“Your little girl is growing quickly. You want to prepare her for the changes that are already happening to her body. But how?
In Before Your Tween Daughter Becomes a Woman, bestselling author Robin Jones Gunn provides heart-level mentoring that will help you and your young daughter grow closer rather than drifting apart as she reaches adolescence. This is your chance—not for having “the talk”—but for beginning a conversation that will continue as your daughter grows into the beautiful young woman God created her to be.
This book includes
-ideas for how to broach the subject with your daughter,
-pitfalls to avoid, and
-encouraging stories from other moms.”
Series: As of now, no.
Spiritual Content- Scriptures are referenced, quoted, & discussed; Many talks & many mentions of God, raising your daughter to love Jesus, being specially created for a divine purpose, & honoring God’s design for women; 'H's are capital when referring to God; Mentions of those & events in the Bible (including Esther); Mentions of thanking God, prayers, praying, & blessings over food; Mentions of churches, church going, church events, & services; Mentions of blessings & being Blessed; A few mentions of blessing your children (the author would typically use one based off of “May the Lord bless you and keep you” with her children); A mention of a Bible study; A mention of Mass;
*Note: Mentions of Jewish customs (including Bar Mitzvahs & Bat Mitzvahs) & High Church customs; A few mentions of some cultures observing menstruation with the moon, Zodiac signs, or praying to Mother Earth; A couple mentions of angels.
Negative Content- A few mentions of wars; A few mentions of jealousy; A few mentions of eye rolling; A mention of a car accident & major injuries; A mention of childhood abuse; A mention of prison; A mention of lies; A mention of being made fun of at school; A mention of hearing people use God’s name in an unsacred way; A mention of gossip;
*Note: There is a story shared about a young girl disliking the mole on her face and being very happy and improving her self-image after her mother lets her get it removed; Mentions of being a safe haven for your daughter to come with questions and support (including a positive part of doing that is so the daughter has a less likely chance of sneaking around or gaining answers from other sources that don’t have her best interest at heart); Mentions of books, movies, fictional characters, & actresses/actors; A few mentions of Google & Siri; A mention of a twelve-year-old telling her mother she wanted plastic surgery and a tattoo; A mention of a teen girl “waiting and hoping for the day her mother would start being her friend as well as her mother”.
Sexual Content- This book is not about having “the birds and the bees” conversation, but discussing about puberty and upcoming changes with your daughter; Many mentions of puberty, periods, developing breasts and hair, hormones, organs and body parts, reproduction, & the honor of being a woman; Mentions of biology books, male and female organs and body parts, & the author explaining to her daughter “how a husband and wife bring their bodies together”; Mentions of period pain and seeing a family physician to “eliminate any potential issues, which can range from endometriosis and cysts to ovarian tumors and cervical cancer”; Mentions of dating; A few mentions of the sacred gift of marriage and sharing your body in it; A few mentions of some family members not being the safest place for your kids to be around & hinting to sexual abuse; A few mentions of having conversations about sexual intimacy & sex; A few mentions of having “the talk” or “the birds and the bees” conversation; A few mentions of eggs & sperm; A few mentions of a young teen pregnancy and the mother making the fear-driven choice to end the pregnancy (& later discussing it with her daughter); A few mentions of kisses & saving those kisses; A few mentions of crude and sexual words or terms being used (by young adults and teens that do not know what it means, none of the words are written); A couple mentions of sexuality & it being sacred; A couple mentions of seeing a man grab his wife’s breast in public and speaking to her in a derogatory way (the wife laughed it off, saying that “boys will be boys”; the author was in shock and sad to see that); A couple mentions of blossoming & late bloomers; A couple mentions of premenopausal; A couple mentions of boys not having something (like a period) that happens to them every month;
*Note: A letter is shared from a woman who was a tomboy growing up and her mother would affirm her (female) identity and that she “wasn’t confused about the way God created me because my mom made it clear that it was okay to be a strong, capable, no-frills, athletic woman”; Mentions of a girl’s privacy and teaching her that no one should touch or see the parts of herd body that are covered by underwear or a bathing suit & teaching her self-defense; A few mentions of a mother referring to menstruation as “the curse”; A few mentions of bras; A couple mentions of some people today having trouble defining the word woman; A mention of female circumcision that has “long been common in parts of Africa and the Middle East”; A mention of a harem (in the Bible); A mention of a girl’s first period being healthy, normal and natural but being shrouded in silence in Western culture; A mention of bachelorette parties; A mention of a daughter possibly being concerned over her weight after a comment from someone; A mention of a girl believing she had a flat rear end; A mention of shaving; A mention of swooning over Gilbert Blythe.
Non-Fiction Book for Parents
176 pages
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This book is for mothers, so the ratings here are for moms of these age groups:
For Moms of Pre Teens-
For Moms of New Teens-
For Moms of Early High School Teens-
For Moms of Older High School Teens-
My personal Rating-
This is probably the second book I’ve ever reviewed on BFCG that is aimed specifically for mothers, but I think this guide is a great idea and since I’ve enjoyed many of Robin Jones Gunn’s other books (fiction and non-fiction), I decided to review it.
Let’s first note: This book is not for young girls, it’s for their moms, grandmothers, aunts, dads, and other parental figures in their lives that want to encourage, uplift, and be able to explain things to their loved girl during an important time in their lives.
Personally, I thought this book was interesting because of the advice and ideas in it. Now, I can’t say I would have loved all of these ideas as a tween (it truly depends on each girl!), but I can see the heart and thought process behind them and was glad to see alternate ideas given as well.
I feel like topics were handled very delicately with the honor that should be there on these important topics, and I really appreciate seeing that. It should be noted that while this book does discuss a lot about talking to your tween, it’s not too late to start a conversation if she’s older or the mother feels like it’s “too late”. Since you’re reading this content review, I’m going to assume that you care about what she reads and consumes—whether that be fiction or otherwise. I’d like to encourage you, mothers, to be that safe place for your girl to discuss things with you, no matter her age.
See y’all on Friday with a new review!
*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.
*I received an Advance Reader Copy of this book for free from the Publisher (Tyndale) for this honest review; Some things may be different or missing in the final edition, but I hope and pray this review covers the main content well.
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