my 12yr old has "started"

hngrymummy

shellsuit wrote: »

I never flush baby wipes or sanitary towels, but I do flush tampons and I've never blocked the loo up yet.

Please please can people not flush tampons down the loo. DH works in the water industry (clean and dirty water processing plants). They are horrible things, and may not block up your loo, but can certainly cause problems later down the line as they do not easily degrade. They can cause sewers to block up, resulting in sewage rising up through manholes and running down the street.

I know that's slightly off topic, so I will add my input on that too...

Please be open about periods with your DD, and disucss what is normal and what is not, and take her seriously if she thinks that what is happening is abnormal. Many young girls suffer in silence because they think (and have been told that) the things they are experiencing are normal. In my case it was almost 15 years before I was taken seriously by a Dr. I was brushed aside by 3, who told me that 'painful periods can be inconvenient can't they' I have since had a 6cm cyst removed from an ovary and have been diagnosed with fibroids.

For me, I love the Lilets aromatherpy rub (can't remember what it's official name is offhand). It smells nice, is relaxing, and I think the massaging action used to rub it in helps with easing the pain.

ETA, very shortly after the operation I became pregnant after nearly 2 years of trying.

Tulip09

My little one got her first one at 9 and believe me i was terrified and thought something was wrong. We got her pantyliners (any cheap brand) but now she has turned 11 she prefers 'always' but recently has asked for lilets which i really dont want her using just now. I think being open and honest though works a treat, however my 12 year old son was annoyed one day as 'he hadnt got his yet':rotfl: Now that was an interesting talk.

faithcecilia

I started at 11, while still at primary school. My mother used what we always refered to as 'bath towels':eek: - the thick Simplicity Super Plus but thankfully she had been prepared and got some thin towels, I can't remember the brand though. However I hated the things so the next day used my pocket money to get tampons and that was that!

KiKi

I use a Mooncup, now (I'm in my 30s). For me, they are MUCH better than tampons; less messy, my periods are shorter by a day, and they pose no TSS risk. I can leave mine in 24 hours with no problem, and they don't leak! They're environmentally better and cheap.

Also, they don't 'dry' you out like tampons, as they don't absorb all your 'natural' secretions which keep that area healthy!

However, I would never, ever recommend a Mooncup for a girl who's just started her periods. Getting them in and out takes practice (and can hurt a bit on the way out - I had to ask a friend who was already using them how to get it out as I couldn't do it!!), and you need to already be quite comfortable with putting things in there and taking them out again. You need to know what your flow is like, know when to change it, and be comfortable about taking it out and cleaning it in a cubicle in public toilets. Whilst those things are simple to do, they only come with practice.

Also, I use the smaller size, and it can still feel a bit big for me; for a young girl who still wears size 9 clothes I can imagine even the small size would be too big until she's developed a bit.

At the end of the day as long as she knows what her options are and is comfortable that's all that matters. Mooncups work for me, but they're not for everyone. But I will back up the poster who said they're not messier than tampons; they're really, really not.

Hope the OP's daughter is feeling a bit better now! OP sounds like a lovely caring mum!

KiKi

KiKi

Tulip09 wrote: »

My little one got her first one at 9 and believe me i was terrified and thought something was wrong. We got her pantyliners (any cheap brand) but now she has turned 11 she prefers 'always' but recently has asked for lilets which i really dont want her using just now. I think being open and honest though works a treat, however my 12 year old son was annoyed one day as 'he hadnt got his yet':rotfl: Now that was an interesting talk.

Gosh, 9 is young, I don't blame you for worrying at the time!

Not a criticism, but a genuine question: if she wants to use Lilets and that makes her feel more comfortable, why won't you let her use them? I couldn't BEAR to use towels, ever, and I felt so awful wearing them. She might feel so much happier using tampons, and whilst I appreciate she's young and you're her mum, she's had 2 years of periods, now!

:rotfl: at your son! Bless him!! I remember a male friend of mine going to the bathroom in our house, and he was in there for ages. Later that evening I found a book of mine in the bathroom ("Have You Started Yet?")...he'd obviously been reading up on the subject!!!

KiKi

Tulip09

She sees me/ bigger sister use them etc and wants to use them. She has had a few years and used to it but i have this little thing in my head that she is opening herself up to risk etc as she has never had sex etc and i think it would hurt her or be not suitable etc. She isnt at high school yet and i guess i dont really want her to grow up or it might hurt her etc (Yes im a wuss lol)

babyshoes

On the mooncup point - I would definitely suggest that the OP's daughter gets used to using non-applicator tampons first. They can be a bit fiddly to get right, it took me about 4 months to get it right all the time, without it being in the wrong place making it leak or stick out uncomfortably. I wish I had gotten one 5 or 10 years earlier though, when I was about 16 or 17, but I didn't hear about them at all until I was in my mid 20's.

As a teenager I suffered from very heavy periods, at school I had to wear a super tampon and a super pad for the first couple of days, and go to the loo between every lesson, ie every hour! I was constantly worrying about leakage, and a number of times I had to wash sheets in the middle of the night!! Long pads would have been very useful then, instead I used 2 together with the plastic pulled out of the top one.

Things have settled down a bit now - still heavy but not excessive, and with the mooncup my periods are so much less stressful.There are still the mood swings and aches to make me feel crap, but the constant worry is gone. I didn't realise how much of a worry it was until it had gone away. I almost never need to empty it at work unless I have put it in wrong, and if I do need to make adjustments there is always a disabled cubicle I can use with a sink next to the toilet.

JaneRN

Just wanted to echo the words of Babyshoes. I was 12 when I started and my mum bought the STs designed for teens and I was wearing them three at a time - with three pair of knickers, a pair of shorts and three under skirts when I went to school. I was too embarrassed to say anything to my mum and had no idea if it was normal.
Don't be lulled into thinking because a girl is young and slightly built that she will have light periods.

Kimberley82

Tulip09 wrote: »

She sees me/ bigger sister use them etc and wants to use them. She has had a few years and used to it but i have this little thing in my head that she is opening herself up to risk etc as she has never had sex etc and i think it would hurt her or be not suitable etc. She isnt at high school yet and i guess i dont really want her to grow up that way really (sexually). (Yes im a wuss lol)

There is nothing sexual about using tampons.

roadiegirl

I didn't feel I could tell my Mum about when I started! So count yourself lucky that she could tell you! I had a few Always pads in my room which us girls were all given in Primary school! When my Mum found out (leaked at night time), she went to the shops and bought me a few packets of the normal Always pads, and one day came home with a pack of tampax and explained all the risks etc but said that she felt they were more convenient.

The one thing I used to do (especially in summer) was wear a pair of shorts under my school skirt, help me feel a bit more secure and stopped any feeling that I had leaked, also convenient if there is any upskirt wind on windy days and for getting changed for P.E!