My Daughters Aren’t So Little Anymore {Review/Giveaway}

Lindsey was nearly 15 years old when I became her mom. She was already wearing makeup, coloring her hair, shaving her legs, and dealing with periods. I wasn’t there for any of that. I couldn’t teach her about those things and help guide her through those milestones. There have been many areas where we’ve had to try to correct misconceptions she had because all of her information came from other girls who didn’t really know any better than she did.

It makes me sad to have missed all that.

That makes it all the more important to me to be sure I’m the one who is there for all those milestones with Kathryn. She’s only 11, but my baby isn’t such a baby any more. {sigh}
Kathryn - dressed up for the Father Daughter Dance 2012
Kathryn has exacting standards for whatever hair style she has in mind for the day. She was delighted when I bought her a pair of dressy sandals that have a teeny tiny heel. She doesn’t yet ask to wear makeup but was clearly happy when I allowed her to wear a bit of pink lipstick to a father-daughter dance. All these things tell me she’s starting to pay more attention to her appearance. As with all sorts of other growing-up stuff, I want to make sure she’s getting information from me, rather than her peers.

In our house, we don’t usually have big sit-down-so-I-can-talk-to-you conversations about these womanly sorts of things. I prefer to talk about them in the course of day to day life, “… as [we] sit at home and when [we] walk along the road…” (Deuteronomy 6:7) so that my kids are never afraid to ask me something that could feel awkward. I’ve shared my own experiences and I’ve answered questions in a no-big-deal way whenever they come up. Kathryn knows all about where babies come from and what to expect as she enters puberty. I told her about when my mom decided to use her sister’s razor to shave her legs and proceeded to shave a big strip off of her shin — and why that’s NOT the way to begin shaving!

Kathryn and I have also talked about the fact that she doesn’t need to be in a big hurry to start doing any of these grown-up things. The right time will come for all these things, but later. And until then, we’ll just talk about it whenever new thoughts or questions come up.

Venus sent me their Embrace razor and Satin Care Passionista Fruit shave cream to try. Lindsey is already trying to talk me out of the shave cream because she loves the yummy fruit scent. Venus is the brand of razor I’ve been using for years, and although I don’t personally notice much difference in the 5-blade Embrace razor from the other Venus razors I’ve used, I do like it. †Both of these new products are intended to help reduce nicks and cuts for a more enjoyable experience for girls who are new to shaving — so maybe in a few years, that’ll be what we start Kathryn out with.

If you have a first-time shaver in your home, check out some of these great tips from Venus Embrace.

So — how do you tackle conversations like shaving with your daughter? Leave a comment about it, and you could win a $50 Visa Gift Card!

Rules:
No duplicate comments.
You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:
a) Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post
b) Tweet about this promotion and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post
c) Blog about this promotion and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post
d) For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.

This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older. Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.
This sweepstakes runs from 5/21 – 6/30.

The Official rules are here.

Be sure to visit the Venus Brand feature page on BlogHer.com where you can read other bloggers’ reviews and find more chances to win!

*This is a sponsored post, but all opinions expressed are my own.

PLEASE NOTE: CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED.