The book is based on surveys and interviews that Jessica held with young women and their parents over the years.  For moms, there are exercises on remembering your own first period experience, gathering stories from your female relatives, and putting the stories into a format for a talk with your daughter.  Jessica stresses throughout the book that girls want to hear this information from their parents, even if you think your daughter might not be listening to you, she really is.

My take-away from the book was the realization that women are the same everywhere when it comes to periods.  Except in very rare medical instances, we will all have the ‘first period’ experience.  And your daughter needs to know that BEFORE she starts her period.

You may find Before She Gets Her Period at Amazon.com.  Be sure and read the reviews, they all give this book a positive rating.

Caution – some of the language in this video may not be appropriate for young children.  When you are done watching the video, tell me, did he really need to shoot the laptop?  I agree that the daughter choose the wrong medium to complain about her parents.  I can’t help thinking about my own childhood, I mean, sure, we would complain about our parents, but to our friends in the room, and it couldn’t be texted or tweeted since those technologies did not even exist then.  It could be repeated of course, but on a much smaller scale.

I strongly believe that children do learn from their parent’s examples of behavior.  And this daughter has just witnessed an example of her parent being violent to settle a grievance however justified that grievance may be.  The father definitely knew how to get his daughter’s attention – but did he really need to shoot the laptop?

A menstrual cycle includes the whole process from when an ovary first releases an egg and lasts until the next egg is released.  To know how many days a whole cycle lasts, a girl can count the days from the first day of her last period to the first day of her next period.  Usually a menstrual cycle is about 28 days but it’s OK if the cycle is shorter or longer.  Remember that it may take up to a year for a girl to settle into a regular cycle.

Help your daughter to track her menstrual cycle using the free Dot Girl Period Calendar.  Knowing her cycle will help her be prepared with supplies, especially if she is away from home for an overnight camp or other activity.

I remember I was about 13 years old. My cousin and I were riding our bikes across town just for fun and I all of sudden had to use the restroom. I felt a small wet spot. I thought I was urinating on myself and felt confused because the urge just started. We rode our bikes to a nearby McDonalds and I went to the restroom and there it was. I was starting my period and I was staying at my cousin’s house for the weekend. Luckily my mother had spoken to me in advance, I had to roll a lot of toilet paper together to make a pad till we got back home, but I was still too scared to tell my aunt so I just made pads out of toilet paper till my mother picked me up a day early. I am now 34 years old and have 3 daughters and they are prepared with their own kits, I just wish there were kits like this when I was growing up.

My period was when I was 12 and thank goodness I was home because I was wearing white that day. It was scary at first I had known about periods from my mom talking to me but it was happening to ME! My mom calmed me down and gave me pads to put on and a bunch of “growing up” books to read and I was fine other than the cramps but that was nothing that Midol wouldn’t fix! For the girls just starting it’s a part of life and don’t be scared or nervous it’s something that happens to all girls out there! Remember to drink plenty of water!

When a girl’s body gets to the right stage of development, it will start to release an egg each month of one of the two ovaries.  The lining of the uterus will thicken in preparation to hold and nourish a fertilized egg.

The egg is released two weeks before bleeding starts.  Most of the time the egg is not fertilized causing it to be flushed from the body through the vagina along with the lining of the uterus.  A menstrual period is that time when the egg and uterine tissue are being flushed.  A girl’s first period is typically light and may not be regular for several months.

One of the joys of parenting is getting to teach your kids all about sex.  Some may say that is also a big drawback of being parents, but they haven’t heard about Amy Lang of Birds + Bees + Kids.  Amy’s mission in life is to help parents, no matter what your comfort level, learn how to communicate with their kids about sex in the framework of their own values.  Don’t know how to start the conversation? Amy has scripts for many topics.  Wandering when best to start talking to your kids?  Amy breaks down age groups and appropriate topics for each group.  Dot Girl has also partnered with Amy on her class Period Prep for Parents of Girls and we learn something every time!  So if you keep putting off this task, we suggest you check out Amy’s website and get going.  Remember, the kids want to hear it from you.

The Heart Truth created and introduced the Red Dress as the national symbol for women and heart disease awareness in 2002 to deliver an urgent wake-up call to American women. The Red Dress^® reminds women of the need to protect their heart health, and inspires them to take action.

While heart disease risk begins to rise in middle age, heart disease develops over time and can start at a young age, even in the teen years. It’s never too early, or too late, to take action to prevent and control the risk factors for heart disease. The Heart Truth is building awareness of women’s heart disease and empowering women to reduce and prevent their risk. It is reaching women with important heart health messages in community settings through a diverse network of national and grassroots partner organizations.

The Heart Truth campaign is sponsored by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in partnership with The Office on Women’s Health (OWH) and other groups committed to the health and well-being of women.