5-8 years old
What to expect from your child at this age
Children are continuing to explore their bodies and will often play mummies and daddies.
Some girls will start their periods as young as 8 years old so it is good to begin talking about puberty and body changes with boys and girls. Even if you have a male child, it is still important to tell them about periods and what changes happen to girls. Girls also need to know what happens to boys’ bodies. You may find it helpful to have a book or leaflet to help explain the changes. You can look at it together. (See the Resources section of the for-parents site)
You can talk more about keeping safe and what to do if someone does something to them that they don’t like. Make sure they know that they can always come to you if they are worried about anything that has happened to them.
They might ask you…
Q: How does a baby get in to its mummy’s tummy?
Q. What are these? (when they find some tampons in the bathroom.)
Q. What’s a lesbian?
Q. What’s a period?
Q. What does having sex mean?
To help with your answer, you might consider…
- Always check out what they already know and why they are asking questions – this can give you a starting point for your conversation.
- Start with a short, truthful answer.
- You can add more as and when they ask more questions.
- Always check that they understand what you have said.
- You may find it helpful to have a leaflet, book, or website that you can look at to check out what you know. You can then look at these with your child, or they can check things out by themselves. Always make sure that the content is appropriate for someone of your child’s age.
