It’s not always easy teaching our kids about anatomy, especially reproductive anatomy. And the younger the child, the more difficult it may seem (but try telling that to a parent of a teenager!).

Either way, due to your daughter’s age, it’s best to keep the information you do share simple. Here are five tips to keep in mind when teaching your child about her body:

• Keep the information brief and to the point
• Use proper anatomy concepts and terms (a vagina is a vagina)
• Present the information when she asks questions or when you are ready to do some teaching on the topic. Stay focused on a few concepts or terms.
• Know what your “learning objectives” are and ensure she understands them before moving on to the next topic
• Supplement the learning with interactive activities. For example, you may want to show your daughter visuals of how the egg travels from the ovary to the uterus (if you are at that point in your teaching)

Soon, my I’m A Girl: Special Me book will be available to help you navigate this sometimes tricky terrain of teaching your young daughter about her body. Once the site is fully launched, there will also be parent resources and interactive activities to guide you and make learning fun for your child.

If you do pick up my book for 5-7 year old girls, I’d like to share that it’s good if your daughter is familiar with the below information after reading the book with you a few times. If she understands these four objectives, she will have a strong foundation upon which to grow subsequent knowledge:

• Babies come from tiny eggs in the ovaries that become fertilized.
• A fertilized egg grows into a baby in the uterus.
• The fingers on the fallopian tube suck the egg inside and then the egg travels to the uterus.
• The vagina is a tube connected to the uterus.

Please always feel welcome to reach out in the Community section of our website if you have more questions or need further guidance.