Let's Talk Boobies!

It's October friends and that means Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  And since so much attention is put upon it, I thought this would be a fitting time to post about boobies.

*If you happen to be of the male population and stumble upon this post (dad, Pastor Brad), feel free to use the back button.  My feelings won't be hurt.  ;-)

So, we talk about boobies rather freely in our home.  With four girls, I figure it's bound to come up eventually, might as well not act as though they don't exist.  The princesses, for some unexplained reason like to refer to them as "piggies".  Don't ask.  I don't know.

I'm hoping that being naturally open to discussion about "piggies" will lead to more comfortable discussions about more *ahem* tricky topics.

It's just a reality I have to face as a mommy to four princesses.  There's gonna be a lot of boobies in our house.  And tampons.  And hormones.  You know what the number one thing people say to me when they find out I have four girls?  "Just wait until they're teenagers!"

Yeah.  Don't remind me.

But seriously, I don't want to just gloss over this stuff with them.  Becoming a woman is a big deal.  And it's too important to shy away from, or even worse, hope they learn it from someone else.  And let's face it, boobies are everywhere these days.  Just tonight I was watching the new Tinkerbell movie with the princesses and noticed that Tinkerbell herself is quite well endowed.  And the debate over Barbie's figure has been going on for years.

I don't entirely begrudge the fact that media has drilled into my kid's heads that women have boobies (although I might be a teensy bit perturbed that Tinkerbell's boobs are bigger than mine.  I mean, c'mon.  My boobs were not my own for a combined total of 5 years.  You think I would have gotten a little kick back.).  It's a reality of life and while it used to be commonplace to not discuss these things with your children, I'm grateful to have opportunities come up.

I still expect a few awkward conversations, but hopefully we can establish an atmosphere of openness where we can talk about "piggies" without blushing.  I do hope they drop the "piggies" nickname sometime though.  THAT can be embarrassing.


My friends, how are you handling (or planning to handle) the coming of age conversations?