Be Prepared Period

I recently discover a truly cool site for parents of daughter and young girls.  I think of how great this would have been when I was young!

Did you know that today girls are hitting puberty at a younger age than ever before?

A site about periods, you say? Is that really necessary? After all, isn’t that what parents and sex education classes are for?

The truth is that nothing can be further from the truth. 

In fact, for girls and their parents, no matter how loving and involved, ‘growing up’ can be a difficult, confusing albeit beautiful phase of life - that is often misunderstood and laced with silent shame. Especially when it comes to sexual development and periods.

So one intuitive and determined mother, finding herself in the midst of puberty with her own daughter decided to do something about it. She found it conflicting that there was nothing on the market that she could give to her daughter, to mark this special time in her life. So she created one, and she made a vow to go one-step further!

To also educate. 

To make resources for parents and girls readily available and easily accessible, as they SHOULD BE. To ease the transition so it becomes one of empowerment rather than shame – of celebration rather than confusion.

And most importantly, to spread the word, so that ALL girls and ALL parents could benefit from the truth about menstruation and puberty, which starts with the fact that it is 100% normal and completely natural. (And these days, starting earlier than ever)

Branching Out – How Be Prepared Period Has Grown –

What started out as a homegrown business to provide girls with a special gift that they could be given when they started their periods has turned into a full throttle platform to raise period awareness and ensure that girls and parents readily find the information and resources that they need, when they need it.

Since development, Be Prepared Period has added the following enhancements to their site, with many more planned in the future!

• Constant flow of new and accurate information for girls and parents throughout all pages of the website. With girls now experiencing puberty at younger ages than ever before, many parents and children are completely unprepared. The information on the site is compassionate, and designed for everyone involved.
• Specific areas for parents and other women to share their personal stories about puberty and menstruation, which can be the best way for young girls, women and parents to feel like they are not alone in their worries and struggles.
• The steady introduction of new products, many of which are organic, natural and eco friendly so parents, young girls and women can find the best products for them.
• Convenient monthly subscription offers for the delivery of feminine hygiene products which avoids ‘embarrassing’ trips to the store and ensures that all girls (of all ages) have what they need.
• Availability of gift certificates, which makes supplying a loved one with supplies discreet and easy.
• Blogs, Monthly Tweet Chats, Giveaways, and Savings all geared to empowerment and education.
• PeriodTalk, an online Question & Answer forum covering all period and puberty related topics.

Another extremely important aspect of Be Prepared Period’s growth and mission is to reach as many girls, women and parents as possible – on a global scale, so that nobody feels alone, anguished, or confused when it comes to menstruation.

In so many cultures around the world, menstruation is seen as a momentous and celebratory time, in which a young girl takes her first step across the bridge of womanhood.

Be Prepared Period is determined to bring that same sense of sanctity about puberty and menstruation to girls across the globe. We strive to work with like-minded individuals and organizations who believe in helping others. If you are one of them, please do not hesitate to contact us!

Most recently, we have partnered with You-ARE-Loved, a non-profit, which is helping to save the lives of girls around the world by raising awareness about Toxic Shock Syndrome. Through this alliance, monthly tweet chats have been launched which expand our ability to reach and educate parents and girls about everything they need to know to not just ‘get through’ this phase of life….but to blossom.

Learn more at http://www.bepreparedperiod.com/.d you know that today, girls are hitting puberty at a younger age than ever before? 

Did you know that today, girls are hitting puberty at a younger age than ever before?

Not Under My Roof: Parents, Teachers, and the Culture of Sex

By Amy T. Schalet

For American parents, teenage sex is something to be feared and forbidden: most would never consider allowing their children to have sex at home, and sex is a frequent source of family conflict. In the Netherlands, where teenage pregnancies are far less frequent than in the United States, parents aim above all for family cohesiveness, often permitting young couples to sleep together and providing them with contraceptives.

Order today - for all 21st century parents!

Drawing on extensive interviews with parents and teens, "Not Under My Roof" offers an unprecedented, intimate account of the different ways that girls and boys in both countries negotiate love, lust, and growing up. Tracing the roots of the parents' divergent attitudes, Amy Schalet reveals how they grow out of their respective conceptions of the self, relationships, gender, autonomy, and authority. She provides a probing analysis of the way family culture shapes not just sex but also alcohol consumption and parent-teen relationships. Avoiding caricatures of permissive Europeans and puritanical Americans, Schalet shows that the Dutch require self-control from teens and parents, while Americans guide their children toward autonomous adulthood at the expense of the family bond.

Order today on Amazon.

Sue Scheff: Straight Talk - Teens and Sex.. The Real Truth

With today's ever expanding Internet and television shows such as 16 and Pregnant, the vast amount of materials that are available to teens today about sex education is tremendous.  There are no excuses for teen pregnancies.  The availability of contraceptives as well as the many resources that are open to teens should help prevent unwanted pregnancies.

Sadly, there are some teens that see having a baby as a tool to keeping a boyfriend or even a way to have someone love them unconditionally.  Without thinking of the consequences, teenagers are not always mature enough to see the full picture of parenthood.  It is not playing house, and it is not a baby doll; Having a baby is a full time job and a massive responsibility.  Some adults have a hard time dealing with being a parent, a teen is hardly ready for this major step in life.

Straight Talk, Teens and Sex of Jacksonville is an organization that is designed to reduce the incidence of teen pregnancy and the spread of AIDS and other sexuality transmitted infections (STI's).
The facts about youth and sexual activity:

• Most very young teens have not had intercourse: 8 in 10 girls and 7 in 10 boys are virgins at age 15.
• While 93% of teenage women report that their first intercourse was voluntary, one-quarter of these young women report that it was unwanted.
• The younger women are when they first have intercourse, the more likely they are to have had unwanted or nonvoluntary first sex—7 in 10 of those who had sex before age 13, for example.
• The majority (61%) of young women's first voluntary sexual partners are younger, the same age or no more than 2 years older; 27% are 3–4 years older and 12% are 5 or more years older.

Reference: Straight Talk

As summer is fast approaching, teens will be attending parties, sleep-overs, and just hanging out.  Be sure they are educated on sex, relationships and contraceptives.
Be an educated parent, you will have safer and healthier teens.


Related articles:

Teen Sex
Talking Teen Sex
Teen Moms
Teen Pregnancy
Sex in the City 2