BATON ROUGE — It can be a tough topic to tackle, but preparing children for puberty is critical, and experts say hearing about it from parents, not just peers, makes a huge difference.

"Nothing is scarier than something that you may not be ready for,” Jay Lee, a board member with the American Academy of Family Physicians, said.

Lee says one of the best things a parent can do is what he calls "anticipatory guidance,” letting their kids know what to expect, not only keeps them informed but can reduce anxiety.

"Over the course of my 23 years of being a physician, we've seen, uh, puberty start earlier and earlier amongst children,” Lee said.

That's why Lee says having the conversation earlier is important. Start by asking open-ended questions regarding what they know about puberty and the physical and emotional changes that will happen to their bodies.

Listen and answer those questions, letting them know what to expect. Then, normalize the experience by telling them it's something everyone goes through as they become adults.

Lee says this conversation isn't necessarily about sex.

“It's critical to talk about it, uh, about the biology of the changes that are happening and why it is that they're maturing in their bodies. And then, um, you know, I would say parents, uh, often will have a pretty good Spidey-sense of when to have that conversation with the child about sex,” Lee said.

And if you need tough talk help, Lee suggests reaching out to the child's doctor.