my mom was like this. she bought me a "where do babies come from" book and for menstruation, i took the class in 5th grade. that was it. and when i got my period, i was screaming hysterically and my mom did too. good times.

i think b/c my mom grew up without a mother (her mom died at a very young age), and she grew up in a very catholic household with a single father, she didn't know how to have these conversations.

my mom still thinks breasts are gross and breastfeeding is "disgusting."

Reading all of the posts about getting a first period etc. reminded me of who went to buy pads when the oldest girl in my family got her first period. Me. Her older brother. Mom cut out the side of the empty box, I think it was Kotex, and sent me to the store with the money. I still remember walking up and down aisles until I found them then reading the boxes to make sure I found the right one.

FWIW, I did protest to my mother about assigning me this task and could not understand why my sister, who was less than two years younger than me and was the one needing said pads, couldn't have gone. Oh, and the reason my mother couldn't go? She was very ill, it might have been the flu, as was my little brother.

Yup. Grew up in a Muslim household and remember asking dad how babies were made and being told to shut up ?
Mom never told me anything about periods, etc. Older sister was the one I went to if needed.

Will never be like that with my kids.

I had to beg my mom for my first bra. She kept scoffing that I didn't need them. Gym class became very painful b/c I could not run braless.

When I got my first period I was clueless. When I told her she scolded me really hard for staining my underwear and long johns.

Anonymous wrote:Never ever discussed sex or how babies are made?
Never discussed puberty or menstruation? ( thank god I had an older sister who informed me)
Never took me to buy a bra or even discussed it?

yeah this was never discussed. In 5th grade we had the talk at school our parents had to sign a permission slip for it also in middle school as well LOL. My mom did buy me bras but I never went with her. Also in high school I asked my dad if I could buy a book online(it was one of those your body books written by GURL.COM...so old!!) And that book explained everything. And well whatta yah know I went to college to become a health educator with a focus of teaching sex ed to middle school students!

My mother was very honest and informative. As soon as I could read, she left books around describing sex and baby making (in an age appropriate way). I loved this because I was able to find out answers to things I was curious about l, without having to talk to her. I enjoyed reading those books. She also told me when I needed to start wearing a bra, and prepared me for my first period by showing me how pads worked and where they were kept and how to dispose of them properly.

Same type of mom. During my high school years, I would sneak into her bathroom after she dearted for work to use her deodorant and razor. How could she not know I needed these items and discussions?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mine was just like this! Not really a prude -- I was allowed to watch plenty of R rated movies from an early age -- but just sort of awkward. I imagine she thought I already knew everything. I stole my first bra! And found tampons in the back of the closet and figured things out myself. Sheesh mom.

lol, my mom was this way too. i could watch and read anything i wanted. but she never talked about sex or puberty. oh well. thankfully i had a big sister.

First PP here. Funny you mention reading! I'm thinking that's where I learned about sex. would read her romance novels, skipping through to find the dirty parts. Some of those scenes stick with me still!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yep and I have made a point of talking with my dd about all of it.

Me too. She said nothing to us. The weekend I got my period, she said, "my aren't we growing up." And then..... nothing. Like, no trip to the drugstore. Hello?????

Recently, we were discussing it in general as it relates to my niece, and she said, "it's a good thing I was so open with you girls." I literally laughed out loud and said, "mom, you must be drunk. You were the opposite of open!" We have a good relationship so she took it well.

This is GREAT & it made me, lol.
My mother said about the same thing, however mine came on the morning of my bat-mitzvah!
I just grabbed one of her bulky pads, put it on & kept it moving.... but come on! lol

My mom told me to put Vaseline on a tampon for easier insertion. Renders them completely useless and I always wondered what she was thinking.

My mom was good about discussing puberty and menstruation, but not at all about sex. The one thing she did was support me going on birth control for my acne, probably figuring she had that base covered.

My mom might not have been as extreme as OP... but close. I had to ask about getting a bra after literally every other girl in my class had one and I was regularly mocked in the PE locker room. I stole razors from her to start shaving my legs... Not sure when she realized I was doing it, but leg shaving was never discussed. Same with pads/tampons.

I did get a sex talk, which was opened by my mom acting weird and looking on the bookshelf. I asked what she was looking for, and she told me a book about talking to your kids about sex. She gave up after a few minutes, looked at me and said "so do you know where the penis goes?" I said "yes." Sex was never mentioned again.

I'm hoping to do better with my kids.

Yes I grew up in a house like this. It took me until I was about 37 to shake it off and unrepress myself. I won't make this mistake with my children.

My mother was an RN and NEVER discussed any of those things with me. Everything I learned, I learned from my friends. I had to tell her I needed a bra. When I got my period, she gave me her 'period belt' - it was a friend who gave me my first tampon and from then on, I bought them myself. I got my first vaginal exam from Planned Parenthood.

I'm doing the complete opposite with my kids. They've known the mechanics of sex and reproduction from an early age. My DD knows where the pads/tampons are and when she was in 4th grade, I told her when she was ready, I'd take her to buy a bra. She was ready in 6th grade (she still hasn't had a period yet).

Anonymous wrote:Mine was just like this! Not really a prude -- I was allowed to watch plenty of R rated movies from an early age -- but just sort of awkward. I imagine she thought I already knew everything. I stole my first bra! And found tampons in the back of the closet and figured things out myself. Sheesh mom.

lol, my mom was this way too. i could watch and read anything i wanted. but she never talked about sex or puberty. oh well. thankfully i had a big sister.