When do you talk to your daughter about menstruation.

amother

Mistyrose

Mon, May 08 2017, 9:08 am

amother wrote:

At what age do you talk to your daughter about her period? Im not talking about a s&x talk, just about her period? Would 9 be a good age? My oldest is turning 9 in a few weeks and I feel like I should talk to her about it.
I just wanted to hear when others did the same.

I discussed it when my daughter asked about it. When they ask they are ready to hear. My daughter asked what's up with my pads. I said it's for my monthly flow and that she will have it too when her body is ready for it.

amother

Khaki

Mon, May 08 2017, 9:21 am

I got my period when I was 9 and it was a traumatic experience for me. I had no idea what was going on and it was extremely scary. I don't fault my mother for not preparing me because it was so unusual for girls to get their periods so early that it never even crossed her mind to have that discussion with me already. But it was a terrible introduction to puberty and I fought against the changes instead of embracing them.

I don't want my daughters to go through the same thing. When my oldest turned 8 I bought her a book about puberty and we read it together so we could discuss any questions she had. I want her to feel comfortable talking to me about anything. She read it with mild curiosity and then put it away. She's 9 now and I haven't seen any signs of development but that can change quickly. At least I know she's prepared.

Scrabble123

Mon, May 08 2017, 9:52 am

My mother started menstruating at 16, but my father's sister started menstruating at 10. I, like my aunt, got my period around 10. Even though my mother had not yet discussed it with me because she didn't expect me to get my period so young, I knew a lot about puberty and menstruation. Nonetheless, I did not put two and two together even though I had several books on the topic and had already purchased pads and tampons. I still did not realize that the bleeding was my period, and I remember secretly throwing away my underwear to not frighten anyone else. I kept it a secret for a few months until I realized I had "become a woman." Interestingly enough, I don't think I told my mother in months or even years later and it was in passing, "Mom, I ran out of tampons. Can you pick some up at the store?" Regardless, my friends in my secular private school did not discuss menstruation; however, occasionally, during gym glass a girl would mention she is unable to engage in a particular activity such as running or swimming due to her period (the gym teachers did not allow this excuse).

yksraya

Mon, May 08 2017, 10:01 am

I told my DD when she was 10. I wasn't gonna tell her just yet, but then my friends DD who's younger than DD and was 9, got it. And I heard of someone else whos 10 yr old got it suddenly before her breasts even developed, so wasn't gonna take any chances.

Chayalle

Mon, May 08 2017, 10:34 am

amother wrote:

My older daughter asked about it, shortly before age 10. It was convenient - she opened the conversation, and I took it from there. But not every girl will ask. My next daughter is a very different personality, the kind that takes life as it comes. She never asked, so I opened the conversation casually, and she was actually totally surprised.

I would not have waited for her to ask....she might not have asked for quite a while, and I wanted her to know what her peers were up to, plus who knows, I didn't know when she would get it.

As a matter of fact, one of her best friends got her period at the end of 5th grade, and her mother discussed with me that her daughter feels self-conscious going to the bathroom at recess time, as she feels DD might pick up that she has her period and she wants her privacy....I told her to tell her DD to not worry, my DD is the last person that will pick up on these things. She's more the "accept life at face value" type, and if her best friend is going to the bathroom, she doesn't think into it at all.

Scrabble123

Mon, May 08 2017, 10:38 am

sequoia wrote:

What do you mean "they didn't allow it?"

They made you go swimming? That's impossible.

Yes, with a tampon and the, "your period stops in water due to the pressure..." speech. I always swam (and still do swim) while menstruating.

sequoia

Mon, May 08 2017, 12:11 pm

Scrabble123 wrote:

Yes, with a tampon and the, "your period stops in water due to the pressure..." speech. I always swam (and still do swim) while menstruating.

That's disgusting.

Swimming is fine with a tampon, but no one can force you to use one! (Especially a high school girl shock

)

The part about your period stopping in the water is BS.

amother

Taupe

Mon, May 08 2017, 12:22 pm

amother wrote:

Asking what pads are for doesn't really mean anything. My three year old son has asked me that a few times as well.

amother

Azure

Mon, May 08 2017, 7:44 pm

When I went with my twin girls to their well check at around 10 1/2, and she saw the girls were budding, she told me to expect their first period within a few months. And they did. They were 11 at the time. Thankfully, with the heads up from our Dr, I gave them a book to read, and told them to ask if they had any questions. If they saw blood, not to freak it. That all girls will get this and it means they can have children when they marry. Of course, the first one to get it, forgot about that talk and flipped out the first time. I was able to warn the other twin that she WILL be getting really soon. She got it less then a week later... Applause

amother

Blonde

Mon, May 08 2017, 7:53 pm

amother wrote:

I find that very cool! are they identical? It's amazing that they're bodies are on such a similar schedule just because they're twins

TwinsMommy

Mon, May 08 2017, 8:45 pm

I know darn well my twins won't get it at the same week, month, or even year.

(one twin is a boy-- lol).

seriously--- my daughter has had her "buds" for a LONG time (ps-- how the heck do I know when to switch her from training bra to REAL bra?)----- expect it within MONTHS of budding? Not in our case.

amother

Chartreuse

Mon, May 08 2017, 8:59 pm

andrea levy wrote:

I did it when my daughter was turning 9 and [gentile] g off to camp.

Seconding the "before going off to camp" suggestion. Actually, you should pretty much make sure they know "everything" before sending them off to sleepaway camp.

amother

Plum

Mon, May 08 2017, 10:24 pm

I got my period at age 14/15.

My oldest DD got her period just before 14 - although she had buds and pubic hair well before that (prob over a year before). In her school they have a talk about menstruating in 6th grade - I told her shortly before that talk (ie age 11).

My younger DD, now 10.5 is nowhere near puberty, but I did mention periods to her already. A few months ago she had a spot of blood in her underwear, turns out it was from scratching irritable skin down there (which we then treated), but because I wasn't sure what it was when she first showed me, I told her that menstruation was one of my concerns, and explained it to her there and then.