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Menstrual cups are so the way to go if you can. I never use tampons anymore and wish I had switched way earlier. My daughter is early 20s now and has been on a kick for years trying to get her friends to try it.
AGREED! Lasts a whole day, no leaking, no smell. Nothing better.
i was 11 when my first period came in, and it was spring time if i recall. Thing is about first period/and several afterwards are still so irregular that i was still active in my pool/gym that first summer cuz next one didn't come till 4 months later. Having that said, tampons is definately the way to go especially since all the more reason for your daughter cuz shes so young and probably the first in her group to have a period. I would have hated to be on sidelines from my girlfriends activities merely because i got mine so early from rest of my group.
Tampons are the way to go or if she doesn't want to use them she can opt out. If she's going to camp talk to the counselor ahead of time of ways to discretely do this so she isn't embarrassed. Maybe she can help the counselor or "have a headache" if that makes her more comfortable.
I was 12 & lived in swimming pools, so I just used tampons. My mom certainly didn't show me, oh wow, that would have been bizarre. I just read the leaflet & figured it out.
Use tampons. My daughter was 11 when she started using them and was fine. They don't really make Junior ones any more (at least not that I could find). But the Playtex Sport Regular ones are pretty small.
This is an issue that's been on my mind because my daughter is 9.5 and started developing last year, so I expect she will start her period when she's around 10 as well. Using a tampon was not even on my radar screen as a possibility until reading this post. My daughter doesn't have the best hygiene and grooming habits as it is, and is very bad about taking advice and instruction from me, so I can see this being something she would rather learn on her own, if at all.
I was wondering about this too. My oldest is 11 and has not started her period yet, but I was thinking about it because she goes to summer camp where they swim twice per day. I know that some of my daughter's friends have gotten their periods already, so I was wondering what they do about swimming if they are in camp. Luckily, I think my daughter still has a few years to wait before we have to worry about this ourselves.
I thought my youngest still had a couple of years before she would start having periods, but she just started at age 11. She's furious about it and can't believe she'll be dealing with it for the next forty years.
Anyhow, pack some supplies for your daughter while she's at camp, so she'll be prepared if she gets her first period there.
This is an issue that's been on my mind because my daughter is 9.5 and started developing last year, so I expect she will start her period when she's around 10 as well. Using a tampon was not even on my radar screen as a possibility until reading this post. My daughter doesn't have the best hygiene and grooming habits as it is, and is very bad about taking advice and instruction from me, so I can see this being something she would rather learn on her own, if at all.
I appreciate the post and all the comments.
She'll start focusing on her hygiene more when her peers start complaining about her B.O. Sounds like in her case this'll be a crap shoot. Go with pads and deal with the smell. Go with tampons and she'll have to start remembering to change them every few hours.
I went and bought a box of the smallest tampons I could find. The down side is her flow is quite heavy so if she chooses to use them, she will have to change them a lot. Or she could just use them if she wants to swim.
The instructions are a joke. Far above her reading level (she has dyslexia) and almost no pictures. But I think the book "The care and keeping of you" she has will have better instructions.
I went and bought a box of the smallest tampons I could find. The down side is her flow is quite heavy so if she chooses to use them, she will have to change them a lot. Or she could just use them if she wants to swim.
The instructions are a joke. Far above her reading level (she has dyslexia) and almost no pictures. But I think the book "The care and keeping of you" she has will have better instructions.
You can also give instructions. If the tampon has an applicator, unwrap one and hold it in your hand, then push it between two fingers so she sees that the rim of the applicator needs to be as far in as it can go before she presses the other part of the applicator. I didn't know that at first and couldn't tell from the instructions and my first swimming pool/tampon experience was less than positive.
Also, since she has a heavy flow, a menstrual cup would be worth looking into. You'd want to get one for yourself and get familiar with using it before trying to explain it to her, but it holds as much as several tampons, there's no smell and nothing gross to put in your trash can, and you can reuse it for years. I've been using one for two and a half years, and I figure I've already saved over $200 by not having to buy period supplies for myself.
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