When should tweens be able to try tampons???

[Beatrix]

I used them straight away also..

a tip fpr your dd.. to help them slide in nicely.. try slight coating the outer with a tiny amount of vaseline.. yes it kind of makes it less absorbant and means more changing but initially it helped me learn how its meant to slide up...

[Phteven]

I remember using the vaseline but maybe KY/lube might be better.

[Mum2Romone]

I used tampons at 12 too when I got mine.... I had too because one day we went for a big family trek at a national park and I got them half way through the walk. Because they won't be regular she won't know when they are coming..... Maybe it would be easier especially if she is active and it certainly makes you feel like no one can tell as opposed to a bulky pad....

[The[cookie]Doctor]

Ace post by LS.

I was going to say rather than the vaseline you could spend a little extra and get the silk-ease carefree's - they do work and are much smoother to insert - IMO. Otherwise the applicators sound like a great idea.

FWIW i didn't break my hymen with tampons and not even the first time i DTD. Not entirely sure how that happened but it was 5 or 6 times before it broke LOL.

Also - with swimming and the beach etc - my yr 9&10 PE teacher always says it stop when you are in the water. I do believe this. She could use pads and have some wet wipes (baby wipes etc) handy to clean herself before hand and jump straight in the pool soon after.Might not work with heavy flow but it had worked for me in the past.

The other bonus for tampons being if she gets bad pain the water will be very helpful - like labour

[LimeSlice]

I used pads for the first month, hated them, came home form school after whinging to mum about how revolting pads were and found a packet of carefree tampons on my bed! lol

Never looked back.
Only time I used pads was overnight or when I m/c...

Personally, not sure I understand the issue with her inserting tampons? As Jen said, her hymen may not be intact now, and using tampons doesn't make you any more 'impure' than not using them...
WRT to risk, it will leak before she is at risk, one leakage and I promise she won't forget again in a hurry

Make sure you sit down with her and go through the info in the pack, also probably a good idea to teach her how to retrieve it if she loses the string, the health risks etc and how to maintain cleanliness before and after inserting them.
Now is probably an excellent time for her to sit down with a mirror and have a look at herself, see where everything is and use it to practice inserting them. Gotta know the mechanics so she knows when they are in properly etc.

Start with the smallest size for her flow and I am sure she will be fine.

[tattoo_mama]

tampax applicator tampons were the best. i got my period at 13 and i hated pads they felt like a loaf of bread in your knickers!!!

[Taurean]

tampax applicator tampons were the best. i got my period at 13 and i hated pads they felt like a loaf of bread in your knickers!!!

agree!!!

You've got some great advice so far. I got my period at 12 and used pads for the first month then I 'practiced' inserting tampons with vaseline so I was ready for my next period. Lube would be a much better option though. I remember being so excited that I'd put one in successfully and I proudly announced it to the family! PMSL

My flow was really light for the first three or four cycles so I used mini tampons but then things really kicked in and my periods became really heavy so I ended up having to use super tampons. I found Carefree the 'nicest' brand back then.

I used pads with wings at nights from day dot and still do. I felt safer with wings than without as I was so worried about leaking! Maybe offer them to your DD too. My mum didn't know they existed, a friend gave me one of hers early on and I really felt 'good' wearing them, ITMS!

[luna moth]

I used them from the start too. I got a free pack of applicator ones, but found them really weird, and then just moved on to the regular ones. Never looked back.

Until I discovered cloth pads.

[butterfly_warrior]

I got my first AF the day before my 13th birthday... I wasn't regular (still not!), but it lasted for two weeks!

I first started using tampons at around 15-16. I found pads smelly and icky and gross... I always felt that I kind of walked funny when wearing a pad, that everyone could see it, smell it and (excuse the TMI) to this day I still find that my menstrual blood sticks to me and doesn't absorb into the pad. Think lots of clots from day one.

When I first started, my hymen wasn't broken. Getting it in wasn't the problem - getting it OUT was! Eventually got over that trauma, and continued using them with no issues, it was just that first one.

If she's intent on using tampons, I'd definitely go with the tampax. They are much easier to get in, and certainly remove a lot of the ick factor. If she's desperate to swim, then it's probably best to let her try - she may find she doesn't like them and would be happier sitting out of the pool. A friend of mine went straight to tampax when she got her first period (I was always jealous!) and she had no problems. If she needs a bit of lube (definitely go the KY over the vaseline!) then with tampax it will go on the applicator and not the tampon itself (mostly) so it should have less impact on the absorbency.

BW

BW

[Lisa]

My daughter got her AF a few weeks before starting high school this year. She started using tampons a day or 2 later. She is a tiny but tall girl and she is very active. It made sense for me to let her use tampons as I remember the hatred I had toward pads when I was at school - they were messy, uncomfortable and like BW, I worried about the smell.

DD uses mini tampons and she uses pads at night. For the first few days I was asking her as often as possible if she needed to change her tampon, but it was never an issue. I think DD found being more grown up a good thing and she has been fantastic with her period. DD also only uses tampons for through the day and uses pads at night. She is only just now getting her period on a monthly basis where as before they were coming every 2 months or so.
We have found talking to her about everything has helped so much. There is definitely no embarressment involved, unlike when I got my period! She tells DH when she needs supplies and he buys them for her.

[Kazbah]

I always found that tampax hurt and stuck in me, the applicators that is, there are other brands out there with applicators. I think "U Platinum" and also Cottons have applicators.

[LimeSlice]

I tried the tampax ones once ... horrid!! They are about a metre long and it is soo much easier for me to just put it in, the applicator made things more difficult.
Just another thought