The Talk..

My mom never had 'the talk' with me as I can recall.  I never told her that I started my period and I certainly did not tell her when I lost my virginity.

Princess, being the oldest of five kids, has a pretty good idea of the basic human reproductive system.

One moment that made me laugh was after I had Stinky.  I was going to the bathroom- with an audience and she noticed I was bleeding.  She declared that she did not want to have kids because she did not want to bleed.  I laughed- but did not have the heart to tell her the truth- but we covered that part a bit ago now.

My mom took the much less chatty approach.  Being that she worked at a library there were books left around the house, knowing that I would read them, she just assumed (rightly) that I would figure it out via the reading material left around.

Likewise I did not feel the need to tell her when I started my periods.  I assumed she'd figure it out by the bathroom garbage.   The only time we have only really spoke about it is in reference to the monster PMS and cramps I had.  The entire thing was utterly humiliating.

princess- is 8 now.  I have heard of girls starting developing at age 9 or 10 and frankly that scares me to death.  At what point do I need to take a much more active and vocal role in this?  How can I make sure the entire thing is not terribly humiliating for her?