What age to explain periods to a girl?

[Anonymous]

Opinions much appreciated, thanks!

[Anonymous]

Well, they start the whole menstruation conversation in 5th grade. So, maybe about 9 or 10? But some girls start much earlier, so you may have to start at 8? Holy Cow! That's only 2 yrs from now for my DD.

[Anonymous]

I'd probably start as early as 7 -- she's likely to have classmates starting their periods as young as 8.

You might check out "It's So Amazing" (http://www.amazon.com/Its-So-Amazing-Families-Library/dp/0763613215). I haven't read it yet, but the "prequel" for younger kids, "It's Not the Stork," worked well for us.

[Anonymous]

As soon as she found a tampon and wanted to play with it, I started talking to her about it. So around 2. She's in sixth grade now, and although based on her weight and my genetics I'm pretty sure she's got at least five years to go, I want her to know all about things way before she experiences them. We actually just talked about periods again last summer because I got her more involved in doing laundry and told her to use cold water on any blood stains. I'm sure in her mind, she was thinking "skinned knee" but the seed has been planted.

Just like sex, we've been talking about this since she was a toddler, each talk comes at it from a slightly different angle.

[Anonymous]

Around age two. She asked questions, saw things. I was always nonchalant.

[Anonymous]

I come from a very open family (so I know my mom would have LOVED to talk about it nonstop), but I was introverted. When I turned 10 she gave me a book from Kotex and a box with everything you'd need: pantiliners, tampons, several pads, etc. I acted embarrassed, but I probably read that book cover to cover 10x. I felt like not talking about it was best for me, so I don't think there always needs to be a big conversation. I would have been embarrassed if she made a big deal out of it.

[Anonymous]

Another from probably age 2. I let my kids be in the bathroom with me, they've seen the tampon string, so we've discussed it in an age appropriate way.

Getting my period felt a bit shameful / like something to hide for me. I don't think intentionally on my Moms part, just the outgrowth of not really talking about it. So I'm really hoping to avoid that with my girls and they see it as just another of those things that happens / changes for then as their body moves from being a girl to being a woman. Plus I figure they are easier to talk to now then they will be at the time!

[Anonymous]

Early. Simple, then expand on it.

[Anonymous]

I saw my mother changing tampons from the moment I could walk. I used to dream about the wonderful day when I would get my period and Be a Woman.

God, I was an idiot.

[Anonymous]

In 6th grade gym class we were given a little bag with a jar of Noxzema, a mini-deodorant, and tampons. I’d suggest starting around 4th grade you introduce the topic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Around age two. She asked questions, saw things. I was always nonchalant.

+1. Saw tampons and pantiliner boxes and asked about them. Age appropriate answers to questions about blood and so on as they come up.

[Anonymous]

There's an American Girl book called The Care and Keeping of You or something like that that covers many different topics in an introductory way and is illustrated in a non-threatening/scary way. It's a good a resource to start the conversations. I gave it to my daughter around 8 I think. She skimmed it at the time, read the period portion and came to me for more info which I provided. She was somewhat horrified but also intrigued since it is part of growing up. She now refers back to the book with some regularity and I encourage her to talk with me and ask questions, which she does.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Around age two. She asked questions, saw things. I was always nonchalant.

+1. Saw tampons and pantiliner boxes and asked about them. Age appropriate answers to questions about blood and so on as they come up.

Yes this is what we do. I think we started talking about it around age 3, and we still touch on it occasionally. I don't view it as one "conversation," but as a series of discussions that change as they grow. I don't want it to be an embarrassing or taboo topic. We talk about it in a straightforward manner.

[Anonymous]

We had the talk in school in third grade - moms came in, they showed a video and this was like 32 year ago. I'm sure everything is much earlier now.

[Anonymous]

I had the talk with my DD around 8. She happened to ask about zits and somehow we veered off into puberty and all that comes with it. She was mostly concerned about getting zits for some reason