How do you explain periods to a curious toddler?

[Ibloodylovetea]

I'm now in my 60's & my son is 28. I was widowed when I was pg & brought him up alone. As the only adult in the house it meant that I had to take him with me when I visited the loo as I couldn't/wouldn't leave him alone even for 5 minutes. This also meant that he witnessed me using sanitary towels (I felt that using tampons in front of him might be a step too far & left them for when he wasn't around). So, in answer to his questions I used to say that everything was all right & I was using a 'special plaster' because mummy's tummies get ready to make a baby every month, but there needs to be a daddy in order for that to happen and, since there was no daddy, mummy's tummy had to get rid of everything that it had made ready for the baby and the mummy had to use a 'special plaster' eg: sanitary towel. I then made a joke about us not wanting a baby wanting their nappy to be changed & keeping us awake at night with their crying. Wondering how other mums deal with this?

I remember my own mother changing tampons and sanitary towels in front of me when I was small and I didn’t like it. So I never did that.

i must have explained the blood side of things to my kids at some point but I can’t remember what I said exactly. I definitely didn’t talk about sticking plasters. I think I said women get periods monthly and it’s nothing to worry about. Then explained the mechanics of it in more detail as they aged.

The key thing is that the child isn’t scared. Blood is normally associated with injury and pain so it’s really important to say it’s completely normal when girls become older and carry on every day life.

If you're a single mum & only one loo upstairs (as I had) would be irresponsible to leave a child alone while you disappear for 5 minutes. Imagine how much trouble an active toddler can get themselves into in those few minutes.

Plaster, but just that, not all the deets

I assume this is in a public loo? Toddlers do not need to be in the loo with you at home.

Two toddlers here and they haven't asked much but look with curiosity... one of them asks "Mummy do you have period today?" I wanted to use the word because in our house we didn't really talk about that sort of stuff growing up. I'm sure more "why" questions will come soon so will follow this thread for decent explanations :D but I think normalising it is key

The image of STs stuck all over your house made me laugh!

Just put them in their bedroom. Where they are all night.

Or in the cot.

Taking them into the loo is crackers

Another single parent here who managed to do all this in private. Never once took a toddler to the toilet with me.

I had 3 children and managed to deal with my periods without them being subjected to me changing tampons.

Nope, I was able to leave them in a child proofed area for a few minutes whilst I went to the toilet. They may whinge but all was fine.

The single parent thing is irrelevant, as plenty of non single parents will have go to the toilet whilst their partners are out of the house. Also my mum was a single parent and I never saw her change her pad once.

Look, it’s a choice, it obviously worked for you but I wanted privacy.

I just told them 🤷🏼‍♀️

I'm surprised at the people who have managed to keep their toddlers out and have toilet peace... maybe you have locks on the door though? I think it's perfectly normal for kids and parents to go to the loo together so surprised quite a few people say they've never done it!

Putting him in his bedroom wasn't an option - he would get very upset & wonder what he'd done wrong & why he was being put in his room - thinking he was being punished. Unfortunately I needed to use the loo during the day not just when he was in bed at night. Remember it was just him & me, he was/is highly intelligent & wouldn't be fobbed off.

No idea why other posters have said it's disturbing. Might be a bit long winded. We go for something along the lines of no mummy isn't hurt, I'm fine, there's just not a baby in my tummy so this period blood comes out.

I need to stress I NEVER used being put in bedroom as a punishment.

Well done OP. I'm absolutely with you on this.

If he was old enough to be given an explanation of periods, he was old enough to be told that mum wanted to go to the toilet in private and would be back in a few minutes.

My kids don't leave me alone if I go to the toilet. It's actually like a siren goes off in the house that mummy is on the toilet so we have a family meeting in the bathroom. There is no escape 😂🤦

I guess toddlers are different but I definitely could not have left mine alone for 2-3 minutes, it would have been unsafe, she could climb out of her cot by 18 months and I don't think playpens are commonplace these days.

I always took mine to the toilet and simply explained that grown up women have periods, it's nothing to worry about and it just means mummy doesn't have a baby in her tummy. She took it all in her stride, no big deal.

Yup - that was me

Most people are at home with their child without a partner, so I don’t think being a single mum is pertinent. Honestly you don’t need to take your child into the toilet with you and it doesn’t take 5 minutes to change a tampon.

Yes, I find it odd the posters who think we are weird for letting kids in when I think they'd be in the minority!
We don't have locks on the doors! We have an open door policy anyway party because that's the norm for potty training (do as I see) and also because one child withholds poo so again, open door policy helps with that.

I just used to say I had my period which is blood that comes out of women's vaginas every month. You wear the pad to make sure you don't get blood on your clothes.

There are SO many alternatives to watching an adult sticking their fingers in their private area and pulling out a blood soaked tampon. I’m sorry but I managed fine using distraction methods and a stair gate. For those choosing to do this I hope you’re at least putting a towel around your waist or something? I have the lived experience and it’s still in my memory 🥴