Precocious puberty is when a child's body begins changing into that of an adult too soon. Precocious puberty signs and symptoms include development of the following before age 8 in girls and before age 9 in boys,

• Pubic or underarm hair
• Rapid growth
• Acne
• Adult body odor
• Breast growth and first period in girls
• Enlarged testicles and penis, facial hair and deepening voice in boys

What causes precocious puberty?

If you suspect your child is going through puberty early talk with your doctor. It may be caused by tumors or growths on the ovaries, adrenal glands, pituitary gland, or brain. Other causes may include central nervous system problems, family history of the disease, or certain rare genetic syndromes. In many cases, no cause can be found for the disorder. There are two types of precocious puberty:

• Gonadotropin-dependent. This is also known as central precocious puberty. This is the most common type of precocious puberty. Most girls and half of boys with...

Starting a conversation with your kids about gender or sexual orientation doesn't have to be one big TALK. In fact, it's better for kids – and parents – to have many brief conversations about gender and orientation throughout childhood, into adolescence and early adulthood.

These conversations will change over time, which is why this talk cannot be done only once. A conversation with a 5-year-old will be very different than that with a 15-year-old. Luckily, there are helpful resources (some listed below) to assist parents in how to navigate developmentally appropriate conversations with your children.

Start by thinking about the tone you want to set 

You can begin by talking positively about all the diversity that exists in our world – race, ethnicity, gender expression, sexual orientation – and that all these identities make us unique and wonderful people. Look for and point out diversity in nature....

In the beginning of February 2021 one of my mentors Dr. Laura Berman, a renowned television host and relationship expert experienced the unthinkable. She lost her 16 year old son Sammy to an accidental drug overdose and is speaking out in hopes of preventing a similar tragedy from happening to anyone else. 

I can't imagine losing a child. This story particularly hit home and put interest in me because of how he acquired the drug - via social media (Snapchat). Anyone can direct message someone on social media and many individuals solicit for drugs, sex, and other illegal activities using these platforms. He was not an addict. Bored from the shut downs from COVID and wanting to experiment and try something mind altering, he had a prescription drug delivered to his home. The drug was laced with fentanyl and his system had a reaction. In his bedroom, with his family in the other room, he died alone.  

Dr. Laura's husband Samuel Chapman recalled finding Sammy "on...

Masturbation doesn’t have to be a difficult topic to talk about with your kids. Small children, especially, may not even understand what masturbation means. They just know that touching themselves feels good. This is often the easiest time to broach the subject if you ask me. The video above provides scripting for this talk with your child. It is just one except from our Talking THE Talk Together e-course designed to guide parents and their 9-12 year old kid through the sex talk together. 

With younger children, parents can acknowledge that the touching is happening by saying something like, “I totally understand your body feels good.”  Then parents can suggest that kind of touching be done in private and, if kids want to do it, they should go to their rooms to be alone.

For a child under age 8, the talk might revolve around self-touching. This is vastly different than masturbating for sexual pleasure (which involves hormones, fantasy, and...

I know, I know...obviously! 

Is puberty the elephant in the room in your house?  Don't ignore the signs that your child is developing and in the midst of these physical and emotional changes. Most schools across the nation missed the infamous 5th grade puberty video this past spring. With the challenges teachers and schools are facing right now I wouldn't leave sex ed to schools at this time and other experts agree. 

What do schools usually cover in sex ed?

That depends where you live. Here in California the California Healthy Youth Act (implemented January 2016) requires school districts to ensure all students in grades 7–12 receive comprehensive sexual health education and HIV/AIDS prevention education at least once in middle school and once in high school, and mandates curricula be age appropriate, medically accurate, objective, and appropriate for “all races, genders, sexual orientations, and ethnic and cultural backgrounds; pupils with...

Talking to your Son about Wet Dreams and other Body stuff

Oh boy, oh boy! If you have a boy and puberty is here this blog entry is for YOU! There are many things you'll want to discuss with your son before, during, and after puberty pertaining to sex and growing up.

One of the bigger conversations will need to be around erections and wet dreams. A book can be a great place to start the conversation. There are general body books and more specific books on puberty changes and other important related topics. Be sure to check out our book list for some suggestions to get you started. 

I think where parents often get stuck is how to simply explain adult topics like ejaculations, wet dreams, erections, etc. It is helpful to have a bit of scripting around how to explain things. Here are a few scripts I've often used in the years teaching "THE Talk". 

Broaching the subject

Find a game to play together and talk while you are playing. Begin with small talk and then mention to your...

I've been wondering?  Many of you have been too as I've heard your questions and skepticism when learning about this newer menstrual product. I decided to get myself a good quality pair and put them to the test. These are my thoughts and observations. 

Women today have more options to use for feminine hygiene protection than ever before. Gone are the days of pads or tampons only and now there are more environmentally friendly options such as menstrual cups and period underwear.  A teen new to their period may not be ready to try a menstrual cup, but period underwear…now we are on to something! Here are a few questions I had. 

What do they feel like? 

The underwear itself feels very high quality, kinda like swimsuit material, and are very comfortable. Having used tampons most of my life trying something different felt - well, different.  

You may be wondering how exactly this technology works so I asked the folks at THINX.com to learn...

I have a couple of secrets to share with you about how to get your kids to talk to you about "IT"! I'm Jen Elledge and I'm known for helping thousands of parents and their kids learn to talk about sex together through both live and online courses.

Everyday, children are getting a sex education from the media, from the Internet, the playground and friends. And you want to make sure that you're also talking to your kids and combating some of the mixed messages they will receive. If there's one thing that I know for sure is you do not want to be the only one that's not talking to your kids about sex!

In all of the years that I've been a sex educator, I've learned a few secrets of how to get your kids to talk to you more about difficult subjects like sexuality. And I'd like to share them with you.

Secret #1

The first secret that I wish every parent knew about how to get their kids to talk to them about sex is to be approachable. Be an ask'able parent. When you think about what it...

Is there a wrong way to talk to your kids about sex?

There are five things that parents do wrong all the time, and I don't want you making these same mistakes. Are you fully confident that when your child has questions about their body changes or how bodies come together, that they will actually come to you with their questions about sex? Did you know that there are really five things that parents do wrong all the time when they're having the talk with their child? What do you imagine that they might be? 

I’d like to begin with a quick story as I actually remember one of the first questions I had about sex. I didn’t ask a parent though, I asked my oldest sister...I was about 5 years old, we were in the car, and I asked the most popular sex question, “Susie, where do babies come from”? Her reply, “Honey, I think we need to talk about that when you are a little bit older.” I may have been young and I know she thought so and maybe she...

I recently recorded a Life Talk (see above) on the seasons of life and things that are helpful to know when you are experiencing a crisis. I am currently in the midst of a crisis. I based the call on a concept I learned from Jim Rohn about the phases or seasons of life, as well as a podcast I listened to 5 times because it was so helpful for me dealing with the recent loss of my father.  It has been extremely helpful to me and I hope it is helpful to your family. Here goes...

The Seasons of Life 

I came across a story recently which describes the seasons of life really well.  

"There was a man who had four sons. He wanted his sons to learn to not judge things too quickly. So he sent them each on a quest, in turn, to go and look at a pear tree that was a great distance away. 

The first son went in the winter, the second in the spring, the third in summer, and the youngest son in the autumn. 

When they had all gone and come back, he called them...