Tuesday, 17 April 2012
-
Period Prepardness For Your Daughter
Getting your period when you are not expecting it is inconvenient, and sometimes downright embarrassing, for even the most seasoned period-getters. Remember being nine and wondering when your first ever period would come. Will it be soon or in another few years? Where will I be when it comes? What if I am at school?
A lot of young girls get their first ever period when they are at school, which is not surprising considering the amount of time children spend there. However, if they are not prepared, this can be an embarrassing experience they may never forget. It need not be. Here is how to make your daughter’s first period a more pleasant experience.
- Information – The less your daughter knows about what is happening to her body, the more confusing and upsetting the experience will be. The best book I have found for young girls to read is Ready, Set, Grow! A "What's Happening to My Body?" Book for Younger Girls by Lynda Madaras.
- Communication – Let your daughter know that what is happening to her is totally natural and nothing to be ashamed of. Be approachable and honest. It is important your daughter feels she can talk to you about the changes she is experiencing and ask you questions. It is okay if you do not know the answers. Be honest. She will appreciate it.
- Be prepared – Although it is impossible to know exactly when and where her period will come, she can be prepared for when it does. What will make your daughter feel prepared may not be what makes my daughter feel prepared. This is where good communication comes in. My daughter was worried about exactly what to do if her period started at school. What made her feel prepared was carrying an extra pair of pants and panties in a plastic bag in her school bag, along with an extra plastic bag for any soiled clothes and of course, sanitary napkins. I also assured her she could call me anytime from school. We also discussed what period cramps may feel like and that if she ever felt those, she may want to go to the bathroom and put on a sanitary napkin just in case.
RecommendRelated Posts
Post a Comment
- Back to momaroo's Momaroo Site!
- Note: your comment will appear in momaroo's local time zone: GMT -05:00 (Eastern Standard - US, Canada)
Comments (35)
Another good book is "Growing Up and Liking It." I think it was originally published in the 1970s, but there may be an updated version of it. My mom gave me that one and I found it really helpful.
I wish someone had shown this to my mother. She didn't tell me ANYTHING. I found out the hard way at the age of 14. I thought I was dying.
Yeah I totally thought I had "butt cancer" which makes no sense to me now that I understand my body but at the time...
I remember sitting on the toilet discovering it and praying to God. Sad and funny all at the same time, in retrospect.
My parents were too embarrassed to talk to me about it. I got mine at home after school and went looking for my mom's 'adult diapers' to wear before I had dad take me to the hospital. When he found me with mom's stuff, he had to explain why I thought I was dying. I made sure my little sister was prepared when it was her turn.
My mom told me when I had just turned 12. Less then a month later it happened... thank God she didn't wait any longer.
About 3 months after starting my period I picked up and read The American Girls book, "The care and keeping of YOU". Best book ever and pretty much explained everything I needed to know in detail without being too shocking.
I knew about it... and then some of my friends had it.. and I didn't get it until I was 13 so I was pretty prepared and kind of waiting around for it.
I already talked to my little sisters about it, so they'll be prepared too :)
My school had an informational assembly about puberty for all the kids in the 5th grade one night. You attended with your parents, girls and boys were split up into their respective groups in a divided gym and shown a video about the hormonal changes our bodies were starting to go through, and each kid was given a kit with gender appropriate accessories (eg, boys got shaving cream and a razor, girls got a sanitary pad, etc). It wasn't a terrible way to open the conversation for parents who might not have known how to approach the topic with their kids (or hadn't planned on talking to them about it at all).
Mine didn't come until my 13th birthday on the nose, though, so it was something I was more or less prepared for at that point.
I really think it's worrying that some people didn't know about it until it happened. We had talks about puberty in school from the age of nine. Every year we got separated by gender and the girls learnt about boobs, bras, periods and everything else. My parents knew about those talks and just asked me if I had any questions and to tell them when it happened.
I got my period at 12 and knew fully well what was happening. I was in a public toilet, got some change, bought myself a pad from the machine and then met my mum outside and just said "I started my period" and she was like "Oh, okay." and then we went to buy pads and she got me pain killers and stuff too. Nothing embarrassing or awkward :)
I knew I had my period when I woke up and there was blood everywhere. I was prepared information wise and all because getting my period was one thing my mom did talk about when it came to growing up and school definitely had covered it pretty extensively by the time I was 12. It was still really awkward to tell her and I had to wear one of her big pads that day until we could get to the drug store later after school. I feel like that is the only thing I'll change with my daughter. Once she is 9 or 10, I'll prepare a small emergency kit for her. That way she doesn't have to ask me in the morning "now what?" or be confused and upset at school.
My daughter was completely prepared but it was still traumatic and horrifying. I mean you can't really know what to expect because it is kinda hard to imagine it all. I mean, it doesn't really make sense when they say you will bleed without a wound.
She thought it was some cruel joke parents told their kids until she got hers. lol
@Digital_Angel21@xanga - I think an emergency or starter kit is a brilliant idea! I think my daughter had some pads at around 11 but by time she started who knows where they were! Good idea to keep it up and check on it every now and then.
My mom told me about it when I was eight or nine years old. (I had just started wearing a bra so she decided it was time to talk to me about it.) A couple years later I was eleven and got up for school and went to take a shower and found a decent sized red spot in my panties. I was terrified, haha. I tried to talk my mom into letting me stay home from school but she wouldn't let me. I was SOOO thankful I didn't get mine at school where I wouldn't have had anything with me. Some time after my mom talked to me about getting my period, she bought me liners, pads, and some sort of teen tampons so that I'd be prepared when it did decide to come.
Definitely good advice!
The first time I heard about a period was when my brother and his friends told me that one day I was going to bleed to death, I was 7. I told my mom and I got the period talk. Heh. Had to happen sooner or later. I didn't start my period at school, thankfully I was at home (watching Monday night nitro, haha) but from then on, all throughout middle school, I was afraid I'd start at school, or have an accident. My periods were super heavy. Even had to get on birth control in 7th grade to level it out.
My mom gave my sister the American Girl Doll book "The Care and Keeping of You" and then gave it to me a few months later. It worked really well for both of us. My mom was also really open. My sister and I were both lucky enough to have ours at home. I started mine when I was 12 and I think my sister was like 15-16. We started pretty close to each other. We also talked about it in my fifth grade class, but the serious talk with my mom didn't come until I was 11-12. My mom has always been really open with me about everything like that. I do know some of my friends have moms who never talked to them about it and it was super awkward for them when they started.
We had a school seminar on it in 5th grade where they separated boys and girls and told us each about whichever changes we're about to experience. My mom also talked to me about it and as some other girls said already got me The Care and Keeping of You which is really good and she also got me another book on puberty that I filled out which explained everything. I eventually got my period right before a ten hour road trip at 13 haha
I was totally prepared information-wise....since I didn't start until I was 14-15....but I was NOT prepared for how gross it would be, lol. I will definitely make sure my daughter is prepared.
yea i got no info and thought i was dying too till i saw the blood theni understood
I purchased a book about menstruation when my daughter was in 3rd grade. Talked about body parts, the reasons for them, hormones, etc. Said when the magic day happened we'd go out to lunch and celebrate her becoming a woman. Well, the magic day came some time later, and she announced to me, "Lunch! You want me to go to lunch? You lied to me. You said this would be a special time for us, and there's nothing special about walking around with a wet rag between your legs!" Still cracks me up when I think about it.
I wish I had known about the Diva Cup when I was younger. I hated the way pads felt so I always used tampons. Turns out that something in them made me sick. I would always get headaches and a low grade fever. Switched to a Diva Cup when I was a lifeguard and have been singing its praises ever since.
My mum never really talked to me about it before it happened, but I knew full well what was happening lol. I'm glad actually because it would have been unbelievably awkward. Much like it has been ever since I got mine, mum thinks she has to share every detail. *cringe*
My mom was completely open with me about stuff like that. Once when I was six I accidentally walked in on her while she was changing her pad, and of course I was freaked out a bit but she explained it all to me. Then when I got my period at 9 years old, I felt relaxed about telling my mom. Of course I was the oddball because I got it early, so I couldn't confide in my friends about it. Which is kind of a good thing in my mind, since that means it was a complete bonding experience with mom.
You might want to google 'early puberty in girls' -- the average age is going down. Age 7-8 happens in 10% of white girls and the rate is higher for Hispanic and African American girls. I would have been totally unprepared at that age! CNN has covered the subject and some medical websites have info.
Some are looking at diet as the cause, particularly the national obesity rate. FDA allows 6 hormones in food production:
Estradiol -- natural female sex hormone
Progesterone -- natural female sex hormone
Testosterone – natural male sex hormone
Zeranol – synthetic growth promoter
Trenbolone acetate– synthetic growth promoter
Melngestrol acetate– synthetic growth promoter
Then there is the rGBH used in factory farmed animals (CAFOs), and soy mimics estrogen.
I remember that I was on vacation with my parents when I was 9. It was right before school started and I was the first in my class to get it. Though my mom told me everything, it still didn't help as much. The cramps I got were WORSE than she described and it lasted longer than she said too. I'm glad that I can expect what's going to happen and hopefully, when I have a daughter in the future I'll be able to explain things better than my mother.
I can't remember if my mom talked to me about it or not, but I do remember having a class in fifth grade that taught us about the reproductive parts, periods, etc. I started my period the summer following that. They taught it again in sixth grade, but that was unfortunately the last time I learned anything about sexual things. I was really disappointed in my high school for not teaching safe sex tactics, but I guess that is another topic.
I remember, back in elementary school, videos would be shown to "only the girls" while the boys had to wait outside. It was in 3rd or 4th grade, and I had no clue what was being talked about. The video was cheesy... a mother was explaining to her daughter what a "period" was, and coincidentally she was making cookies, so she used the batter/mix to form a shape of the ovaries.
Anyway, I got mine after school, and my mom was home so I was lucky. I made sure to talk to my siblings to prepare them...