A Mighty Girl's top picks of books for young children about their bodies, body privacy, appropriate touch, and more.

Since the moment someone said, “It’s a girl” or “It’s a boy”, sex has been part of your child’s life. Sooner or later, every child will notice how their body is the same, or different, from other bodies. But while conversations about bodies and sex can be awkward for parents, they’re important even for a preschooler or elementary aged child.

There are many reasons why you should start talking to kids about sex and bodies in age-appropriate ways. One is to take the mystery away from genitalia: if you cheerfully label “ear”, “arm”, and “knee” but refer vaguely to “private parts” or use euphemisms, children may think that there is something wrong, dangerous, or scary about this part of their bodies. Another is to give your child clear language for health issues: if your child says she is “itchy down there” after a summer day trip, a care provider may be looking for poison ivy and not a yeast infection from a wet bathing suit.

Equally importantly is preparing your child to talk about puberty (which we discuss in the second part of this blog, Talking with Tweens and Teens about their Bodies) “Puberty!?” I can hear you thinking. “She’s only 5!” And yet approximately 25% of girls experience breast budding, the first stage of puberty, at age 8 or 9 — third grade — and her first period will generally follow two to three years after the appearance of breast buds. If the girl in your life is an early bloomer, she may experience these changes before you are expecting them. But if you have been open and forthcoming with information about her body in the past, she will know that she can approach you with her questions. Continue reading → Continue reading

A Mighty Girl's top picks of new biographies about Mighty Women for adult readers.

If you've been using the holidays as a chance to stock your Mighty Girl's bookshelf with books about inspiring women, don't forget the adults in the family! It's been another terrific year of exciting new releases of biographies and memoirs starring women trailblazers past and present. From compelling biographies to deeply personal memoirs of love and loss to intriguing collections of oral history, there is something for just about everyone! Continue reading → Continue reading

A Mighty Girl's top picks of deals on girl-empowering toys!

The holiday season is in full swing — which means you may be on the lookout for great deals on gifts for the Mighty Girls in your life! To help you take advantage of today's Cyber Monday sales, we're featuring a selection of our favorite toys, games, and other gifts for all ages. These toys are on sale today for up to 60% and they're all high quality toys and kits that we can recommend with confidence. We know that parents, grandparents, and other gift givers will love being able to support the diverse interests of their Mighty Girls with these empowering toys! Continue reading → Continue reading

A Mighty Girl's top picks of programming toys & games for kids of all ages!

Computers and technology are all around us at both work and play — which means that knowing the ins and outs of programming is an ever more essential skill! While in the past kids could only start learning about programming when they were ready for text-based computer languages, today they can get started from with board games, color-coded programming languages, and much more, encouraging kids to see themselves as programmers from an early age. Continue reading → Continue reading

14-Year-Old Leanne Fan Named America's Top Young Scientist For Inventing Headphones That Treat Ear Infections.

In 2019, Leanne Fan watched her older sister claim the top prize at the 3M Young Scientist Challenge — the premier science competition in the U.S. for middle school kids — and it inspired her to want to compete too. This fall, the eighth grader from Westview High School in San Diego was named America's Top Young Scientist! She won the prize for her innovative, inexpensive pair of blue-light therapy headphones that could be used to both identify and treat mid-ear infections, potentially preventing millions of children from experiencing hearing loss. The victory comes with a $25,000 prize, a special destination trip, and the chance to get her device, the Finsen Headphones, in front of investors. "I was in shock. I started crying," Leanne says. "I was really excited. I was not expecting it." Continue reading → Continue reading

A Mighty Girl's top picks of games for children and teens where you work together to win!

Most people associate board games with competition: players who work against one another in hopes of being the ultimate winner. And while these games can teach important skills — including how to be a good winner or loser — there's one skill they don't teach: cooperation. Working together as a team is an equally important lesson to learn, and it's also a great way to play when you've got a mixed group of different ages and abilities playing together! Continue reading → Continue reading

A Mighty Girl's top picks of empowering games for game lovers of all ages!

Whether it’s an activity for a rainy or snowy day, or part of a weekly family game night, there’s nothing more fun than a good game! Card games, board games, video games, and logic games are great entertainment for one or more people and an excellent way to build a variety of skills, from spatial awareness to planning and strategy to social skills like taking turns.

If you're looking for a great new game for someone on your gift list, we've included many unique options for all ages in our new blog post. In the five thematic sections below, we'll find a little bit of everything, from storytelling to puzzle solving, from solitaire games to games for teams. So get ready to get gaming! Continue reading → Continue reading

Buffy Sainte-Marie on Sesame Street

When I was a little girl I was taught that there were no Indians. The only time I ever saw Indians was when we visited the stupid natural history museum and they were dead and stuffed like the dinosaurs.... [When Sesame Street] called me up and said that they wanted me to recite the alphabet like everybody else does, and count from one to ten....I said that I wasn’t interested in doing that, but I asked if they had ever done any Native American programming.... I was doing essentially the same thing that I was doing all along, in trying to raise consciousness and spotlight Native America, because it’s fascinating and interesting.” — Buffy Saint-Marie, Canadian-American Cree songwriter, educator, and social activist, in an interview with Confessions of a Pop Culture Addict, June 2009

Since Buffy Sainte-Marie’s episodes of Sesame Street aired in 1975, representation of Native American and Indigenous Peoples in media has significantly improved, especially in recent years. The Cooperative Children’s Book Center, which tracks representation in children's books, found that while only 0.6% of children's book featured Native American or Indigenous characters in 2012, that number increased to over 2% in 2022, a percentage akin to the current day Native American population in the United States.

Fortunately, among these titles, there are numerous great books available featuring Native American and Indigenous Canadian Mighty Girls! November is Native American Heritage Month in the United States, during which time we recognize the contributions and cultures of the Indigenous Peoples of North America.

To celebrate this heritage month, we’ve put together a selection of wonderful books starring Native American and Indigenous characters to share with your children. Whether reading a great piece of historical fiction, a fascinating biography, or a story that features modern Native American girls in their day-to-day lives, they’ll love these stories. And who knows? You might just learn a thing or two yourself! Continue reading → Continue reading

A Mighty Girl's top picks of books for tween and teen girls about puberty, sexuality, and their changing bodies.

You knew it would happen one of these days: your daughter is a tween. Maybe you just realized that she’s looking eye-to-eye with you, or perhaps you’re seeing breast budding or other early signs of puberty. Or, your daughter is a teen, and while she thinks she knows everything about her changing body, you want to make sure that she has accurate information and good resources to consult.

Fortunately, in this post, we have many great books to recommend for both tweens and teens — in addition to numerous helpful resources for parents themselves. If your Mighty Girl is a bit younger, check out our previous post on Body Smart, Body Safe: Talking with Younger Girls about their Bodies for resources for preschoolers and younger elementary students. You can also learn about our recommendations on menstruation-related resources in our post Teaching Your Mighty Girl About Her Menstrual Cycle.

Continue reading → Continue reading

English paleontologist Mary Anning discovered the first known ichthyosaur skeleton at only 12 years old and went on to make many more discoveries which changed human's understanding of prehistoric life.

The phrase "she sells seashells by the sea shore" isn't just a tongue twister; many people believe it refers to the trailblazing English paleontologist Mary Anning! When she was only 12 years old, Anning discovered the first complete ichthyosaur skeleton and she spent the rest of her life searching out fossils that helped change humans' understanding of prehistoric life and natural history. Sadly, because she was a woman, she was rarely credited for her critical discoveries, and only in recent years have her wide-ranging contributions received the recognition they deserve. Continue reading → Continue reading