You’ve dodged her questions twice already, and now she’s getting suspicious. It’s finally time to have The Talk with your daughter—the talk about one day talking to her daughter. We know what you’re thinking, but it doesn’t have to be awkward. Here’s how to talk to your daughter about one day talking to her daughter.
Remind her that her daughter’s body will change.
Your daughter is concerned about her changing body, which can easily be addressed by highlighting that her daughter might one day be surprised by her own body’s changes. Some things of your daughter’s daughter will get bigger, others hairier, but the most important thing is that these changes happen to all women—past, present, and future. Tell your daughter to tell her daughter that.
Comfort her by letter her know that the stuff coming out of her will one day come out of her daughter.
When a woman’s daughter gets to be a certain age, a certain substance comes out of a certain part of her body. Tell your daughter not to worry. After all, it’s totally natural, and that icky stuff has been coming out people’s daughters for generations. Explain to your daughter that every woman has to explain what a period is to her daughter at some point in her life—yes, even her teacher!
Celebrate the fact that she’s becoming a woman, and that one day her daughter will become a woman too.
While the idea of talking to her daughter might seem scary or weird to your daughter, it’s important to remind her that talking to her daughter means that her daughter is becoming a woman, which is a beautiful and exciting journey! Your daughter might balk at this, but don’t worry—sometimes children are resistant to the idea of their children growing up, and that’s totally normal. She’ll come to terms with it when she’s ready.
Give her The Care and Keeping of You to give to her daughter.
This coming-of-age classic is the perfect guidebook for any tween, but it’s important to make clear that you are using your daughter as an intermediary between her and her future daughter so that she can learn about growing up. If your daughter wants to take a look, let her! After all, she’ll have to explain it to her daughter one day.
Tell her that her daughter should be able to ask her anything.
Stress to your daughter that mothers should be available to talk about anything with their daughters, however embarrassing. Specifically, she should make sure she’s available to her daughter, once she has one. Three cheers for womankind!
Not so bad, was it? Your daughter is now fully prepared to talk to her daughter, just like your mother prepared you to talk to—wait a second.
