advocating removal of body hair personally. (I wouldn't be doctrinaire about it - if I had a daughter and she came to me and said "I want to remove underarm hair/leg hair", I'd buy the products she needed and explain how; but I certainly wouldn't be subjecting her to propaganda saying "you must do this.")

I think this might call for a trip to an old fashioned bookshop so you can actually browse, rather than taking pot luck on line.

Yes that’s what DH reckons. He also wryly pointed out that it’s very difficult to discourage girls from removing body hair if you do it yourself.

he's right, of course! we are our daughters' first teachers!