How to talk to your kids about periods —
When Krista Leclerc’s* 10-year-old daughter, Hannah, told her she’d gotten her first period, Leclerc was surprised—she hadn’t expected it to happen. But she was also relieved they’d already been discussing menstruation since Hannah was nine. “I’d kept it all very matter-of-fact and open, and tried to keep a sense of humour too,” says Leclerc.
Leclerc answered questions that Hannah and her sister, Daphne, now eight, had as they learned about puberty in school. They did things like opening pad and tampon packages together so Leclerc could demystify feminine hygiene products and show them how to use them. She made sure they talked about how to cope with period pain and how to deal when you’re just feeling So. Freakin’. Emotional.
She also describes the actual process using age-appropriate explanations. “I say: ‘The uterus practises for being a grown-up by making a kind of waterbed inside itself that’s made of soft skin and a little bit of blood. Every month, when there isn’t a baby growing in there, the uterus changes the bed, and the old one comes dripping out of the vagina. You use a pad or tampon to catch those drips.
Having the conversation can be a little squirmy for both you and your kid, but Noon suggests looking for natural opportunities, like seeing a tampon ad or a reference in a show . Make sure she’s prepared with sanitary products, painkillers and clothing that’s less likely to show leaks. You might also want to pick up leak-proof underwear such as Knixteen and Thinx.
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