When to buy first bra and how

This post is for parents with daughters.

When to Buy the First Bra?

Recently, my daughter who is 9 told me that her friends laughed at her when they were changing for gym class because she had developing breasts and they didn't. I told her that different girls develop at different ages and she was perfectly normal. She knows all about menstruation and puberty because we had spoken about it before but it still did not prepare her for being laughed at. I told her that I will take her bra shopping when the time is right but just when is the right time? When do you buy the first bra and how?

Breast Development Stages

I find this site very useful and answered most of my questions on when to buy the first bra and how. It is called My First Bra. There is a section for girls and another parents guide. The breast development stages is good for giving you an idea what to expect and when in terms of breast development. I also like the Bra Size Calculator. The information is useful for both girls and parents alike.

I told my daughter that she can change in the privacy of the toilet if she prefers but this is something that most girls will have to go through. Later on, there may be more locker room laughter about breast sizes etc. I find that being prepared myself, helps me guide my child along her puberty years.

It is useful to read up about puberty before discussing it with your child

Here is another useful article: Buying the Right Bra for Girls. It is from PoGo, another great site for young girls and parents supporting them through puberty.

Finding the Right Bra  and When Will I Start Developing from Kidshealth.org is useful too. There are many other useful articles there as well. Everything You Wanted to Know about Puberty. This one is a must read before you explain to your child about Puberty and Development and Menstruation etc. It really is very useful to read up on these matters before you have The Talk.

The Talk

Well, actually we didn't really have The Talk. One day, I read a newspaper article about menstruation and I read the entire article to her and added my own explanations. I told my daughter that some people may find it embarrassing to talk about such things and when there are things they don't understand, sometimes they laugh (referring to the gym laughter) and she retorted....

"Whats so embarrassing about that?" 

I like that attitude. I agreed with her that it is nothing embarrassing at all. It is just our body and how it grows. I also reminded her that she should come to me at any time with any questions that she has on anything.

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