opening a can of worms

It's becoming apparent that I needed to start talking with TO about puberty.  I had always pictured her approaching me with questions--this is how it worked when I was younger, at least this is how I remember it working.  But we are starting to deal with some body odor issues with her now, and it's becoming clear that she has no idea what's ahead of her.

Her oncologist warned us that puberty might come early for her, but still, 2nd grade seems extremely young--although thinking back, I did know a classmate who got her first period when she was 9.  So, now I get to broach the subject with her, and I'm wondering just what kind of questions I'm going to have to deal with.  In addition to the body odor, it's becoming very apparent that I've been lax in the whole teaching her proper hygiene.  I picked up a copy of the Care & Keeping of You last night and read through it.  It really does a good job of touching on all aspects of puberty, not just getting your period--although it does cover this too.

I sent LE and CD to bed at their normal time tonight a talked to TO a bit about what puberty was and then we read some of the book together--the first few chapters talked about hair, ears, eyes and mouth.  She took the book to bed with her tonight, so it should be interesting to see what kind of questions she has in the morning.

So far, she seems very excited about the whole prospect.  I described puberty a girl's body changing to that of a woman's--a woman's body being one that was able to have a baby.  Obviously we didn't get to any of the chapters about periods, and I think that will be the stuff that freaks her out a bit.

I wish I had a bit more support on this whole topic.  P has specifically told me that he doesn't want to know anything about TO and puberty.  He doesn't want to know when I'm talking to her, any questions she has, etc.  He's told me he will take care of talking to the boys--which I really think probably means he will let them learn from their friends.  Now I need to decide if I'll need to step in or not.  But I guess I don't even need to read the label for that can of worms for a few more years--thank goodness.