I’d like to thank EP Books for giving me a copy of Growing Up God’s Way for Girls by Dr. Chris Richards and Dr. Liz Jones in return for my honest review.
Addressing puberty is an issue that can strike fear into the heart of the most stalwart parent of girls.
We hear it all the time: “Julia won’t date until she’s 30!”
Never mind that Julia’s momma was married at 21. It’s tempting to pretend that puberty isn’t coming–that if we don’t discuss puberty with our girls, they won’t experience the changes and feelings God has planned for them.
But puberty is God’s plan for our kids. He designed it.
It’s our job to explain this new season of life to our children–before they’re hit upside the head by biology. I think that’s especially true for girls.
After all, failing to prepare our daughters properly for puberty can place them in a scary position when they begin menstruation. They need to know what’s coming and why God designed them that way.
Christian Girl’s Puberty Book for ages 9-13
Growing Up God’s Way for Girls (EP Books, 2013) is a great resource for girls by two Christian pediatricians from the UK, Dr. Chris Richards and Dr. Liz Jones. I especially appreciated the fact that the book addresses the facts of the physical maturation process and the Bible’s outline for marriage and family without a lot of extra editorializing. While there is a section on the dating and marriage process, I think this is written in such a way that it can be used to spark a conversation between parent and child.
Growing Up God’s Way for Girls is a well-produced 78-page resource with thick pages and colored cartoons (like the one on the cover) on nearly every page.
The book explains to girls their upcoming transformation into women with candor and sensitivity. There is an emphasis on God’s intent for family and the proper use of intimacy (within marriage only).
The book also briefly and carefully explains the changes that will occur within boys as they go through puberty. This is important because girls may one day marry, and they truly need to know where babies come from. However, if your child isn’t ready for this particular chapter, it’s easily censored for a period of time by reading the book aloud and skipping the information about boys.
A Girl’s Body Book
The information in this girl’s body book is detailed without being overly graphic. There are certainly cartoon diagrams of the changes that will occur in breast shape and size, the need for menstrual protection (and a diagram of how to facilitate that) and diagrams of fetal development and childbirth. Again, these are not graphic, but they do give children a really good understanding of what, exactly, will occur in each situation.
Chapter headings in Growing Up God’s Way for Girls:
- An introduction to puberty
- Marriage
- Puberty and how it starts
- How your body changes
- How the body changes in boys
- Physical intimacy
- Changes in the way you think
- Going out and beyond {on the process of dating}
- Preparing for the future
Puberty is a part of God’s grand plan for our kids.
Growing Up God’s Way for Girls by Dr. Chris Richards and Dr. Liz Jones is an excellent resource to use with your 9-13-year-old girls as they approach the changes that will help them become women, mothers and wives.
Purchase Growing Up God’s Way for Boys and Growing Up God’s Way for Girls
Growing Up God’s Way for Girls
Growing Up God’s Way for Boys
Help Your Kids Learn and Love the Bible
You want your kids to learn and love the Bible.
You want to teach the Bible…
As parents, we deeply desire the best for our kids. We look for the right schools, we make them eat right and exercise, and we get them involved in extracurricular activities. We take our job as parents seriously.
But are we also putting our time and energy into
teaching them the Bible? Giving them the life-changing, soul-nourishing words of Scripture is not only doable, it’s an essential part of parenting kids for Jesus. And the good news is, studying God’s Word as a family doesn’t have to be difficult!
2 Timothy 2:15, ESV, says:
Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved,
a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.
Our job, as parents who love Jesus, is to help our kids become approved workers, unashamed and rightly handling the word of truth.
The good news? Teaching the Bible isn’t hard. Your family can learn the Bible together.
…and you can!
A Crash Course in Teaching the Bible to Your Kids
Danika Cooley’s book, Help Your Kids Learn and Love the Bible, will give you the tools and confidence to study the Bible as a family. It will help you identify and overcome your objections and fears, give you a crash course in what the Bible is all about and how to teach it, and provide the guidance you need to set up a family Bible study habit.
You will finish this book feeling encouraged and empowered to initiate and strengthen your child’s relationship with the Lord through His Word.
Help Your Kids Learn and Love the Bible will equip you with everything you need to know to teach the Bible to your kids!
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Thanks Danika!
Sure, Anna!
Congratulations to Amy Morgan, the winner of our giveaway!
I recently bought another book, before I saw this one…and once I received the other book and looked through I was mortified! There is no way I could give that to my daughter. I will check out this book and see what it has to offer. Glad I stumbled upon it.