How to gift Girlhood: The Story
Girlhood: The Story was designed to help to bring the celebration back into growing up, starting with a girl’s first period. Here at The Hood, we feel this represents a girl’s first entry into womanhood and can be viewed as quite a negative experience if they aren’t feeling prepared or aware of their options.
We Are The Hood Co-founder, Maria Purcell explains: “Free period supplies in school and the removal of the tampon tax makes it a great time for families to open up the conversation around periods. At a time when young girls reach puberty at earlier ages than previous generations, it’s never too soon to start talking about female health”.
A study in 2010, published in the US Journal of Pediatrics, found that girls were hitting puberty more prematurely, in some cases developing breasts as young as six years old.
Young girls are likely to be having conversations and sharing rumours with her friends long before the topic is bought up at home. Having an open dialogue on periods from an early age is important in promoting body confidence and removes the stigma that can surround periods well into adult life.
We Are The Hood Co-founder, Amone Gbedemah adds: “For such a key stage of life, there is very little conversation about puberty with young girls in order to prepare them for the exciting and, at times, awkward changes ahead. We believe Girlhood: The Story provides an engaging way to do this”
How To Gift Girlhood: The Story
At the beginning of Girlhood: The Story, there is a whole section dedicated to female health education. Think of it as an introduction that covers the basics from anatomy and nutrition, to period FAQs and products. This is a great section to familiarise yourself with, before gifting the book. We’ve also included a handy glossary at the back, should any of you need more of an explanation.
The journal also has lots of creative space for doodling and colouring in, so it may be an idea to invest in a new set of pens or pencils, so she can get started straight away. Our pages are 135 gsm paper, so best to pick pens that won’t flood the page. Our team loves these pens by Stabilo, but any standard felt tip pens will do the trick and help to create colourful designs whilst practicing mindfulness techniques.
Instead of the traditional monthly setup, Girlhood: The Story is based on chapters. These are dateless, so the journal can be started at any point in the year and also intermittently should the reader wish.
At the beginning of each chapter, we include a first period story from inspirational women who share their experiences and also offer advice. If you are unsure about how to start the conversation, you could include your own first period story in a letter or if you are feeling confident, tell them your first story when giving the journal and point out one of the women featured in the book that the young girl may identify with. We’ve purposely made sure we included diverse stories from diverse women for this reason.
If you don’t want to jump straight into the period chat, we also include a monthly mood tracker to help mindfulness practice and self reflection. It’s an easy way to not only spot changes but also hormonal mood swings, which might be a sensitive topic. If she is yet to start her period, the mood tracker is a great starting point and helps to spread the “big period conversation” into smaller more digestible talks.
When a girl is approaching puberty, she is likely to be feeling anxious and worried about the changes her body is going through and about starting her period. Gifting Girlhood: The Story, is the first step in addressing these feelings and helping her to feel comfortable and confident when starting her period.
Should you have any questions, please feel free to drop us an email at hello@wearethehood.com
