Or is this PE teacher unreasonable about periods

[BigSandyBalls2015]

DD(15) is doing GCSE PE. Part of this involves 'personal survival' which takes place in local swimming pool.

The school obv need to book this, can't just turn up, but DD queried what would happen if some of the girls had their period at the time. PE teacher (female) replied that they'd obviously have to use a tampon, they can't miss it, can't arrange another day. A few girls told her they didn't use/get on with tampons and she got annoyed saying they'd have to get on with it on the day as no other option.

[Bitofacow]

Exactly how is the PE department going to coordinate this with 30+ teenage girls? Booking the pool will cost, availability of pool will be an issue.

It is simply impractical to book what 2 or 3 even 4 sessions to make sure all the girls can go when they are not having a period.

Saying "they have to find a way" is simply pointless and unhelpful.

[MuteButtonisOn]

It's her problem not theirs.

[MollyHuaCha]

Anyone with severe allergies should not use tampons or moon cup due to risk of toxic shock syndrome. It can be fatal.

[FearTheLiving]

What's the teacher supposed to do though? Guaranteed all the girls will on at different times so will probably never be able to arrange it.

And not wearing a tampon in the swimming pool is revolting.

[HumphreyCobblers]

perhaps if you can't use tampons or you have terribly heavy periods then you don't do swimming seriously.

It really winds me up when people say periods shouldn't interfere with life. I don't want my periods to interfere with my life but they do anyway. Perhaps I should be stronger minded/

[shinynewusername]

Toxic shock syndrome is caused by bacteria and has nothing to do with allergies.

[HumphreyCobblers]

Saying "they have to find a way" is simply pointless and unhelpful.

about as pointless and unhelpful as telling girls who suffer difficult periods or who don't use tampons that they 'have to find a way'

[youarenotkiddingme]

Of course she's BU. You cannot insist a teen wears a tampon.

They also won't want to answer why a good percentage of students have failed. So they'll have to find a way to accomadate them and she related experiences.

My Ds swims for a club. Plenty of the girls don't train when they have their period. They come for land training and then leave.

[MaggotStew]

I can wear tampons, but my periods are so heavy they just don't work. One of my DD has exactly the same issue - can wear tampons and will happily do so, but they just don't stem the flow. In any case, nobody should be coerced into sticking something into their vagina if they don't want to, especially children.

[SpongebobRoundPants]

I couldn't use tampons until I had sex, it was horrifically painful. I can't believe some people on this thread think it's acceptable to force 15 year old girls to use tampons. Surely they deserve full control over their own bodies?

[RoganJosh]

A "mop up session"? Just me finding that aptly amusing?

[harderandharder2breathe]

It's very reasonable for the school to have two sessions, say a week or 10 days apart. That should cover most girls not being on their period for one of the sessions. And also means anyone who is ill for the first session can do the second one.

It's not reasonable for the school to tell teenage girls to suck it up and use tampons

[harderandharder2breathe]

roganjosh sorry I think that was me, that's what my work calls it when we having extra training sessions. Didn't think about the context here though did I

[yorkshapudding]

I can understand the Teachers frustration, but her position does give her the right to dictate what sanitary products her students use.
An adult woman who doesn't get on with tampons or doesn't use them for cultural reasons has the right to make that choice for herself. Why shouldn't a child?
We can't teach teenage girls that they have the right to make decisions about their own bodies and nobody should pressure them into doing anything that makes them feel uncomfortable....unless it's a PE teacher

[downwardfacingdog]

I've had heavy periods since my teens. I've never been able to use a tampon without a pad for backup. The PP saying that periods shouldn't stop women doing anything should be grateful for their easy periods. I can't do any sports for two days of my period because of leaking.

[scottishdiem]

Thinking about it the solution is to probably drop pool activities like this. Arranging it over 2 or more days takes the teacher out the school even more than the one session. It takes more teacher cover to be paid for. It also then has pupils who arent available for the school work that day and will need to have other activities arranged by the teacher on top of the workload planning for the excursion. And then on the second day all of the same will need to be done again. And will it be possible to know how many will be attending on the first trip and on the second. And there will still be girls who were ill the first day and on their period the second and vice versa.

Best to come up with non-pool work at schools.

[Chwaraeteg]

Probably best not to force teenage girls to use tampons: not everyone can use them. The first time my mother tried to put something in her vagina she nearly died. She was 17 years old. She hadn't had cause to know until that point that she had a hymen abnormality that caused it to tear away from her vaginal wall and cause a massive hemmorage. She had 2 blood transfusions.

[Lilicat1013]

Although I am not sure what to suggest the teacher should do she has no right to say the girls must wear tampons.

To those who are saying your period shouldn't get in the way of your life it would be lovely if that were true. Up to the point I had my first baby I had incredibly painful periods, an ambulance was called twice for me when I was a teenager as I wasn't believed when I said it was period pain and they suspected it was appendicitis.

My periods were light and normal between baby one and baby two and they didn't stop me doing anything. Now after baby two they are incredibly heavy. I have to buy the thickest towels they sell and change hourly. It is not possible to insert tampons properly, there is some issue with my uterus the midwife mentioned when I was pregnant but I have forgotten the details, even if I could use them they would leak.

I go to the gym and run regularly but have to miss multiple days each month due to my period. Luckily I am not a school child any more, when I was told I was lazy and skiving when I had to miss PE lessons. Not everyone has it so easy that it doesn't get in the way of their life.

[SomewhatIdiosyncratic]

I never got on with tampons. I couldn't get them in at all until I discovered KY jelly. As a teenager my periods were also very painful- on one occasion my form tutor had to send for my mum to pick me up because I ended up curled up in a ball on the floor groaning in pain. Fortunately they only struck sporadically, but they made life completely miserable for the first 3 days.

At 18 when work sent me home for curling up on the filthy stockroom floor, the GP finally put me on the pill to manage them. Since having children, they've finally become tolerable with little impact on life.

But as a teenager, no I wasn't going to be venturing into a swimming pool with inadequate sanitary protection and agonising leg, abdomen and back cramps.

[Gileswithachainsaw]

She has no right to insist the girls wear tampons. Not her decision to make.

It's unfortunate in this instance that it may prevent them from doing something however they have 30 plus years to experiment with different brands or different San pro options and find what suits them best.

You cannot and should not force angirk/woman to use something tat could either cause them pain discomfort or an allergic reaction or that may just freak them out at that moment in time.

[WishIhadtheWherewithal]

Is 'personal survival' a session where you have to jump into the pool in pyjamas and practise life-saving activities? I remember we did this (back in the dark ages ) but in the last year of primary school, so few if any girls would have started their periods. Perhaps that's a long-term solution - run the session when the girls are much younger (I know some girls start their periods in primary school but they'd be the exception rather than the rule).

[happy2bhomely]

Periods shouldn't interfere with life

When I was 15 I was dealing with clots the size of plums and flooding through 3 night time pads overlapping each other during lessons.

The doctor told me that I was exaggerating and women only lose a couple of teaspoons of blood overall during their whole period. It made me feel like a freak and I just shut up and put up for years.

And to the people who say you don't bleed in water. Some of us do. A lot.

I don't know what the solution is, but it shouldn't involve telling girls to put things in their vaginas if they don't want to.

[Wickedstepmum67]

I never feel a period should stop you doing what you want. But being pushed into a decision about using tampons simply due to a swimming event is not on. Not at 15. Didn't use tampons until much later on. PE teachers not improved since 'my day' then! (Yes, jaundiced view of them to begin with).

[Italiangreyhound]

Bigsandyballs Of course the PE Teacher is being unreasonable, If I chose not to use a tampon, or could not use a tampon, I would not. And there is no way on this earth I would force my daughter to use a tampon if she did not want to.

It must be hard being a teacher and listening to girls, having them miss your oh so precious lessons because they have appalling stomach pains, or miss the wonderful swim class because they don't want to stick a tampon up themselves.

As Chwaraeteg says, it could be dangerous for a very small number of girls.

If someone wants to be a PE teacher they better get their head around the fact that approximately half the school population have periods for about 13% of the time.

If any teacher tries to make your daughter use a tampon, please send them this link....

www.vice.com/en_us/article/meet-the-model-who-lost-her-leg-to-toxic-shock-syndrome-611

[bloodyteenagers]

She is being unreasonable.
As for well I don't wear anything when I go in the pool and I don't bleed. Good for you.
Same with the well use a tampax/mooncup, periods shouldn't interfere. Have a big cheer you have easy periods.

we are all different. Some people do have extremely heavy periods, and even with super plus tampax leak. Some people even with superplus tampax leak in water. What are the girls supposed to do in these situations? Go in the pool and re-enact a scene from Carrie, because that's the reality.

we are all about having rights over our bodies, but only when it suits. We keep being told as females we should choose our own contraception. We should choose pregnancy or not. We should choose sanitary stuff that suits us. We should be able to choose x,y and z. Unless you are in school, then you should shut up and put something invasive inside you. Whatever happened to teaching each other to not do things that we are uncomfortable with? Does this now come with a minimum age requirement?