Schools providing Sanitary protection
Comments
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They are providing free toothbrushes & paste in some areas I believe. Yes the parents should be providing but how much can we punish the children for the parent's inadequacies?0
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About a month ago. a woman in my area became a coordinator for the Red Box Project. She has asked on our local FB groups for sanitary protection and for businesses to become drop off points. It has been well received in our area. She regularly posts to thank people for their donations, and puts up photos of what she has collected, and from which collection point. A few days ago, she posted a list of secondary schools that now have a Red Box.
This is an easy way for people to help of they want to.Several local businesses are happy to have a red plastic crate in their building, and they are also receiving free advertising via the FB page. There are cafes, florists, beauty salons, and a car repair place, all easily accessible for members of the public to pop a packet in.
http://redboxproject.org/0 -
When i was a teen, my mother used to insist we ASKED for money for STs - they weren't just 'provided'. I used to find this so excruciatingly embarrassing that I never would ask her as it was admitting ''HEY I'M ON MY PERIOD''..and when i was 13/14 - EVERYTHING was embarrassing
I always swore if i had a daughter, that sanitary protection would be on my monthly shopping list and it would magically appear in her room and no discussion about it
I can relate to this. My mother was far from useless in most others areas and we were far from poor, but she just didn't 'think' to make sure sanpro was always available. She had a hysterectomy at 32, before my periods started so sanpro wasn't on her radar, for some reason she just didn't seem to notice my cycle. Like you I was embarrassed to ask and also i'll admit to being less than organised and would often forget I was due so often had to improvise.
I do think 'period poverty' isn't just down to finances, it's down to crap parenting and if the recent ads actually make parents who aren't actually poor, just crap, think to pop a pack in the shopping trolley it will have been a worthwhile campaign.
I have a daughter, as a result of my experience I buy far too many tampons for her, she has to tell me to stop because her drawer is full. I also have bags hanging in the bathrooms with various types inside in case her friends or other female visitors need anything. I's become a bit of an obsession, I hate the thought of any girl going without.
And times have changed, my daughter would never be embarrassed to ask if she ran out, I also made my sons fully aware about sanpro, so hopefully one day if they are dads their daughters won't be embarrassed to ask them to buy them.Accept your past without regret, handle your present with confidence and face your future without fear0 -
Sadly for some parents even if they had all the money in the world providing their children with the necessities isn't a priority of theirs, or is seen as a form of control. And then as you say for some money issues mean they aren't able to - they may not even realise their child needs them. Children are very perceptive and many will know when their family is struggling with money so may not even tell their parent that they have come on as they know that this is an additional expense to their parent.
I am all for this idea I think it is brilliant for many reasons. It also isn't something new, it has just been formalised. I left school 16 years ago but i distinctly remember that we were regularly reminded how several of the female teachers had sanitary products available for free if we needed one at any time. I have no idea if they bought them with their own money or schools money at the time, but I wouldn't be surprised if many teachers over the years have used their own money to buy supplies.0 -
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My own early periods were awful due to the lack of sanitary products. I was actually lucky enough that mum gave me a pack of ten but they were woefully insufficient for the job. There was no opportunity to be absent during those times though. I generally managed to wangle a day here and there by just telling fibs to either stay home or get out of games at the very least.
I was in my 40s before I discovered cloth towels. Made from fleece and toweling and press studs. Home made of course . Why can there not be a lesson at school in which the girls are shown how to make some themselves and the materials be there if they cannot provide them?. They last for years and you just pop them in a washer or wash them in the basin at home if you dont have a machine. The washing of them could be explained too in simple terms without adding any pointless bumph about sterilising tablets or brands of detergent.
There could aslo be free 'moon cup' type devices for girls who find they can use one as they are very liberating.0 -
Only the truly monstrous would be against this. Simple.0
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I wonder how many packs of cheap 23p sanpro you'd go through in comparison to Always. As a teenager, having periods can be awfully embarrassing and awkward, especially at school. My cycle was heavy, irregular and lasted 6 day! I'm glad my mum always had enough stuff in so I could use it but I do remember it being cheap stuff and not feeling very comfortable. I think the 23p ones are a false economy and the girls should be provided with a better brand.0
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Only the truly monstrous would be against this. Simple.
It's not simple though. Nothing is! We're in danger of conflating many different problems:- Parents can't afford to buy protection
- Parents won't buy it
- Parents don't realise and daughters are too embarrassed to ask
WibblyGirly wrote: »I wonder how many packs of cheap 23p sanpro you'd go through in comparison to Always. As a teenager, having periods can be awfully embarrassing and awkward, especially at school. My cycle was heavy, irregular and lasted 6 day! I'm glad my mum always had enough stuff in so I could use it but I do remember it being cheap stuff and not feeling very comfortable. I think the 23p ones are a false economy and the girls should be provided with a better brand.
That varies a lot. Supermarket own brand were fine for me especially for the last couple of days. If we're really about efficiency we could teach them about reuseable options - I have a mooncup and its brilliant !0 -
Rosemary7391 wrote: »If we're really about efficiency we could teach them about reuseable options - I have a mooncup and its brilliant !
Unless school toilets have improved a lot since I had to use them, I don't think its a fair expectation of teenage girls that they use a mooncup.0
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