my 12yr old has "started"

shellsuit

onlyroz wrote: »

You tip the blood into the loo and flush it away. Sounds easy for us, but for a young girl, who doesn't have the hang of it, and who is on a quick break at school in a small cubicle, while lots of other girls are coming in and out/banging on doors/mucking about etc, I can only imagine the panic and worry of tipping it out in a hurry. What if she spilt some of it? What about it being on her fingers/hands when taking it out?


When "out-and-about", you wipe it round with toilet paper. When at home you rinse it under the tap. Between periods you boil it for 5 mins.

It is also not recommended to flush anything down the loo apart from toilet paper - therefore I certainly wouldn't recommend to anybody that they flush a tampon/towel away (and having blocked my drains twice just by flushing baby-wipes, I certainly wouldn't flush a tampon - I'd get such a ticking off from Dynorod if i did). Therefore, you're left with trying to wrap up the dirty towel/tampon whilst trying not to drop the clean one.

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

Dirty towels get taken off, wrapped and put into the sanitary bin. Fresh towel comes out and gets applied. Bingo.

I've got nothing against mooncups, it's whatever works for different women, but again, for a young girl which is what the topic is about, I think they're a bad idea.

galvanizersbaby

pulliptears wrote: »

Whilst I think mooncups are a good idea I do think you are biased towards them and quite anti tampon. Your post reminds me a little of the JML Home Shopping ads with the lady in a fluster over a very easy task of painting just so JML can sell you their super dooper paint kit...

You remove the dirty towel, sit on the loo, wrap it in loo roll and dispose of it in the sanitary bin. You then retrieve the clean one from your bag/between your teeth/top of the loo roll holder etc etc

Its not difficult really.

lol! - I was thinking the same thing myself - assumably onlyroz is pushing the mooncup for the environment though but heck mooncup doesn't sound ideal for a child who has just started her periods.

When I first started (13) I used quite big thick towels (Dr Whites I think) with big granny pants from M&S my periods were quite heavy from the outset - then I switched fairly quickly to applicator tampons.

OP sounds silly but it might be an ideal to get some higher waisted period pants for DD as might make her feel a bit more secure? - if that makes any sense.

I am hoping my DD will start around 13 as I did

pulliptears

galvanizersbaby wrote: »

lol! - I was thinking the same thing myself - assumably onlyroz is pushing the mooncup for the environment though but heck mooncup doesn't sound ideal for a child who has just started her periods.

When I first started (13) I used quite big thick towels (Dr Whites I think) with big granny pants from M&S my periods were quite heavy from the outset - then I switched fairly quickly to applicator tampons.

OP sounds silly but it might be an ideal to get some higher waisted period pants for DD as might make her feel a bit more secure? - if that makes any sense.

I am hoping my DD will start around 13 as I did

DD has some boxer short style pants which I encourage her to wear at night over her knickers as it keeps towels in place. My godsend as a teen was a pair of hideous blue P.E Knickers which were fairly tight so kept everything quite snug down there.

spugzbunny

Hey lets not play bash the mooncup! It may not be your thing and I don't think most 12 year olds are ready for it yet but there's no need to go crazy here! Personally I have found it to be cleaner, nicer and more convenient! I have NEVER had to change it in public as it can sit in there for hours without filling up and with no risk of TSS and most importantly I don't get thrush like I do with tampons and towels. I don't use it for the environment - I use(d) it because I prefer(ed) it. I am now sans periods due to the implant FYI.

Now to be back on topic!

When I started my period my Mum gave me a selection of products to keep in a box in my room and she would refresh anything that went low. I know your DD says she doesn't want to try tampons yet but I'd recommend giving her a box of each kind (applicator, non-applicator) so that she can try them out when she feels ready. I'd also recommend a couple of different types / strengths(?) of towel and some wipes. I also think you might want to educate her about thrush as that can be a nasty shock when you first get it if you are one of those people unfortunately prone!

I had a book called 'have you started yet' which I must have read and read dozens of times. I imagine it's a bit dated now but something to read like that would be great for her as it was written at a teen level and I didnt feel so wierd!

BigBlackcat

pulliptears wrote: »

And probably quite terrifying for a young girl

Never mind terrifying a young girl, they scare the !!!! out of me:eek:. I'm 37!

But then, I am quite squeamish..

pulliptears

spugzbunny wrote: »

Hey lets not play bash the mooncup!

Nobody is playing 'bash the mooncup', what we are saying is that we don't think that 12 year olds are quite ready for that just yet. Nowhere has anyone said "ooooooh them mooncups are evil!" because they simply aren't.

For the right person mooncups are brilliant, but they are a preference and no better or worse than tampons to some individuals. Its all down to personal preference.

onlyroz

pulliptears wrote: »

Its all down to personal preference.

Of course it is. But I do get annoyed about people who have never used them going on about how messy they are, and about how you have to get blood on your fingers etc etc. What about when you're fishing about in your bits for a tampon that has gone astray, string pulled off etc etc. Anyway, all I was trying to say was that people should be aware of all the options.

Lyger

This is only closely related to the topic, but I figured it may be worth throwing in here as it could become relevant - we all know that periods can take a while to 'settle' into a routine after starting. I got unlucky with mine - when they finally did settle, I always had really heavy and long (7 day!) periods, and they were painful to boot. My Dad brought me all sorts of over the counter tablets and herbal remedies, and none of them worked. I eventually ended up going on the contraceptive pill at 13 (and I wasn't even sexually active until 16!). It saved my Dad a fortune in sanitary products (before I went on the pill, I was having to use one of the 'heavy' load tampons along with sanitary towels because it would often leak after 3 hours), and it made that time of the month for me much less of a burden than it had been. The pill is also good for keeping periods regular.

Granted, it's all moot now, since I went onto the injection - but it may be worth looking into the various options available should bad period pains or heavy flow become an issue about a year down the line.

sammyjammy

onlyroz wrote: »

Of course it is. But I do get annoyed about people who have never used them going on about how messy they are, and about how you have to get blood on your fingers etc etc. What about when you're fishing about in your bits for a tampon that has gone astray, string pulled off etc etc. Anyway, all I was trying to say was that people should be aware of all the options.

Here here! I have to say as well that I rarely have to remove and empty mine when I'm out and about or at work, I tend to empty it when i leave the house and do the same again when I return home, I think the lack of TSS is a particular issue for younger girls using tampons. I also don't think the mooncup is any scarier for young girls than tampons can be. Its not about age it's about indivduals and choice, as some of you adult women have said a mooncup just makes you feel squeamish which is fine but just your opinion . I think a lot of women choose the mooncup (or other variety) for environmental reasons - I know i did.

Wickedkitten

I got mine a week after I turned 12 and my mum had got me some pack thing that had towels and tampons and a calendar in it. I remember being entirely too thrilled, 21 years later I am entirely bored with periods and can't wait to start the menopause already.

Have you had a look at http://www.pogopack.co.uk/pogo-pack

Not that I'm meaning anything by it at all, but have you had the birth control chat yet?