By the time your daughter is 13-14 years old, she has probably started having regular periods and is now considered sexually mature. The important information for her to know about reproduction does not end when puberty ends. Now it is time to prepare her for the important  decisions she will make in her future.

I find it interesting when I talk to girls in this age group how little they know about a boy’s reproductive system. They have not even caught on to the fact that the function of the reproductive system is to make sure that babies are being born. Of course, they just started having regular periods and that has been the focus up to now. But I think this is a great time to finish the story for them.

If they learn just a little bit about sperm production, they will be convinced that the reproductive system is definitely designed to make sure babies come along.

When a boy is sexually mature, normally about a year later than a girl, his testicles can produce 1000 sperm per second!  That fact alone is pretty amazing. Girls are releasing only one egg at a time in each menstrual cycle. Such a big difference.

Most sperm don’t survive. But, if sexual intercourse happens, about 100 million sperm are released into the vagina. Many of those sperm don’t make either. The most healthy ones, about 50-100, find their way into a fallopian tube in search of an egg. If an egg is waiting in the fallopian tube when the sperm are there, only one sperm wins the prize and enters the egg.

I know this can be uncomfortable information to share with your daughter so I have prepared a download that includes all of this content. You can find it on my website. It explains what I just explained to you. You can download it immediately and read it for yourself to make sure it’s content you want her to see. Just leave it for her to read. She will be able to understand the concepts I think are important. 

I hope this is helpful for you and your daughter. The more knowledge she has about the biology of reproduction, the more wise she will be as she makes decisions for herself in the future.

— Dr. M