Metzger Julie Giesy - Will puberty last my whole life?: real answers to real questions from preteens about body changes, sex, and other growing-up stuff

Copyright 2012 by Julie Metzger and Robert Lehman
All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form, or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Published by Sasquatch Books

Cover and interior illustrations: Lia Cerizo
Cover design: Lia Cerizo and Anna Goldstein
Interior design and composition: Anna Goldstein

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available.

eISBN: 978-1-57061-828-4

Sasquatch Books
1904 3rd Avenue, Suite 710
Seattle, WA 98101
(206) 467-4300
www.sasquatchbooks.com

v3.1

Welcome to the book of questions on puberty, sex, and other growing-up stuff asked by preteen girls (and boys tooflip the book to to see the other side!).

Who is asking these questions, you might ask? Every single question in this book has been written on a note card by someone just like you. For more than twenty years Julie Metzger (me) has been talking with girls and their moms, and Rob Lehman with boys and their dads, in a class by Great Conversations on important ideas about growing up. (Wow! That is a lot of classes and a lot of questions!)

In our classes we talk about what happens as our bodies change from girls to adult women (a process called puberty), everything that happens to boys bodies during puberty (wow, really?), about how we make decisions in friendships and relationships, and all about sex, sexuality, and babies. In our classes we invite the girls, mostly ten to twelve years old, to ask a question on a note card so we can answer them for the whole groupand weve saved every one of those questions! This book is a collection of some of the questions that are asked the most, some of our favorites sprinkled in, and some that really helped everyone understand what is on the minds of preteens as they are growing up.

Even though all these questions are asked by preteens, we hope you will share some of the questions and answers with your parents, teachers, or anyone else interested in what might be on your mind and the minds of other preteens. We know that parents and other trusted adults in your life are some of the most important resources you haveand they want this whole growing-up thing to go well for you! Our answers are not meant to tell the whole story or be the final wordjust the opposite. We hope youll feel comfortable talking further about some of these subjects with those adults who are close to youthats the whole idea of having Great Conversations!

Our most grateful thanks to all the girls (and boys!) who participated in our classes, and were brave enough to submit a question and curious enough to keep asking questions on subjects that were obviously important to them.

And thanks to our colleagues who reviewed the material to keep us honest, the kids who reviewed the material to keep us developmentally on-target, and our friends and families who made sure it stayed interesting.

And thanks most of all to my parents, Jerry and PR, for their lifetime of advocacy for me and for so many others; to Michael for his enduring love; and to Peter, Katie, and Emma for their daily inspiration.

JULIE GIESY METZGER, RN, MN

Julie Metzger, RN, MN, has worked for more than twenty years with families of preteens and teens on topics of puberty, sexuality, and decision making. Bringing a wealth of knowledge from her experiences, Metzger is a well-respected and popular speaker on a wide range of parenting issues, has worked in many capacities as a nurse consultant, and is the parent of three young adults. She has shared her program Heart to Heart For Girls Only with tens of thousands of families at Seattle Childrens Hospital, Lucile Packard Childrens Hospital at the Stanford Medical Center, and throughout the Puget Sound region. Julie has also written and presented health curricula on decision making and friendships for middle and high school students and advocated for adolescents and families in the community through Great Conversations. For more information on classes, programs, and other resources, visit GreatConversations.com.