By early elementary school, your child will probably have a lot of giggles over potty humor and silly names for body parts. Allow her some fun (you have to keep your sense of humor!), but remind her that all body functions and body parts are normal and just another part of who we are. Being silly is fine as long as she gets the message that you are also willing to talk about those parts and functions without being silly.

For more talk tips for pre-school and elementary age children, look for Dr. Holmes' guest blog on the website of the South Carolina Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy. You can get there by clicking here  http://www.teenpregnancysc.org/Parents/

Today, we continue our discussion of developmental milestones that are important for helping our children achieve a sense of healthy sexuality. Earlier this week we covered pre-school tasks.

Early Elementary School: Am I Competent?

One of our most frequently asked questions is, “When do we have the talk… You know, the sex talk.” The Girlology mantra, as well as my own, has always been eight is great. Great, that is, until this year when my youngest daughter’s eighth birthday was fast approaching. She’s less mature than her sister was at that age, a circumstance that seems to be a common concern in many families.

Have you ever seen the true face of determination?  I recently saw it and had to capture it.  It all happened when my 45 pound daughter reeled in a huge sail fish about twice her size off the coast of Costa Rica.

Lucky you.  9 is a magical age where girls are growing up and can understand some “adult-ish” things, but are young enough to still have that innocent sense of wonder and awe.  Unfortunately, it’s also the age (4^th grade is notorious for this) where some kid in her class has already provided their interpretation of what “sex” is – right or wrong.  That means it’s the perfect time to set the record straight and take the opportunity to interject your family values.

Early in the fall, my daughter excitedly told me she had a “bud.”  Not a buddy, but a bud – as in breast bud.  Thanks to loose T-shirts, wearing a bra was not on her radar, but with the school year, came uniforms and tighter shirts.  That meant “they,” meaning the buds,  became a little more noticeable.

So this weekend, my oldest daughter who is nine and I were driving to her soccer game.  Beautiful weather, windows down, hair flying and just enjoying the day.  Well Katy Perry’s song, “Teenage Dream” comes on the radio and my daughter who really can’t follow a tune started belting out…”Let’s go all the way tonight, No regrets, just love. We can dance until we die.  You and I, we’ll be young forever.”