Everything about becoming a parent and raising up kids is exciting. The challenges and victories of pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, and early milestones are enough for each parent to write several books on the experiences they have faced. Although every parent's experience with each child is unique, many parents out there can confess that puberty is one of the most uncomfortable stages for them. The physical and emotional changes that their kids begin to experience are confusing to both the kids and the parents, and all of them need all the help they can get.
Fortunately, there is an abundance of resources out there that both parents and their kids can find great value in. Here is a list of books that moms of boys going through puberty should consider getting.
7 What’s Going On Down There? A Boy’s Guide to Growing Up
Written by Karen Gravelle, this book is kind of a classic since it has been around for more than 20 years. Additionally, it has successfully sold over 150,000 copies, attesting to its effectiveness. The book is a cross between a manual and an older brother. This is because its illustrations are relatable and it features interviews with pre-teen boys.
Your boy will learn plenty of facts that are necessary for a confident transformation from boyhood to manhood. The latest version has sections covering sexual harassment, body language, safe use of social media, and consent.
6 Guy Stuff: The Body Book for Boys
This book is written by Dr. Cara Natterson, a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics and a certified pediatrician. With her extensive experience in the field, this book will be of great help to your boy. She is also the bestselling author of the Care and Keeping of You series.
This book provides answers to your boy on matters such as eating healthy, haircare, shaving, voice changes, acne, and other issues as they undergo social and physical changes. It is more helpful since the facts and advice given come from a real pediatrician.
5 It's Perfectly Normal: Changing Bodies, Growing Up, Sex & Sexual Health
Authored by Robie Harris, this book is the third and final one in a series about bodies for kids. Due to some heavy topics covered in this book, it gathered some controversy and significant popularity too. The author addresses topics such as sexual abuse, masturbation, abortion, HIV/AIDS, and gender identity among others.
As a parent, you may find yourself at a loss of words for explaining such issues to your tween boy. It is therefore important to have an expert voice guiding such conversations so that your child might definitively separate myth from fact in his transition to manhood. This book offers just that.
4 What’s Happening To Me?
This book is written by Peter Mayle and Lyle Stuart. The title of this is true to its content. It is a humorous and honest book for pubescent kids changing. It also includes plenty of hilarious illustrations.
So much is its effectiveness that it has sold over a million copies for more than 20 years. It is a tried-and-true book for starting the “Where did I come from” conversation, which happens to be the title of another book by Mayle.
3 What’s Happening To My Body? Book For Boys
Having written a popular series for girls, the author of this book, Lynda Madaras gives an equally great source of information for boys aged ten years and over. Madaras gives an insightful and very honest look into things a boy should know about puberty.
In a deeply honest manner, she looks into issues such as erections, ejaculation, genital growth, and development. If these issues make you uncomfortable as a parent, read the resource and introduction sections of the book to put your worries to rest.
2 Boy’s Guide To Becoming A Teen (Getting Used To Life In Your Changing Body)
The American Medical Association is the author of this book. You can expect a great wealth of information for your adolescent son from a book written by such an expert team. The book is a guide that explains relationships, feelings, and expected bodily changes that normally occur.
It addresses the conflict your kid might experience between being a playful boy and the desire to be a grown-up. As much as they want to be more independent, they struggle with the transition from being your little bundle of joy. The book helps explain puberty with straightforward candidness.
1 The Growing Up Book for Boys by Davida Hartman
The Growing Up Book for Boys is a must-have book written by Davida Hartman if you have an autistic son. It delves to explain the mood swings, growth spurts, and body changes in pubescent boys between the ages of 9 and 14 years old.
The book uses vivid color illustrations and direct language to inform boys about issues such as wet dreams, hair in private parts, unexpected erections, and shaving, to name a few. It also has good advice on staying safe online, making real friends, and keeping spots away. The most important aspect of the book is that it encourages young autistic adolescent boys to celebrate their differences.
There are plenty of resources for your family when puberty inevitably makes an awkward entrance to your boy’s life. Make a point to go through some of these books to get help during this phase.
Sources: parents.com, todaysparent.com, tweentoteen.com.