Needing good Catholic books on puberty

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I have a 13yo son, 11yo daughter & 9yo son. Can anyone suggest wholesome Catholic books on puberty? I tried secular bookstores but the books I came across promote homosexuality and masturbation as normal.:eek:

I would appreciate any help on this. God bless.
 
Hello there; the two books I would reccomend would be:
The Care and Keeping of You (amazon.com/Care-Keeping-You-American-Library/dp/1562476661) for girls
and
Raising Teenagers Right(bookschristian.com/se/product/books/James_C_Dobson/Raising_Teenagers_Right/294299/Raising_Teenagers_Right_Paperback.html) for either gender.

I would HIGHLY recommend you DON’T use a book. Talk to them. I’m sure a lot of people will give you advice on how to talk to your children. I’m 15; and I’m glad my parents “manned up” and told me. I think they told me around age 10? 11? You can also put in your own family values when you give the talk. I hope this helped.

God Bless
Ed
 
For your daughter get the American Girl series of growing up. I think one is called “My body”

They go over all the questions/myths and other things that a young girl faces. Their books are EXCELLENT and your teen can read them when she feels like it and is curious. American girl (the company) has gone down the tubes but their publishing house still remains one that can be trusted.

Talking should always be first but can only go so far, especially for girls. Explain what happens, be open to any questions, and then give them good resources (books or computer) that they can go to when they’re afraid to ask.
 
American Girl may be good for secular people, it is not Catholic and they have had past associations with Planned Parenthood :eek:

For your Catholic kids, check out www.sexrespect.com
 
American Girl may be good for secular people, it is not Catholic and they have had past associations with Planned Parenthood
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They did in the past, however, the publishing house didn’t have anything to do with that.

The books are clean, colorful and do not have anything that goes against catholocism. For introducing the change its an excellent resource. Its not, say, for a 15yo who should be learning more about the theological aspects but its excellent for an 11yo.
 
CHARITY SEX AND THE YOUNG MAN
Fr. Herbert Ratner

Roman Catholic Books brought it back into print.
 
Wow, thanks so much for the suggestions. This is my first thread and I didn’t realize a lot of people would respond. 👍
I used to get my daughter copies of the American Girl mag and few books. I stopped though, when I learned about its association with a feminist group which I don’t remember anymore…I appreciate the advice on having talks. I will do more of those.
Thanks again, everybody, and please pray for our family as we strive to live our Catholic faith. God bless.
 
I had looked at many(bought a few) for my 10 year old daughter.

I agree with purplesunshine. We have an American Girl book “The Care & Keeping of You - The Body Book for Girls”. It is very well done. It is not a birds & bees book. It about basic body issues and cleanliness. Skin care, eating right, etc. It talks about breast development, pubic hair and getting a period.
 
“The Joyful Mysteries of Life”. You’ll have to google it to find it and order it since it’s not readily available. It weaves teaching about puberty, chastity, etc. in with the mysteries of the rosary. It’s a great book. The language is a little dated but that’s about the only complaint I have.
 
Why do you need a book? Just talk to your child. You know about puberty… you went through it and so did her father. You don’t need a book, just do your job as a parent and talk to your child.
 
all due respect, salty, kids don’t want to ask their parents stuff or are afraid to and having a good book that isn’t going to lead them into sin or an immoral lifestyle hanging around is acting with prudence.
 
My oldest, a daughter who is 11, has had no problem with me sitting her down and talking about it. It wasn’t the most comfortable discussion, but we both got through it. And she knows she can approach me when she needs something. Like yesterday, when she told me she is outgrowing her current crop of beginner bras.

I would much rather have her come to me than turn to a book. A book doesn’t love her, cherish her, or have any investment in her future. A book can’t answer questions that have any depth or nuance. I can. I am her mother, and this is my job!

You are making gross assumptions to say that no child ever wants to ask their parents about stuff. I think if the parents present the right atmosphere, that the child will be OK with talking to their parents even if it’s not their favorite thing to do. I think parents use “kids don’t want to talk to parents” as an excuse for their own discomfort and avoidance.
 
I don’t see why there can’t be a balance between sitting down and talking with your kids and giving them a book to read. Some kids/parents will be better served with a face to face, where others may do better reading a book, then discussing it or vice versa.

I think it can also be helpful for kids to read something so they know their parents’ views are shared by others, especially considering what they are bombarded with by the culture, the media and their friends.

I, for one, need a book for me to read, to have the best answers for my kids’ questions. The talk my mom had with me was woefully inadequate in regard to Catholic teaching on chastity, and I want to do better when the time comes with my kids.
 
SaltySirena said:
You are making gross assumptions to say that no child ever wants to ask their parents about stuff. I think if the parents present the right atmosphere, that the child will be OK with talking to their parents even if it’s not their favorite thing to do. I think parents use “kids don’t want to talk to parents” as an excuse for their own discomfort and avoidance.
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First of all, I don’t have a prepubecent kid so I don’t even have to discuss this.

But I am someone who recently graduated from college and would sit around late night in the dorm talking to my friends about this. And across the board no matter how good or awful the parent there were things that kids would rather not ask and would go to different sources. The kids with good parents who felt that their child could “communicate” anything with them ended up with kids who went to their friends or to their chosen libary sources or the internet to fill the questions they were just too afraid to ask the parent they loved. On the same hand the children who had the book thrown at them so to speak fared far worse. The ones that fared the best had patient parents who explained and then provided good, wholesome materials.
 
So that means that one tiny subset group, of the tiny subset of Americans who get a bachelor’s degree (about 10%), felt like they didn’t want to talk to their parents. So? That proves nothing about larger society.

I still think, done right, with compassion, without pushing, on REALLY important topics, and only once in a while with the door left open for the kid to approach on their own terms, parents can do this part of their job without a third-party crutch.

I agree with you about the “throwing the book” and the overly involved “cool parent” scenarios. Both are the bad ends of the spectrum. Success lies in the middle. My mom got the “book” thing, where her mom handed her a book by a priest to explain sex and never said a word about her period to her. My mother thought she was dying when it happened. She went too far the other way with me, constantly harping on me to talk, talk, talk, talk with her about everything. She wanted to be my girlfriend, not my mother. I HATED it!

So I get what you’re saying, purple. But anecdotal accounts are valid only for those directly involved, and I still think that a lot of parents just don’t want to talk about this stuff, and use the books to relieve them of the anxiety and pressure.
 
Salty…maybe in general but I think the OP’s intent wasn’t to not do the work. All they wanted was good materials so their children wouldn’t find “answers” in the bad ones.
 
Yeah, no one wants to accidentally hand their kid the book with the link to the Go Ask Alice website… right?:eek:
 
Thanks for more replies. I appreciate everyone’s (name removed by moderator)ut. 👍
Just like Cattitude, I am for both talk and book/s. I think both complement each other. Of course, talking has the upper hand.
My daughter is a bookworm. My husband and I also need some guidance from these good books on how to explain these facts of life to her and the boys.
Once gain, thanks everyone!
 
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