only the need-to-knows for parenting kids through mental health and puberty

Today is National Stress Awareness Day, and while we all experience stress from time to time, it can lead to some serious health concerns if we let it go unmanaged. Physical problems like high blood pressure and a weakened immune system as well as mental health problems like anxiety and depression can all be linked to stress. And it’s not just adults who are affected — kids and adolescents can suffer the consequences of stress buildup, too.

A 2019 study from Sesame Workshop, (the nonprofit educational organization behind beloved kids show Sesame Street) shows that most parents just don’t talk about identity with their kids. More specifically, over 60% of parents rarely or never discuss things like race and ethnicity or country of origin with their kids, and over half of parents rarely or never discuss gender.

It’s true what you’ve heard. Girls don’t poop. That said, on the off chance that we do poop and that poop happens to come on a day during our periods… well, here are some facts.

One of the biggest changes that female kids experience during puberty is the start of menstruation. Periods can get complex: learning about what’s going on inside your body, navigating period care products, and figuring out how you can take care of yourself while you’re on your period is a lot to tackle. Talking about periods, on the other hand, shouldn’t be complicated. Learning about menstruation is an important part of learning about growing up, and it shouldn’t be shrouded in shame or misconceptions (like, for example, that you can’t get pregnant on your period).

Puberty’s tough — there’s no way around it. Maybe you have a strong memory of what it felt like to watch your body suddenly change and feel your hormones rage, or maybe you’ve tried your hardest to block these memories out (we don’t blame you). If you find yourself now faced with helping your own kids navigate puberty, your support can make a huge difference in helping them through it.

We originally wrote this children’s book for publish in our mobile app, maro, where we give parents & kids content to use as a medium for tough growing-up conversations around mental & reproductive health, empathy, and diversity. Although the following story contains important knowledge about the body & how it works, it doesn’t really align with those 4 education verticals. So, we thought we’d release it for free. Tell us your honest opinions (i.e. would you use this to teach young kids about their bodies?) and feel free to clap if you’d still like to see this turned into a children’s book!

In my early-to-late teen years, I was raped and experienced sexual trauma and harassment that required an immense amount of work to begin to heal once I was in college. I began engaging with the women’s center and the Gender Studies program my Freshman year which led to opportunities to volunteer with local women and children’s advocacy groups and direct service organizations. This gave me life. Surrounded by women I deeply admired — doing work that helped me heal in the process.