Healthy Chats for Girls

Photo by Layla Mazdyasni

Mothers and Daughters Have Fun Learning About Puberty and Womanhood

The Parent Connection presents “Healthy Chats for Girls,” a fun approach to the sensitive topics of puberty and growing up with Dr. Chrystal de Freitas.  The three-hour seminar for mothers and daughters (ages 9-12) will be held on Sunday, February 19, 2012 at 2 p.m. at Scripps Mende Well Being Center.

The seminar presents concepts in a fun, sensitive manner that stresses the normal processes of growth and development that girls experience during puberty.  There is also a brief, age-appropriate review about where babies come from and how they get out.  The group is shown how to use and dispose of various sanitary products.  Each girl receives a Growing Up Bag containing sample products, a brochure, a journal, and other token items.  After attending the seminar with her daughter, San Diego mom Beth Sondak commented, “I feel so happy that my daughter now knows everything there is to know (and, most importantly, what to expect) about puberty–and she learned it from a pediatrician.  On the way home, my daughter freely asked me a bunch of questions and was not embarrassed in the least to ask what exactly was on her mind.”

Healthy Chats founder, Dr. Chrystal de Freitas is a pediatrician, author and mother of three children who has a special interest in health education.  “This seminar was designed for women who want to introduce their daughters to this rite of passage in a manner that will be meaningful for both of them.”  Attendees always enjoy the apple slices and homemade cookies that Dr. de Freitas provides for the snack break.  Another personal touch is the growing up bags for each of the girls.  Since 1993 thousands of moms and tweens have participated in the seminars, which enable mothers to take advantage of the physical changes of puberty as an opportunity to learn, share, and be proactive in every aspect of a girl’s life.  One of the goals of the seminar is to show these young girls that their mothers are their best resource.

Healthy Chats for Girls will be held on Sunday, February 19, 2012, from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. at Scripps Mende Well Being Center, 4305 La Jolla Village Drive, Suite L-5, San Diego, CA 92122 in the UTC area.  The class is for girls who are 9-12 years old.  The fee is $60 per mother/daughter couple and $30 for each additional sibling.

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