NYC PRE-CAMP Dynamo Girl Puberty Workshop for GIRLS and PARENTS

As summer approaches, many girls see sleepaway camp as a time of big changes, both physical and emotional.  This Pre-Camp Dynamo Girl Puberty Workshop will help girls and their parents feel knowledgeable and prepared for those changes, particularly if they occur when the girls are away at camp.  We help girls understand their changing bodies and give them a road map for what is to come.  We provide parents with the information and skills they need to support their daughters throughout puberty, whether they are home or away for the summer.

The workshop begins and ends with girls and parents TOGETHER, however, for much of the workshop girls and parents will be in SEPARATE sessions exploring the issues that are most pertinent to them.  This workshop is recommended for girls 8-11 years old.

For the GIRLS:

• Overview of girls’ anatomy, physiology and emotional development during puberty.
• Tools for girls to manage the physical and emotional changes they are experiencing during puberty.
• Role play and exercises to help girls explore the ups and downs in friendships and relationships during this time.
• Consent: how can girls define their own boundaries and respect the boundaries of others.

For the PARENTS:

• Guided sessions helping parents unpack their own experiences in puberty.
• Overview of girls’ puberty — anatomical, physiological and emotional development.
• Tools for parents to support their children and constructively engage in issues that arise during puberty.
• Role play exercises for parents to practice having complex and empowered conversations with their children.
• Discussion of consent: how to empower your children to define their physical boundaries and respect the boundaries of others.

The workshop will be run by Mary Pat Draddy, LMSW and Dynamo Girl Outreach Director, Vanessa Kroll Bennett, Founder of Dynamo Girl, and a variety of health and sex educators from the New York area.  Our curriculum has been created by a faculty of health and sex educators, social workers and pediatricians.