Dr Christian's Guide to Growing Up product reviews

I have watched a few episodes of Embarrassing Bodies (hosted by Dr Christian) and have really enjoyed the format of the show and the information given. I was of course very interested to see what Dr Christians Guide to Growing Up would be like.

Initially at first glance I thought that this was a very basic book but after reading it cover to cover I think it is a brilliant introduction to a young teen/pre teen to learn, not only about what happens to their bodies during puberty, but how to look after themselves in relation to bulling, safe sex, self image, exercise and healthy eating. Whilst every topic only covers a page or two the issues are explained in very simple and factual language that is easily understandable for its target age group. It is a vey colourful book and has very trendy colourful illustrations (as opposed to photos) so won't "gross" kids out when looking at diagrams of reproductive organs etc.

I would definitely recommend this as a book to have sitting visibly on your bookcase for you child to pick up when they are ready or to use when your child starts asking questions. If you have it out when your children are at a young age (with their very matter of fact questioning) then it becomes a great resource to start discussing issues early on without embarrassment. There is a lot of in-depth information out there especially in the age of the internet so it is nice to have a book that covers a wide range of issues in a very simple factual easy to read manner that will appeal to boys and girls alike. Because of the way the book is formatted it is an easy to read way to learn about what the opposite sex is going through also and may be helpful for teens struggling to deal with difficult social and emotional issues.

I am really pleased to have this in our house and with three girls imagine this will be very well used!

This is a great book if you have children who are getting to that tricky time in their lives of growing up and puberty. In the book Dr Christian answers a lot of questions that children in this position may find themselves asking and has sections for both the boys and the girls. I have had a good read of it and have given it to my daughter to have a look at. She is 11 and is hitting that age thick and fast so I thought this would be great for her.

I pointed her to the section Girls on the Outside which gives a basic run down of the changes they will expect at puberty and in particular I pointed her to the page on growing breasts. This is quite a sensitive subject in our house at the moment as my girl is finding these things happening. So she read this and we talked about going bra shopping. The book was a good lead in to the discussion. I think it is important to be able to talk to your children about these things I don't think that talking about bodies and sex should be a taboo subject so like to encourage my daughter to have these talks.

I like to think that one day my daughter will be able to talk openly and honestly about things so when she is ready she can come and talk to me about contraception and also so if anything ever happened that she didn't like she wouldn't feel like she had to hide it. I had my first child at just 16 and wan't my daughter to experience life before having a family so want to be able to help her be educated in this particular area and being able to talk is really important.

The book is not at all boring it is set out so it is enjoyable to read, and although it covers the facts and uses the scientific words it doesn't over do it so it is really easy reading. The pages are set out with nice big easy to read font and have funky titles and images that make the pages look really bright and not scary. The part of the book that made me giggle was the myths about pregnancy section, and in particular the comment that yes you can get pregnant even if you do star jumps after having sex.

Now my partner is totally opposed to my daughter reading this book he thinks it is too old for her and that there are things about sex she doesn't need to know about. As much as I try to explain my opinion he has his own and we are all entitled to our own ideas so I would just say that perhaps this book wouldn't be for all families as it does explore things that you may not be comfortable with your children reading about.