If you have a pre teen or teen

[Christmasfairy2020]

My dd is 11 and has lots of signs of puberty (bo. Hair, breast development) and it will not be long before she starts her periods. I've since heard about period pants and she finds pads irritating (previously practised) would I be unreasonable by just buying period pants and she has them for when she starts. Or should I not buy them and make her get used to pads first?

Yabu- she needs to learn how to use pads and get used to it.

Yanbu- buy the period pants and let her be comfortable and she will learn to use pads at some point.

Just let her try her options when she starts? Nobody actually likes pads but they are cheap, readily available and do the job for a few days each month.

I’m sorry, but period pads just sound disgusting. So you just wear them all day while they soak the blood up? Not changing them (without having to strip off your bottom half and change)? I can understand them for children with additional needs, but otherwise...

DD mainly wears Modibodi, they are worth the money.

But, she also knows how to deal with pads and tampons. Main reason, she may get her period in school and needs to put an emergency pad in. She also had her period on holiday and Scout camp, no way period pants work then, we don’t have enough for a week holiday without a washing machine.

Why not just use tampons? I can’t bear pads, didn’t use one again after one day into my first period. Was the biggest thing I hated about having a baby having to wear pads post partum

@Iploughthefieldsandscatter

Why not just use tampons? I can’t bear pads, didn’t use one again after one day into my first period. Was the biggest thing I hated about having a baby having to wear pads post partum

According to DD she hated to have anything inserted into her body (even with the applicator ones). With 11.5, it is just gross it seems She changed her mind when we told her we couldn't sign then the water sport permission slip for a Scout camp.

She still only uses them as a last resort though.

She also says that most of her friends are afraid of changing a tampon at school, loos are disgusting anyway and no sink in the cubicle means you can't wash your hands. The same reason I stopped wearing tampons at work, not nice trying to get rid of evidence just with toilet paper.

Most of the girls she knows use period pants nowadays.

Saturdayafternoon how are they "disgusting" if pads aren't?

My DD is 11 and just started her period - she wore a pair of Cheeky Wipes period pants with one of their washable pads, then removed the pad at lunchtime. We have got a lidded box for her to put the rinsed used things in and then every day or two I did a short cold wash as PP said.

@mrsmalcolmreynolds

Saturdayafternoon how are they "disgusting" if pads aren't?

My DD is 11 and just started her period - she wore a pair of Cheeky Wipes period pants with one of their washable pads, then removed the pad at lunchtime. We have got a lidded box for her to put the rinsed used things in and then every day or two I did a short cold wash as PP said.

Because a pad can be changed as often as you want and it goes in the bin (unless reusable)

To change the pants, you'd have to strip off your whole bottom half, which probably discourages changing them so often. Then you have to carry them around with you all day (taking up more space than a reusable pad)

The period pants came and we have them in the draw if needed. She does have spare pants and pads in her bag. She said the pants feel like a nappy

Ill get some reusable pads as well and then we have a variety of options when the time comes. We always have tampax as I use these anyways

Pads when they were younger but they both use tampons now.

Why not just use tampons
Because of their environmental impact. In the United States alone, approximately 12 billion pads and 7 billion tampons are discarded each year. While many of these products end up in a landfill, others clog sewers or contribute to the staggering amount of plastics in our oceans. Tampon applicators can take over 20 years to break down in marine environments and can be ingested by animals, causing health complications or death.

Although physical waste from disposable products is significant, the largest environmental impact of tampons and pads is the processing of raw materials used in their production. In particular, the plastics used in pads and tampon applicators are made out of low-density polyethylene that requires energy-intensive processing. When you consider the whole life cycle of these products, fossil fuel emissions of plastic production damage the environment the most. If you have to choose between pads and tampons, tampons, especially tampons without applicators, are the more environmentally friendly choice because they require less plastic than pads.

Cornetttttto - just look up Modibodi website. They're really good! I know lots of pople who have switched to them of different ages - even my Mum who is 85! (For wee not blood in her case!) The days of period pads, incontence pads etc are coming to an end hopefully. Re-useable options are more comfortable, less wasteful in money terms and for the planet. Its a bid mad we didn't have them years ago. Putting blood soaked pads we'ce used once containing chemical gels and plastic backing down toilets or in landfill sites seems madness in this day and age. (Don't get me onto nappies...)