AIBU to be shocked at the school

[wonderingwendy]

handing out my 11 year old dd tampons ?
i was really angry .
she knows all about periods and we have a very open relationship ,she has sanitary towels and that is the best option for me and her i believe
im just shocked as to how my little girl would even manage to get a tampon inside her .
the teacher gave it to them and they weren't even in a sex education class.

We certainly don't have a sex questionnaire like that lovebunny. Of course, parents may also remove their children from sex ed if they want.

YABU.

Although if I was your DD I'd be fuming I didn't get a free plastic holder that we got when we were in school.

lovebunny - think OP's DD is in Y7, so secondary.

For DD's PHSE lessons in Y5 (and again later this year for Y6) we had a letter in advance to tell us what was covered, and we could/can go in to watch the health (sex) DVD beforehand, etc. They weren't given samples after the periods lesson though. I do have some teen type towels in the house anyway just in case, and will get tampons once she starts, for if and when she wants them.

The key to tampons i think is only to use them when you have a period

trying to push one in dry to 'try it out' any other day is enough to put anyone off IMO let alone pull it back out again

that and to make sure they are nice and far in - so you actually can't feel them

why do you think you need to be asked OP? it isn't your periods. it's your DD's. tampons are not an age restricted product. are you saying you would have said no to your DD being given tampons (what about the sanitary towels?) if you had been asked?

Sorry - must have misread. Thought OP's DD was in Y7, but maybe Y6? Probably good practise to inform parents in advance (like we got) but it still wouldn't have bothered me.

I don't see the problem . No one is forcing her to use them if she's not comfortable with trying them yet.

Personally I couldn't get anywhere with tampons until I was about 19 and virginity was long gone but plenty of girls manage them at an earlier age.

My mother didn't approve of tampons either, though I never understood why (we never really talked about periods or anything), I think she had a vague feeling they were indecent somehow .

witchety yep i still have nightmares about them.

lovebunny a child has a legal right to access health infomation inc period info, to ask parental permision implys the parent has a 'right' to refuse. the childs rights overide the parents.

op well done.

she is year 7

YAB a bit U. I remember coming home from school aged 11 with a "period pack" which had both tampons and towels in it. My DSD started her periods when she was 11, they got to be so heavy she didn't have choice whether she could wear a tampon. Super towels used to soak right through, she had to wear a tampon and a towel!

Also if your dd is going to try the tampons I find it easier to use applicator ones, if you don't put the tampon in the right place they can be very uncomfortable so the applicator ensures it sits in the right place

The sanitary belts were before my time, thankfully, but I do remember the big thick pads that felt like you had a pillow between your legs. And with a thin strip of not-very-secure adhesive so they felt like they might fall out any moment. I also remember my mum giving me a pair of plasticy knickers to wear over the top in case of leakage .

Things are so much better these days.

christ our matron gave us disposable knickers to team with the belted mattress they russeled vvvvvvv

My mother gave me a belt when I first started! I'm 43 so think I was ( hopefully) one of the last to be given the things!

Wish someone had given me a mooncup when I started my periods aged 13. So much more comfortable, environmentally friendly and in the long run, cheaper.

I would want to be aware when school were giving them out. If a young inexperienced girl is trying them for the first time you should know in case she becomes ill.

I kept it secret from my mum as she was a PITA to talk to about these things.

YABU - we all got free samples after the talk (which only girls went to)- along with the plastic case and a little booklet in Primary school (year 5 or 6).

What's wrong with them? Why shouldn't she have them?

I first started using tampons at 14, my mum wasn't happy with it at all, but instead of going off her head at me she just told me to be aware of any flu like symptoms because of tss, needless to say every time I got flu after that she would ask me if I was on my period. I dont think it's a big issue tbh.

I always knew about sanitary towels and tampons. So I was very confused when reading the copy of 'Are you there God, it's me Margret' I found in a charity as to what a belt was and why my mother had never mentioned that I'd need it! (This was only ten years ago...)

chunky they can cause toxic shock and ultimately kill you! Worst case scenario

Another worst case scenario was the thread here on MN where a pour MNer had to actually root around, locate and remove her dd's tampon!

Actually if I invented a time machine, the first thing I'd do is go back in time and give my 11 year old a few years supply of Tampax Pearl lites.

It was absolutely grim, the waddling rustling horribly uncomfortable humiliation of it all. Combined with school PE in 'gym skirts' and communal showers...

*poor!!