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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to 'allow' my daughter to try a tampon?

96 replies

coccyx · 13/07/2011 21:17

She is nearly 13 and is due her third period right in the middle of our holiday. We were in superdrug today and i picked up a pack of the small tampons. My friend was horrified that I was going to suggest them to my daughter for when she wanted to go in the swimming pool.
Daughter is fully aware of where tampons go and I of course would never push the idea if she said no.!!!!!
Am I very out of touch

OP posts:
icooksocks · 13/07/2011 21:58

I actually think applicator ones are harder than non applicator. I much prefer my little pocket rockets.

Anyway YANBU, whatever works for your daughter and makes her comfortable during her period is surely the best thing for her.

PrincessJenga · 13/07/2011 22:04

YANBU. I'd buy a selection of them though (applicator and non) so that she can 'experiment' and find out what works for her. I'm 32 and still can't use non-applicators except in absolute emergencies!

mathanxiety · 13/07/2011 22:11

What strange hangups your friend has Hmm

Don't buy small tampons if her flow is heavy. They will not work. My DDs used tampons from the getgo and had no problems. Wish I had had this option way back when! I bought a variety of sizes for the DDs with the pearl applicators for ease of use.

ledkr · 13/07/2011 22:23

I started very early-10 but did a lot of ballet.I had an exam when i was 12 and had o wear a tight leotard and no knickers.My Mum gave me a pack of slender tampax and a jar of vaseline and after much sweating and trying hey presto,problem solved. I do remember the vile hunch backed school nurse pouring scorn on me tho when i asked for an emergency one at school,she handed me a big belt and a pad with pins-it was only in the eighties for gods sake Grin

Thruaglassdarkly · 14/07/2011 00:57

YANBU - when I had just started my periods, we were due to go on holiday overseas and my mum made me try tampons. It was awful at first but I was glad she did because I've never looked back. STs are the work of the very devil - smelly and itchy and generally horrid!

Cloudbase · 14/07/2011 01:04

My mum let me try a tampon for the first time when I was 15 - Oh God it changed my life! I will never forget the hideous 'single mattress' stylee monstrosities I had until then (shudder). Definitely let her try. She will know if they're right for her.

JarethTheGoblinKing · 14/07/2011 01:06

Why do some people have a problem with tampons? I really really don't understand it?

I used pads for my first one, and then tampax all the way

messymammy · 14/07/2011 01:14

YANBU
I've used tampax since my first period at 10...few experiments with the non applicator ones and I was all set.

WannaBeMarryPoppins · 14/07/2011 01:20

Ah, the person suggesting lube was me [hblush] I meant vaseline of course, not sharing your own lube. But it definitely helps!
(not going to share that embarrassing moment of trying to use tampons and one getting stuck, having to be removed with my mother's help) So be prepared for emergencies Wink

Cloudbase · 14/07/2011 01:21

I can only speak for my mum, Jareth, but, as it was going into my vagina, she bizarrely equated it with losing my virginity, or being 'dirty' (or somesuch antiquated and ignorant nonsense)

chunkythighs · 14/07/2011 01:33

OK, I only skimmed the responses but I've been using tampons since I was about 14. The best advice I can offer is to smother the tampon in Vaseline before it's inserted. It has no impact on the absorbency but 'slips' in easier.

lovesicecream · 14/07/2011 01:35

I'm 33 and until today I'd never heard of a bloody moon cup!!!

TheFrogs · 14/07/2011 01:36

yanbu, always used them...towels are the devil's work.

and they are so versatile. I've had one in my bedroom drawer for ages (i'm assuming I took it out of my jeans pocket on undressing one night and chucked it in there). Cleaned out the drawer yesterday and found it unwrapped and decorated in lovely felt tip rainbow colours. I'm just glad dd didn't feel the need to take her creation to show and tell.

JamieAgain · 14/07/2011 05:38

I used them from my second period. Towels were like nappies in those days.

TillyIpswitch · 14/07/2011 06:41

Am so surprised that there are Mums about in this day and age that would think a tampon was somehow bad...

I mean, I can understand the worry about TSS, but anything else is just antiquated. I remember being so paranoid about leakage when relying on a pad as a teen. It was horrible and all-pervading - I'd spend the entire day on my heaviest days convinced I'd stained the back of my school uniform. Blush Tampons just made everything so much easier.

I do remember two sister I was at university with discovering non-applicator tampons (which I'd used for years by then) and shrieking horrifiedly over them. Ironically, one of them is now on FB and she dedicated a status update to her discovery of the mooncup - you can imagine how well-received the idea of that was, if a non-applicator tampon had her clutching her pearls. Grin And this from a woman has given birth... Seriously, how daunting can a mooncup be, after expelling a human from your vagina? Hmm

MumblingRagDoll · 14/07/2011 06:55

I don't think a mooncup very suitable for a teen....but then I dont like tampons...they leave a lot of fibres behind....if she wants to use them then be sure and educate her about the importance of regular changing...infections are more common from tamons.

jugglingwiththreeshoes · 14/07/2011 06:56

This is a very helpful thread as DD is 12, and wondering what approach to take when she starts hers. Maybe first month just get used to the whole thing with towels, then introduce her to mini-tampons from 2nd one, I'm thinking.
I discovered tampons from a friends recommendation when I was 17 after several years using horrible towels. I thought they were the best invention ever !

JamieAgain · 14/07/2011 06:59

Looking back, I think lubrication would be a good idea.

InLimboAgain · 14/07/2011 07:01

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

SydSaid · 14/07/2011 07:38

When I read your first line I thought you maybe had a very young child that had seen you insert one (i.e. pre-pubescent).

Surely it is your daughters choice, what sanitary protection she uses? I spoke to my dd about the choices, she wanted pads to begin with, but then asked me if she could try tampons. I can't see any possible reason to say no.

I did try to persuade her that a mooncup would be better, but she remains unconvinced. Oh well.

foreverondiet · 14/07/2011 07:40

I stole tampons from my mum right from my 2nd period as I hated towels. I will buy DD both at the outset (hasn't come up get she's too young). Even though I am a mooncup user I'm not sure its such a great idea for younger teenagers.

Bunbaker · 14/07/2011 07:56

"I would recommend getting the ones with the applicator ones"

I wouldn't. I could never get on with them. With non applicator ones you can feel exactly where the tampon is.

valiumredhead · 14/07/2011 07:57

I tampons from a young age and it was a relief! Could never get on with Tampax - still can't - but Lillets are fine, I now use a Mooncup or sponge.

I'd give her both sorts to try and explain the importance of inserting towards the small of her back rather than 'up' Grin

valiumredhead · 14/07/2011 07:58

used

CheerfulYank · 14/07/2011 07:59

I couldn't use them when I first started but when I finally could...I thought they were amazing!

Can't imagine using pads now. YANBU.

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