This week on my podcast, I’m talking all about how to talk to your kids about puberty. You can listen to the full episode here.

I know you might be embarrassed to talk about puberty with your preteen son or daughter. I know you don’t know how to start or what to say, but regardless of your hesitations, it is critical you are the one who talks to your child about puberty. Not a book. Not a sex-ed teacher. You.

Why? Three reasons.

1. Your child wants to know how you feel about the changes happening to his or her body. Your kids pick up cues from you all the time about what you think about them. They form their sense of self according to what they think you believe about them. This means they want to know what you think about their changing body. If you feel good about it, they can feel good about it. You can give them a message that their body is amazing even, and especially, when they are going through puberty.

2. You want to make sure your child feels positive about puberty and not ashamed of it. You can take away these feelings…