EN | £ Introducing your daughter to periods and cloth pads
Our best 5 tips on talking to our daughters about periods and cloth pads
The average age a girl will start their period is 12.5yrs, however, it can be as early as 8, so it’s good to start the conversation about periods and cloth pads early. Do you remember where you were when you were first told about periods? Or maybe no-one told you anything and you got the fright of your life when you suddenly started bleeding. Well, we were having a light-hearted discussion on this recently with our cloth pads product testers and here are the 5 approaches we all agreed were important:
KEEP IT SIMPLE: Don’t feel the need to elaborate or waffle on with extensive explanations. Two-hour discussions of the menstrual cycle, ovulation, and female anatomy can be overwhelming and confusing. We really like how our tester Theresa initially explained things to her daughter Jess, “I told her she'd have bleeding and she asked plainly were from. So I said it comes down from her uterus, through her cervix and through her vagina. Seemed easiest to be plain about it”.
START EARLY: If like us, bathroom privacy is a thing of the past and your 4-year-old cherub barges into the bathroom and asks “Why you wearing a nappy mummy?” you can simply say, “Mummy uses these every month when she gets her period.” Hurtling oneself across the room mid cloth pads change to clamp the door shut is likely to cause undue alarm and even frighten the poor little lamb.
STAY POSITIVE: It's very important for parents to paint the process of menstruation in a positive light. Referring to periods as the “dreaded monthlies” for example will result in our daughters developing a negative and possibly fearful impression of the whole experience. Periods are a natural and important part of life. After all, without them, women couldn't become mothers. While we are being positive did you know Progesterone is:
- A natural anti-anxiety
- Help's keep your thinking clear
- Is anti-inflammatory
- Increases sex drive
- Supports bone growth
- Reduces acne
All great things to be positive about.
GET A GOOD BOOK: Hands up who thought that we all had hard boiled eggs inside our bodies that one day would grow into babies? Aunt Nora did! As much as we all giggled our proverbial bloomers off about this, we are all in agreement that having an age-appropriate book on hand to help explain things in more detail is definitely a good idea.
BE A NOSEY PARKER: If you have a shy little bloomer she may feel more comfortable talking about things from her friends perspective. Asking her what her friends are saying about it all is a good way to double check what she knows and also gives you the opportunity to correct any information she has heard that may end up confusing or embarrassing her. Especially if those boiled eggs are cropping up again! They simply must be avoided at all costs!
Putting together a little pack for the little lady in your life is a great way to make sure she will be ready for her period and will know what to do when the time comes. Some mini cloth pads, an out and about bag, spare pants, some chocolate and a little note of love (we are mummies after all) should be the perfect start. Our bamboo cloth pads (Bloomers) are supersoft, super pretty and sure to appeal to her too, you can view them here.