Does your son know what a period is?

Yes, my sons know about periods since they were about 7. They never asked questions about period products or what I was doing on the toilet that I can recall so when I covered the puberty basics with them, it included information on both boys and girls, just like I did for my daughters. I also covered that there are other reasons why they might find blood in the loo/underwear.

I seriously doubt that a girl would look to a boy for support for this, and I doubt a boy of that age would feel comfortable or confident to offer support in this scenario even if he knew about periods (which he would, because it's taught in school).

I did. When I was 8, I found blood when I went to the loo at school, and asked the first person I saw that I thought I could trust, which was a boy, if he'd walk with me to the school nurse because I felt nervous.

I don't recall him having an issue, he seemed fine with it, but I do remember our teacher pulling me aside the next day to tell me off for having talked to a boy about periods. It was very awkward because the blood I'd found wasn't period blood. I'd learned by the time I would have my period 4-5 years later that I trusted the guys my age more than I trusted adults of that time who'd either shush me or laugh at me for these things.

Lol yes our dog was in season and when he saw me buy pads I had to explain that mummy's have a sort of season too 😅

Don't think my boys knew much before learning at school but at that time I took my chance to talk about how they needed to be kind, considerate. Not to embarrass them, to respect their privacy etc

Yes, my son is 8 and has known since he was small. He was very much a "where Mum goes I go" child so I couldn't have hid it if I'd wanted to (which I didn't). I think normalising these things, especially for boys, is extremely important. I've met grown men who think we can hold periods in, that blood comes from the urethra...all sorts. Thankfully my son will not fall into that category.

It's a very normal event to him. As it should be.

Our son (15) knows about periods. He has been with his dad when he has bought me sanitary products and a bar of chocolate from the corner shop. His sister has only recently started and when she was in her room after school feeling a bit uncomfortable, he asked to pop to the corner shop and came back with a bar of chocolate and a teen magazine for her. He used his own money for them. He has also once passed me his phone when a parent of a girl in his class called to thank him for giving their daughter his pe tracksuit bottoms when she had leaked on her grey school skirt during last lesson. He gave them her to use to get home without being embarrassed on the bus. He has a habit of taking both his shorts and tracksuit bottoms each pe day. The parent asked to speak to me and up until that conversation, I had no idea that it had happened that day. He hadn't mentioned it at all.

My son is six and knows all about it. I'm very open.

Of course. It's basic biology. My 10 year old has known probably since he was 5. All the ' about my body's ' about growing up ' books cover it anyway, although it came up in conversation in our house before he had these read to him.

Yes he does, I've talked to him about reproduction and how it all works ever since he was old enough to start asking questions. As he gets older the questions get a bit more technical/anatomical.

Having house-shared with some spectacularly sheltered lads at uni I was determined not to turn another one loose upon the world 😆 He will reach 18 with a full understanding of personal hygiene, basic anatomy, sexual health, the ability to wash clothes, shop for and cook at least basic balanced meals, use a hoover, and clean up after himself.

i had a tough relationship with my mum so my dad explained about periods to me when I got mine ages 9.

my son has known in an age appropriate way since he was about 3 and noticed tampons etc. We are a blended family, and he brings his older sisters pain killers, chocolates and hot water bottles now (he’s 12). There is zero mystery as they are incredibly open and as such he is very sympathetic and accommodating. There is an openness about it now which I never experienced growing up, and I’m very glad it’s swung this way!

My son knew when he was a child in the 1980s. It seems that society has got more, rather than less, prudish in the intervening decades. Also see: gender stereotypes.

Ah that is so lovely.

You’ve definitely done parenting right Globules

I agree, in my experience, teens are much more open about these things now. My 13 year old DS knows which of his female friends have started their periods and which ones haven’t yet. He also knows which ones suffer from bad period pains and which ones don’t. Because all the girls speak about it openly.

Likewise my older teen DD asked a male friend to grab her tampons from the shops once. The boy didn’t think anything of it and was happy to (as long as she paid him back for them 😂).

This is a very good point.

I have to say though that I have seen historical threads on here with comments from some women who also didn't seem to know that there are in fact two separate orifices, not just one!! 😲

How could they not realise? The mind boggles!! 🙄

Yes my son has known since he was around 7 ish when he asked what towels were for. He was very surprised when they had sex education in year 5/6 that most of the other boys didn’t know what they were.

I don’t really understand why you wouldn’t tell them.

Science teacher here! Something that always seems to surprise boys is that the flow of menstrual blood cannot be controlled like urine can. (Lots of them are confused about 2 separate openings for them, too.) You need to explicitly tell them that the girls/women in their lives have not done something wrong to get a leak. They also need to be told that some variation/ irregularity is normal.

I knew my son didn't know what one was so at around 9/10 before they learnt about it at school I explained as part of our talk about how our bodies change and gave him a book about the body for children. I didn't want him to be the only one that didn't know in the lesson.

My DS 11 knows way more about periods than I ever expected. That's because his female friends are hugely open about it with him. I sometimes think they forget he's a boy! It's great though that kids are more open than when I was that age.

He knew mummy's vagina bled each month from an early age. It was a conscious decision to normalise periods to my children.

I was happily surprised a few years back to hear that my 16 yr old son went to the supermarket to buy sanitary pads for my too embarrassed 14 yr old daughter.

It's a parents job to teach their children this stuff.

Yes.

My son was 18 when his sister started her first period when she was out for the day with him and her dad.

Her dad panicked and her brother took control, got her to Boots to get what she needed and reassured her.

Dad provided chocolate after the shock of his little girl becoming a woman had passed 🤣

My son has known since he was quite small.

Having just asked my 10 year old son if he knows what one is, he said he doesn't

So I fear I have taken the same route as much mum but in fairness I haven't had a period for the best part of a year

if your son was with his friends say at the park and one of the girls started her period and was upset or worried, would your son understand enough to be able to support her? Even if it’s just giving her a jumper to tie round her waist if she has leaked?

I seriously doubt that a girl would look to a boy for support for this, and I doubt a boy of that age would feel comfortable or confident to offer support in this scenario even if he knew about periods (which he would, because it's taught in school).

Anyone else getting odd vibes from this thread and wondering if it's the same OP from the periods thread about leaking that just got deleted?

Yes, of course he does. DD and I also talk openly about it in front of him, no issues there. Would he know what to do - I'm fairly sure he wouldn't do anything because he's not been exposed to any period related issues at home, plus he's a teenager and immature, but he would, eg go to buy tampons if asked.

Some people don't have that type of relationship with their mothers.
I didn't know what a period was until I had my own one. (My mum refused to allow me to have sex education in school)
Even now my mum would use words like "down there" "your back down there"
Never in my 31 years has my mum used the words bum, ass, vagina etc
Trying to talk to her about periods and what was happening to me she would've shut me down and said it's not something we talk about

2 DS 3 and 5 and yes they know. The whole "follow me everywhere even into the toilet" phase saw to that. I now call things by the correct name after one DS improvised and called across a busy shop "mummy do you need more blood nappies today"

Yes, that they exist from age 3-4 and what’s causing them in increasing detail from junior school onwards (so for example my 8 year old knows that I was expecting to have a period and because it didn’t arrive, that’s when I thought I might be pregnant, and I’d expect to build on that knowledge as he gets older).

normalising it means there’s none of the drama of “the talk” my mum had with me about age 8/9.