How do girls handle getting their period in camp?

amother

Sun, Jul 18 2021, 2:59 pm

My daughter is new to this.
How do they handle discreetly taking pads into the bathroom?
My heart goes out to my daughter- thinking of her waking up with a heavily soaked pad in the morning and not having enough privacy to change.
How do they handle period stained underwear in camp??

amother

Cherry

Sun, Jul 18 2021, 3:03 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

Get her a pretty cosmetic bag to keep her pads and other personal items in and she can take it to the bathroom with her.

amother

Dandelion

Sun, Jul 18 2021, 3:07 pm

It was really hard. I remember there weren't trash cans in each stall and I was embarrassed to walk out with a wrapped toilet paper. I would bring tampons along with pads and use both so it's less likely to leak. I ended up throwing out the blood soaked underwear, so make sure your dd brings extra underwear.

imaima

Sun, Jul 18 2021, 3:10 pm

A cosmetic case or a fanny pack that she always has on, so noone will ever know that she needs to change a pad when she walks to the bathroom.

amother

Daylily

Sun, Jul 18 2021, 3:12 pm

What would she do in school or any public place? She can just carry it in her sleeve or waistband. If you want to get more complicated, I actually sewed a "secret pocket" just the size of a pad, inside of the regular pocket of a sweatshirt I wore often.
For washing underwear, it's definitely good to have dark so that a small stain won't matter. However, to rinse them out in privacy, take them into the shower. Then find a place to let them dry mostly before putting in the laundry. I'd put a towel on the top shelf (or wherever she stores her things) and place on that-so it's exposed to air but not in full view.
Also, I'm a big fan of keeping your person business private, but also being aware that it isn't bad. Don't have to announce to your bunk, but if someone hears plastic crinkling in the bathroom, it isn't a big deal.

amother

Bergamot

Sun, Jul 18 2021, 3:12 pm

Unless she got her period unusually early, most likely most or all other girls m her bunk will have it. Just don't make a big deal. As someone else said, send her with mostly dark underwear and just a few light ones for white skirts. A pretty little cosmetic bag to carry pads in is a cute idea. But main thing is to be matter of fact about it. This is a normal fact of life for all girls - just do what needs to be done and get on w having fun.

tigerwife

Sun, Jul 18 2021, 3:13 pm

Luckily my friends were pretty open about it and we often all got our periods together- that strange camp phenomenon. Still, there were quite a few incidents of clogged plumbing because girls tried to flush their pads/tampons to get rid of the evidence.

BrisketBoss

Sun, Jul 18 2021, 3:16 pm

amother [ Daylily ] wrote:

Also, I'm a big fan of keeping your person business private, but also being aware that it isn't bad. Don't have to announce to your bunk, but if someone hears plastic crinkling in the bathroom, it isn't a big deal.

Agreed. It's a bodily function and you're all girls. Do you hide that you use the bathroom in general? And that's grosser than periods if you ask me. But pubescent girls can be awkward about it.

BrisketBoss

Sun, Jul 18 2021, 3:23 pm

sequoia wrote:

Also summer Amenorrhea is a real thing for many many HS girls.

She might not get it in camp.

Wild. I've never heard of that.

happy chick

Sun, Jul 18 2021, 3:37 pm

sequoia wrote:

Also summer Amenorrhea is a real thing for many many HS girls.

She might not get it in camp.

ive been in camp once with a girl who said this. she said every summer when she comes home, she goes heavy on orange juice to bring it on. never heard of that one either.

banana split

Sun, Jul 18 2021, 5:09 pm

How old is your daughter ?
It’s not embarrassing in our jpf circles - my daughter and her friends are totally open about it

honey36

Sun, Jul 18 2021, 5:15 pm

Just one tip I shared with friends who found it helpful. (I thought it was obvious buy maybe not). There are sometimes no toilets in the shower room, so before I went to the shower I would stick my pad on the underwear. This way I could dry off and quickly slip on the underwear.

essie14

Mon, Jul 19 2021, 12:27 am

I remember talking about it very openly. I also didnt get it early so maybe younger girls are more embarrassed, but we all knew about periods and I don't remember being ashamed.
Stained underwear I would just throw out in camp, send her with extra, and dark colors.

amother

Yellow

Mon, Jul 19 2021, 12:39 am

I have five girls, all pretty close in age. Periods, pads, liners are all totally normal to talk about for all of them - even my youngest daughter who is 10 yo and hasn’t gotten her period yet. Which is soooo the opposite of me growing up - I was surrounded by brothers. None of my friends were open about getting their periods so I literally felt like I was the only one in the world going through it. Everything related to periods was mortifying for me.

I feel the same as other posters that it should be normalized and natural just like going to the bathroom. It’s all a matter of conditioning.

amother

Royalblue

Mon, Jul 19 2021, 12:49 am

In seventh grade we had a shelf in the bathroom where everyone kept their pads (in bags, of course).

Whoever never got their period in camp, count your blessings. I was one of those lucky girls who got her period three times in two months.

amother

Mon, Jul 19 2021, 1:02 am

honey36 wrote:

That’s interesting… I wonder if we could stick a pad on a few pairs before she goes??

singleagain

Mon, Jul 19 2021, 7:17 am

amother [ OP ] wrote:

That’s interesting… I wonder if we could stick a pad on a few pairs before she goes??

You mean pack her bag like that.. don't.. it's just not sanitary.

This actually seems like the right situation for thinx. Or I just tried bambody from Amazon for the first time not on my heavy day but it was perfect for the days after and a fraction of the price

https://www.amazon.com/gp/prod.....70fde