The Sinner actress Jessica Biel has published her debut book — and she’s teaching children about periods.
A Kids Book About Periods is one of the A Kids Book About series by A Kid’s Co., encouraging young children to be introduced to big topics in new and engaging ways. Other books in the series cover topics like ADHD, immigration, feminism, and body image.
Biel also published this book in collaboration with PERIOD., a non-profit organization advocating against “period poverty and stigma.” Five percent of the proceeds from Biel’s book will go to PERIOD.
A Kids Book About Periods teaches children both about periods and growing up in general. Biel hopes that encouraging parents and children to have conversations about these topics will end the stigma around menstruation.
And the book isn’t just for young girls. Biel hopes dads and boys will read it too, like her husband Justin Timberlake and their two sons.
In an interview with People, Biel said, “If we grownups have the confidence to tell the truth about how our bodies work, then we’ll give the kids around us the agency and voice to talk about their own bodies with confidence, now and for the rest of their lives.”
The book has received backlash from audiences who think menstruation conversations should be saved for preteens, not young children.
“Kids don’t have periods ….. teen biological girls do!! This is such a wack book to write,” one user commented on Biel’s Instagram post.
Others applauded Biel for encouraging the topic and shared their own experiences.
“None of my friends were going through changes at the same time as me, so I had no girlfriends to girl talk with. I was so lost. Thank you for making this book!” another Instagram user wrote.
Biel’s passion for the book comes from her experience as a parent of her two boys.
“I’ve always felt strongly that we need to normalize the discussion around periods and as a parent, writing this book felt like an organic way to engage kids in the conversation from early on,” Biel told People.
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