I promise I'm not the period troll. I'm not here for period stories or sharing of period experiences. I'm not hairy handed and fishing for details. I just want some advice about DD.
DD is 9, almost 10, and has just started her first period. She's been going through some physical and emotional changes for a good few months now, at her last appointment for an unrelated matter the GP mentioned as an aside that she appears to have started puberty, so it's not a total shock but it's still blindsided me a bit. She's nine. At nine I was still playing with Barbies and didn't even know what a period was.
We've always been open about where babies come from, human bodies, and so on. After that GP appointment we got a book about puberty and read it together, I told her she can come to me with any questions, she doesn't need to be embarrassed or ashamed, it comes to us all, it's part of growing up and growing up is rubbish sometimes but it all pays off in the end, all that stuff. I've repeated it all to her today and reminded her again that she can talk to me about anything at any time, I will never be too busy to take her somewhere private for a chat if she needs a chat. I've also suggested reading the book again either together or by herself.
She doesn't want to. She doesn't to talk about it, she doesn't want to acknowledge it, she told me it actually started yesterday and she's been hiding it, she doesn't want it, she's not doing it, she isn't ready, she wants to be a kid, she can't do this every month. I'm trying to keep positive but she's genuinely gutted about it.
Her school are shit (she's moving schools but not for another few months) and I have no doubt they will massively balls up on giving her somewhere to change and allowing her to bring products in. There are no sanitary bins in the children's toilets and backpacks are currently banned because of covid. She doesn't want anyone to find out about this either as she says she's the only one in her class.
So advice bit.
Is nine too young? Should I see the GP and ask if there is anything they can do to delay it by another year or two? Would period pants be better than sanitary products and do they actually work? Where can I get them from? Is there anything I can do or say to help her through this other than my current cheerleader routine?