3yo, How to explain period?

[Claire2009]

What do/would you say to this comment from a 3yo?

"Oh no Mummy, you're flower is bleeding you have to go to the doctor to make it better"

I'm on my period, she saw me earlier.

[FluffyBunnyGoneBad]

Flower???? You mean a vagina?

Just tell her women have this every month. It doesn't hurt and it's nothing to worry about. This is enough for a 3 year old to be honest.

[thisisyesterday]

it hasn't come up with my children yet, but I know others who have just said that it's what happens every month if you don't have a baby.
that you have a seed, and if it doesn't turn into a baby your body bleeds a little bit to let it out.
that kind of thing

[FluffyBunnyGoneBad]

Call it a vagina, she'll worry that flowers will bleed.

[Claire2009]

Yep, I mean a vagina, but we call it a flower

Thanks! I did try telling her & she kept saying "No Mummy you have to go to the doctor he will make it better"

[LadyGlencoraPalliser]

I said something like: 'Every month your body gets a nice comfy place ready for a baby to grow. If you don't have a baby growing, it comes out through your vagina and it looks like blood, but it doesn't hurt.'

[FluffyBunnyGoneBad]

Just say the doctors don't have medicine for this. It's a bit like going to do a wee or a poo, it's what a lady's body does. It doesn't hurt and is not anything bad.

[Claire2009]

Thanks! I'll tell her that!

[pottycock]

Yuck, I HATE 'flower' with a passion.

[FluffyBunnyGoneBad]

Are we agreed that Claire needs to ditch the 'flower'?

[Claire2009]

Yes! Agreed! I will ditch the flower

[FluffyBunnyGoneBad]

Call it a vagina. It saves having to go over it all again! I quite like the term fanny but it used to be a girls name so is no longer appropriate.

[pottycock]

There are threads and threads on here about what to call it Claire - you'll definitely find something on one of them!

[MysticSid]

Sorry, but how on earth did your child see that you were bleeding?

[Claire2009]

she's 3, saw me in the bathroom earlier sorting myself out she follows me asking lots & lots of random questions...

[pottycock]

Oh God I remember seeing my Mum bleeding on the loo, getting out of the bath - it's hardly an unusual thing to happen!

[pottycock]

• as inquisitive 3yo's tend to do I think you'll find!

[MysticSid]

Surely even if she did see you can pass it off, she is only 3 after all.

[ChasingSquirrels]

why on earth would you pass it off rather than give a basic age appropriate explanation???

[LadyGlencoraPalliser]

Mystic Syd, I have three DDs and I don't think I have been to the loo by myself for over 10 years!
And why 'pass it off'? It is a normal bodily function and you might as well know about it at three as at 10.

[MysticSid]

Calm down ladies!

[ChasingSquirrels]

I am frequently heard saying "GO AWAY, I want to poo in private".

[pottycock]

Absolutely! She's aware enough to know that blood = something sore, so why not just deal with it in a basic way? The secrecy and 'disgust' associated with women's bodies and their functions has given rise to a lot of male and female neuroses throughout generations......openness is the best policy imo.

[SallyJayGorce]

I think a reason women are less squeamish than men (generalising wildly) is that blood for us is a sign things are working well, not just an indication of injury or illness. Or being a vampire.

[Clary]

Gosh (to mystic sid) my DC all saw me from an early age - nothing to be embarrased about imo.

I think an early, simple explanation (like those suggested here) is a good way of avoiding future embarrassment about the issue tbh.