Time for the talk... not the sex one!!!

Yep, liners are a must. Girls start have white discharge for up to about a year before menstruation starts. The special outing is good too And maybe a heat pack for cramps.

Also pop a brown paper bag in her little purse for discreet disposal of used pads - just in case the school or wherever she is at the time doesn't have appropriate bins.

When she does get AF, marking it on the calender (maybe just a little dot in the corner of the day) just to keep an eye on when it's due etc. helps as they can be quite irregular for the first few years.

Good luck

[angelaartsstudent]

I always had a fash washer (folded up) and a little mini bar of soap in my school bag with the spare knickers too in case of messy leaks.

Good luck. Hope she takes it well. I just got given a book to read and then a pad thown at me when the day finally came (I was about 11).

Personally I detest my period and every symptom that goes with it! :-) I had them very heavy in school and feel so sorry for anyone giving or recieving the talk! LOL.

My baby looks to be a girl too so I dread the day it is my turn!

Chin up and I hope she's not too freaked out by it.

[Curly]

The only thing I would contribute is to make sure that the little bag of necessities you give her is something like a funky makeup bag with a zip...waterproof and spillage proof and discreet.

My mum was too cheap for anything like that and gave me some pads in a brown paper bag to keep in my school back pack (the old surfboard style pads that had no wings and no funky discreet individual wrapping). The paper bag was getting ripped so I put in the side pocket of the backpack (not an easy fit) and one day it fell out and the paper bag opened and everything came tumbling out and I was mortified. In front of the boys too.

Re deodorant...you will know when she needs it when she starts smelling of BO. I actually had to start wearing deodorant in kindergarten/prep and once again Mum went cheap on me and got me a roll on. I didn't like feeling wet and icky under my arms so I would try not to wear it and then Mum would tell me I smelled...it really wasn't the best way to make me wear it (especially given that I was very embarrassed because I knew nobody else in my class was wearing deodorant). So if you do pick a deodorant out make sure it is a spray or one of those white solid sticks that aren't wet.

[aussienic]

Originally Posted by misty

Good luck with it all. I remember my mum had 'this' talk with me, only thing was that she was too late, I had already been getting my periods for half a year, I just hadn't told her. I didn't know how to break the news to her when she decided to have the talk so the next month when I got my period I pretented that was the first time

I did the exact same thing.. My mum found out on Mothers day and even now she thinks her little girl became a woman on mothers day and I haven't ever had the heart to tell her otherwise

I will remember the bag idea when it comes time for me..

Do you think it is important to tell boys as well and what age?

[Pretty Butterfly]

Ill be telling DS about the basics, so he doesnt tease or pick on or get upset if/when he see's his sister.. or other girls at school for that matter!!

The indepth talk will just be us 2....

[Lisa]

I told my DS1 when he was in year 5. Because it was coming up to the time where you could see little girls in his class starting to develop. I have never hidden my period from my kids in that there has always been pads & tampons in the bathroom and they understood it was because when Mum doesn't have a baby in her belly she gets bleeding like other women.
DS1 knew to never, ever tease anyone about their period or the fact that they had pads or tampons and that if he ever saw blood on the back of a girls dress/skirt at school to quietly let a female teacher know.

[Lady Zaidie]

DS knows about periods too! Well, he's super-interested in the loo atm.

I remember my first period VERY well. Bad cramps, mum brought me home from school as I couldn't walk, told me to get over it, every woman had it, stop being a baby. My little sister was so shamed when she got her period she threw her pants away. I remember being told that. Was my reaction of "I shouldn't be making a fuss as it's just a period" wrong then? I thought it was for years as my sister's reaction was held up as correct. (BTW, I eventually went on the Pill due to severe period pain which was NOT normal, my mother now admits!) But I wasn't special, I was just a silly child for making a fuss. Should I have a daughter, I'd like her to feel special as she makes this milestone on her journey to becoming an adult woman.

I can't imagine getting to senior school and not knowing about periods! No offence, honestly, I'm in awe of the innocence you can keep for your children. We learn about it at school age 6-7 these days.

[briggsy's girl]

i was in a bra by grade three, so mum and i had the chat about periods and stuff, and from then on, i had pads in my school bag and a little bag i took with me if i stayed anywhere else. i didn't get my period til i was 16 though! i guess i was advanced in some ways, very slow in others....


i "think" i'll talk to Gremlin when she's maybe 8 or 9, earlier if she shows interest - there is nothing to be ashamed so i'm not going to hide it!

[Nadine216]

I got my period 3am in the morning just before a family trip to Namibia!! Was interessting

My mom AND dad had this talk with me. My mom explained the basic higiene and practial part (showed how to use a tampon) and dad explained the workings and why (biology teacher - in awe of the working of a woman's body) Already WAY before I got my period and both my sisters sat in, even though they did not understand yet. We all sat in at each other's "period" talks

Then when we got back from the vacation, my dad took me out on a "date". Dinner, movie and a nice bracelet.

I'll definatly be teaching both my kids about periods. I feel it's important for a boy/man to know what a girl/woman goes throught and how to behave (discreet and respectfull) and not be shy to go and buy her some feminine products of her choice, if the need arise

I used liners after ds's birth and when going to the loo, dd would ask me if I am going to change my diper??

[sassy123]

when i got mine my mum made a big deal about it and i hated it. done the whole was so excited wanted to take me out had to tell nana. i was like big deal and hated the attention from it.

[Pandora]

we didnt learn about it at school until year 10, and give I got mine in year 7 that was kinda too late.
Luckily my mum spoke to me about it, but I refused to take the stuff to school in my school bag - we had no where to store our bags and people used to go through them - so there was no way I was them to school until I had to. Lucky for me it was school holidays, and I was on the loo at home.

[Pretty Butterfly]

Well we've had the talk since I started this thread, and it was really good... We were both there, I talked, and Ad just sat with us...

She took it fine, we put a pad into some undies, and she decided to wear it to bed... She is such a card...

Her only question was "will it hurt?" I explained IT doesn't hurt, but she may get some cramps and belly aches, feel a little sick and dizzy...( I had iron tablets for a while cause I kept fainting.. )

Showed her tampons for when she's older, and she has her liners and pads in her underwear drawer

She siad she had never heard of them before (periods) and none of the other girls had mentioned it.

We decided to go bra shopping after winter, as singlets will do till then... I jokingly told her Ad can go with her, and she went, "yeah, ok, at Target?"

She is such a little me!!!