Nanci Kuykendall

>> I don't mean to be rude but, has your daughter
>>gotten her period yet?

>Nope. She's 10 and ahalf. No budding, no body odour.
>Nothing.
>She's been like this since birth any way.

>No idea why vampires either, and not say, werewolves
>or bogey-men.

I think you are on to something there Shyrley. You
said she had sex obsessiveness before, she is
incredibly precocious, is not yet having her cycles
and is terrified of vampires. Vampires are very SEXY
"monsters." Just look at all the erotic vampire
fiction, the movies, the sensual qualities. There is
something so intimate and dangerous and seductive
about the whole vampire mythos. Even the drinking of
blood is this intimate exchange that is often equated
with an orgasmic experience by those who make the
movies and write the stories. Male vampires bite
women, female vampires bite men.

Perhaps her fears are stemming from secret desires or
longings to be sought out in that manner, to be found
desirable by a vampire, which fascinates, and
terrifies her at the same time? Perhaps all of this
has to do with feeling that her body SHOULD be more
mature to match her mind, and she is anxious about
that. Perhaps there are also hormones in play here,
although there are no physical signs.

I didn't start my cycle until I was 13, so I
sympathise with her. Maybe she needs some fiction
with a little romance in it to occupy her mind?
Perhaps some books designed for teens or young adults?
How far you want the fiction to go in terms of sexual
explicitness is a parental decision of course. But at
her age I was reading things like "Friday" and the
Earth's Children series by Jean M. Auel, which are
heavily sexually explicit. It didn't confuse, twist
or damage me. On the contrary, it answered the
questions my parents wouldn't and gave me a knowledge
base that made me confident in my own sexual identity
as an adult. I knew what was what, so I was not
afraid or defenseless. Both books have rape in them,
so you might want to find something a bit more
romantic and happy.

One that doesn't have sex in it, but is a love story
which I enjoyed reading recently, is "The Hob's
Bargain" by Patricia Briggs. It's a fantasy story
with magic and a female heroine. Another fantasy love
story with a female heroine is "Once Upon a Winter's
Night" by Dennis L. McKiernan. It's a retelling of a
classic Frog Prince style fairy tale which is really
good.

Anyway, just a thought I had based on the information
given. Good luck with your daughter.

Nanci K.

(By the way, I will be posting a note today about how
my hubby is doing.)