I'm so anxious that my daughter will get her period at sleepaway camp (girl, playing)
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Speaking of periods, aren't our daughters supposed to get them around the same age we did? I was 12 and 8mos old, but then again I didn't get any sign of boobage until I was about 12 and 1/2. The kids these days seem to be developing much earlier.
Eh as with anything it's just an average. I started mine at 11 (now 37) and my DD didn't start her's until nearly 14.
There are instructions in tampon boxes too! I know none of us probably look at them anymore, but they are there. I remember reading them after asking my mom for directions (she never used tampons so her help wasn't a lot of help). Maybe put the instructions in the bag you put together for her. You could always ask her what she thinks about tampons. It's entirely possible she's already talked about periods, pads and tampons with her friends.
Weird question, but how can you teach one how to use tampons? My daughter has become very, very modest and asks me to leave her room when she's changing her clothes. I'm also modest, and I might feel weird showing her using me as an example. I know it's silly, and most will think this is strange.
I think the pictures in the tampon instructions are usually very clinical, with the cross section of the one-legged lower body that looks like an alien. They are no help. But all the major brands have websites with teen pages, because they want your brand loyalty. Your daughter can look at those sites too if she wants help outside of Mom. Like this:
I asked my older daughter if she wanted to try tampons. At first she said no, so I told her to let me know when she was ready. Then she wanted to know more, so I got the "teen" type, which are very slender. You can't find them in every store around here, either. I told her candidly and simply what was involved (how to stand, what the applicator did, etc.), and she opened a couple of the packages to look at them. She was weirded out for a while so I told her no pressure, it was her choice. But summer rolled around and she wanted to wear them to swim. So I sent her into the bathroom with the box, reminded her that a tampon should not hurt or stick out (except the string), and let her try.
Weird question, but how can you teach one how to use tampons? My daughter has become very, very modest and asks me to leave her room when she's changing her clothes. I'm also modest, and I might feel weird showing her using me as an example. I know it's silly, and most will think this is strange.
The way my mom taught me was to stand up and put one foot on the bath tub or toilet and insert and when you pull the cardboard piece it shouldnt be uncomfortable and if it is then its not in right.
Weird question, but how can you teach one how to use tampons? My daughter has become very, very modest and asks me to leave her room when she's changing her clothes. I'm also modest, and I might feel weird showing her using me as an example. I know it's silly, and most will think this is strange.
My little sister got her period when my mom wasn't home, and we had no pads in the house. I put a tampon between two of my fingers to demonstrate how it was supposed to work...basically said, imagine that these fingers are the labia, this is how far the applicator goes, etc. That was all the explanation that she needed, and she has never used pads. I explained it the same way to my daughter. She thinks that tampons will be gross, but we ride bikes a lot and I know how a pad can chafe on a long bike ride, so I'm guessing she'll end up with pads for the first month and tampons after that.
Some things it's important to mention to a new tampon user: you're still a virgin when you use tampons, you need to change it every four hours, never flush it down the toilet (I keep small plastic bags in the restroom for tampon disposal), if you start to feel hot or dizzy after you insert the tampon, take it out right away (I have had tss before and I am severly allergic to tampax, both start with feeling hot and faint).
She will be 11 and 1/2 when she goes away for 4 weeks. I have a feeling that it's coming in the near future. She now has little breasts, a little underarm hair, and recently she had her first pimple (hormones!). The only thing she doesn't have is any body fat, which I believe you need in order to menstruate. How best to prepare her when I won't be there? Of course it may not happen for awhile, but I worry it will, and I won't be there.
Do girls use tampons or only pads these days? I can't imagine her using a bulky pad. I feel so unprepared for this.
She has known for awhile about periods and puberty, so that's not the issue.
Thanks in advance for any thoughts or ideas. Ps- Of course there will be a camp nurse, but still...
Majority use tampons these day. Pads are nasty.
Send her with a box of tampons, just in case. Teach her how to use them before she leaves.
My daughter was terrified about getting her period at middle school. So, before the school year began, I put together a "period pack." I filled a small cosmetic case with pads (Always makes a variety especially for teens), panty liners and Teen Midol. She didn't want to try tampons so I didn't enclose any.
She was able to keep the the period pack in her locker so she'd be prepared whenever it happen. As luck would have it, it arrived one day when she arrived home from school and it just happened to be the one day a week I work from home. So I was able to make her some tea and answer her questions.
She still keeps the period pack in her locker so she's always prepared.
I'd create something similar for your daughter, just in case. Plus, instruct her to let her camp counselor know if she needs additional supplies. I'm sure the camp is well stocked. Tampons would be more convenient than pads, but some girls feel uncomfortable using them at first. I've shown my daughter how, but I've left it up to her to decide when she wants to try them.
For real. I was 11 and had already read the instructions on my own. It was not rocket science, especially since the instructions had pictures. I have no idea what requires supervision and I would have died of embarrassment to have my mother watch me do that. No thank you.
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