We’re back to 500 Lessons in 500 Days again! This week I’m focusing on lesson plans from Changes, Changes, Changes, the CSE’s manual on puberty education.
In classrooms with post-pubescent students, condom usage is a common topic of conversation. Pre-pubescent (or newly-pubescent) students need similar kinds of information and hands-on experience with body care products. This lesson from the Getting Started in the Classroom section of Changes, Changes, Changes offers a structured way of providing that experience.
BUYING BODY CARE PRODUCTS
Objectives:
By the end of the session, students will be able to:
- Discuss the use and selection of various body care products.
- Identify feelings associated with buying body care products.
Rationale:
As early adolescents begin to assume more responsibility for taking care of their own bodies, they need information and skills for selecting and purchasing body care products. For example, the purchasing of a first bra or athletic supporter involves acceptance of the need for that product, the knowledge of where it can be obtained, an understanding of what size and type is desirable, and finally, the comfort and skill for communicating one’s own needs to others.
The list of body care products that this lesson leads facilitators and students through includes:
- Bras
- Deodorant
- Athletic Supporters (jock straps)
- Acne Medications
- Tampons and Sanitary Pads
- Alternatives in Menstrual Care
Reducing the mystery around these products, both for students who use them AND for students who don’t use them is magical.
Students who are unfamiliar with the products on a personal level can be intrigued to the point of discomfort for students who are using them. Education provides a platform to reduce curiosity and provide information so that students won’t seek them directly from their peers who may or may not want to discuss their personal body care process as they are learning it themselves.
Students who are using these products may feel awkward or embarrassed or even just lacking in knowledge themselves about what the product is and why they are using it.
The final discussion question in this lesson is an indicator of just how important this lesson is: If someone is embarrassed to buy these in a store, is there another way they can get some of these products?
