Add This Item to Your Back-to-School Shopping List
Our kiddos need more than notebooks and floppy binders in their backpacks.
Today is the day my petite 10-year-old enters middle school and, I swear to god, her backpack is heavier than she is. Hardcover binders. Floppy binders. Folders. Five-subject notebooks. Sketchpads. Post-its. A pencil case filled with an assortment of very specific pens, pencils, highlighters, whiteboard markers, and erasers.
With each fifth grader allotted a half-size locker, where the heck will it all go!?
Still, when a good friend of mine told me of the extra item she was including in her child’s backpack, I knew I had to do the same.
I’ve mentioned before that kids can begin to enter puberty as early as 8 years old. So even though our kiddos haven’t started menstruating yet, I thought it was brilliant that my friend was packing a small bag for her child that included a first aid kit, lip balm, hand sanitizer… and several menstrual pads (“I included extra in case one of her friends has an emergency!”).
After all, following their lone 30-minute puberty lesson last year, my own child’s greatest fear was getting her first period at an inopportune time.
I dutifully added some puberty kit items to my own shopping list.
Later, as I packed an emergency pouch for my child—including a couple of menstrual pads and a pair of teen-sized period panties—I wondered what similar kits might look like for other kids, ovaries or no ovaries. How could we all better support our preteens as they began this huge life transition?
In additional to menstrual products, what about:
travel deodorant
body sprays
blemish patches
Ibuprofen
various cleansers
razors (for home, anyway)
dental floss
binders or compression shirts
What might your child wish they had on hand beyond their over-large collection of dry erase markers?
Have you put together a similar puberty kit for your own kid? Share in the comments below what you packed, and what they found most useful.
Full Disclosure: Sex Ed in the News
You can always find state-specific sex ed legislation info on Guerrilla Sex Ed. I update those pages at least once a year. But in the meantime, here’s SIECUS’s 2024 Sex Ed Legislative Mid-Year Report.
Sex Ed Resources
I wrote about Project 2025 last month, and shared several explainers on how it could impact sex ed. Since then, EducateUS has released a quickstart guide to fighting back.
You likely know Scarleteen as the longest-running online sex ed resource for teens. But did you also know there’s a special section of the site—Scarleteen Confidential—meant for parents and other supportive adults? This caregiver-focused content is scattered throughout their site, but they also have a Tumblr you can follow for all the latest.
Book Riot released some tips on how to talk about book bans with the people in your life, in both video- and text-based formats.
Action Steps
Donate
YES! (Your Empowered Sexuality!)—an organization that provides anti-oppressive and shame-free sexuality education through a social justice lens to people of all ages—is having a back-to-school fundraiser with the aim of establishing an LGBTQ+ space for middle schoolers in Philadelphia, providing a workshop series for youth in the criminal legal system, and providing additional support to parents and teachers. Donate what you can right here!
Do
If you have a preteen, put together your own puberty kit. Ready-made kits exist online, but it’s so easy to DIY your own with items from your local pharmacy. Think back to your own middle school years. What are the items that would have made you feel better prepared? If those memories are lost to the sands of time (or have perhaps been repressed), pick up a book like Puberty Is Gross But Also Really Awesome to remind yourself of everything your kiddo has to look forward to.
Today’s Vibe
