A newborn travels from being an infant to toddler to kid to pre-teen to teen and so on. Somewhere around pre-teens and teens, hits in puberty. Puberty can either be shocking and confusing stage or can be a comfortable and confident stage.
I still remember my first period. I thought I was hurt or unwell but couldn’t say anything to anyone for the first two days. It is only on the third day that I mustered the courage to mention it to my sister. I dread anyone going through the same stressful experience, especially when it can easily be avoided with proper education. I decided on that day itself to never let my daughter (if I get blessed with one) get through the same experience as me.
Learning about the upcoming changes beforehand is very important and helpful for anyone, especially for those who are going to experience those changes.
However, menstruation is still taboo and untalked about in many families. And even if guardians want to educate their child about it, many guardians find themselves incapable and clueless about imparting this knowledge as even they never got proper understanding and education on it. And as a result of that, either the girl is not taught until she gets her first period, or most of her doubts and questions remain unanswered.
A study for Menstrual Hygiene Day reported that 1 out of 3 schoolgirls across South Asia was not aware of periods before experiencing one for the first time, and only 2.5% of the same group knew that menstrual blood came from the uterus.
The good news is, times have changed now. Now we have many books and other reading material available on Periods. Puberty is still confusing but learning about it is not. The transformation of puberty from being confusing to comfortable is easy with the introduction of books on menstruation to the kids approaching puberty.
There are so many options available to learn about puberty and the changes it brings in advance. This prepares the person to embrace the changes as and when they come and makes the person confident and ready for it.
Even better when the books are with illustrations, pictorial representation generates interest for young readers and helps in better understanding. Following are a few books that are worth gifting your daughter/friend/sister who has recently reached or is approaching her puberty:
- Menstrupedia comic by Aditi Gupta: A unique, fun, and educational comic book. It offers vital information on managing menstrual hygiene in a relatable way, as each character represents a different stage of adolescence. I got this book for my daughter on her 9th birthday, and after reading it and loving it, she has gifted this book to so many of her friends on their birthdays.
- Have You Started Yet?: You and your period: getting the facts straight by Ruth Thomson and Chloe Thomson: This book explains exactly what periods are, why they happen, and how they will affect you. It asks the questions and gives the answers simply and openly, with plenty of practical advice.
- When Girls Grow Up: Puberty Book for Girls by Niyati N Shah: This book is filled with easy-to-understand information with fun illustrations on body image, breast development, periods to mood swings, and hormones to first bras book. We can find explanations for all the changes you are going through and tips on taking care of our hair, skin, nutrition, and exercise.
- Moon Time by Dr Geeta Bora: This book is an attempt to break the cycle of myths & misconceptions related to menstruation & educate readers that menstruation is a natural process as breathing is.
Though the books mentioned above are mainly on girls’ puberty, a.k.a. menstruation, however, they are not only for girls but also for everybody. It is an important subject even for boys, and they should be equally educated about it, and there is no reason why boys should not grab these books to understand the topic.
Luckily in today’s digital world, information is not only restricted to physical books, but resources exist online too. However, one needs to be cautious about authenticity as most of the information available online might not be authentic.
In a society where menstruation is considered a stigma, building such an educational infrastructure to talk about periods in a friendly and open way is indeed a big positive step. Though it is still at a nascent stage and is going to take time, with collaboration, we would be able to raise a generation of youth who is period positive. And eventually, period taboos would vanish, and they wouldn’t even know such a taboo existed.