Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think thicker sanitary pads should still be sold?

80 replies

Homeymum2 · 21/05/2023 08:10

DD, 13 is having her first period and the new "technology" leaves only very thin pads to be had. Even if they really do hold as much as the old ones, psychologically it is worrying.

OP posts:
DustyLee123 · 21/05/2023 08:39

Try night pads or maternity pads, and if they are too long for her, have a look at the LilLet and Sainsburys teen range.

ilovesooty · 21/05/2023 08:40

PaddingtonTheAngelofDeath · 21/05/2023 08:35

It is a reasonable to question the intention of a poster when they want to talk about children and periods.

Show quote history

If you bother to read the talk guidelines you know that you report it, not question it on the thread. Troll hunters are tiresome.

saltrocking · 21/05/2023 08:42

Homeymum2 · 21/05/2023 08:36

So, SHE has asked for something thicker. The overnight ones are thicker but also excessively long... period pants seem ok for at home but who wants to change their entire pants at school? You would have to take off your trousers in the stall.

Hi op. My dd wears period paints with a pad too as she's worried about leaking. The pants just give her that added level of protection and she doesn't need to change them. We use Kotex pads. Always found them better that other brands

GoodChat · 21/05/2023 08:43

Maternity pants are very thick

dementedpixie · 21/05/2023 08:43

Kotex do thick ones. Some own brand supermarket towels are also thicker. My dd used to use kotex but now uses bodyform night ones with wings

GoodChat · 21/05/2023 08:43

Pads not pants - got distracted by the reusable products thread Grin

DorisParchment · 21/05/2023 08:48

I saw those huge pads (think Kotex) with loops for a belt in Boots the other week, and wondered who buys those? I’m in my 50s and certainly had stick on pads when I started my periods back in the 70s.

wonkylegs · 21/05/2023 08:48

@Homeymum2 surely it's only psychologically an issue for you as she will know no different.
It's all new to her so whatever she is given will become the norm.
It's an intimidating experience for her already so if I were you I'd enter into it with positivity and help her find what works for her and hide your own misgivings away so that she doesn't pick up on them.
Thin pads are a blessing, if she suffers from leaks then look at different lengths or absorbencies or even a different brand.
Every woman is different what works for one may not be quite right for another- so you need to find what is best for her.

marshmallowmatcha · 21/05/2023 08:53

ArdeteiMasazxu · 21/05/2023 08:35

If it's a psychological reason, do some experiments. It will be a fun educational activity for a sunday afternoon. Buy 3 different designs of pad (including a reusable if you can afford it) and get some water with food colouring in it. Use a shot glass or measuring spoon to dole out equal quantities of liquid into each one, wait a few seconds then check for leakage, then repeat over and over adding another small quantity each time and see what amount each one absorbs before it starts leaking.

That sounds good.

She could also consider using tampons and have the pad as "back up" or use a pad ontop of period pants. Why is she concerned- does she have heavy flow? If its very heavy it might be worth seeing a gp.

Oldraver · 21/05/2023 08:54

MarriedMama23 · 21/05/2023 08:31

You can still get the thick kotex pads. Try your local pharmacy, that's where I get mine.

I think you can also get own brand basic pads that are of the old fashioned 'block' design

They don't have the gel in (so assume NOT as absorbent) but also the covering isn't embossed/pressed in so can be more comfortable

But no don't think the thick ones are more absorbant

LynetteScavo · 21/05/2023 08:54

If you don't think they will work, test them out with water. A child will have no idea if they will work or not until they've been tried out. I'm assuming she's allowed toilet breaks at school, so there will be no need to change clothes.

wonkylegs · 21/05/2023 09:05

If she's not feeling comfortable try a different brand not just thicker ones
I find some of the more plasticky ones (always) make me feel damp even when not leaking when full whereas the ones I use always feel dry (Morrisons renewable plant based ones or Naty or Natracare - ethical supermarket)

ImAvingOops · 21/05/2023 09:08

Kotex are much better at night than thin towels, which all seem to have wings which stick to everything like glue, except the gusset of knickers. Thin towels can also be sharp at the edges.
Washable are my go to now, not idea for school but great at home and overnight.

SmokeyToo · 21/05/2023 09:22

If your daughter has a particularly heavy flow, it's always worthwhile getting a GP to do a couple of tests - iron levels, particularly. But it can also be an early warning for endometriosis (it was for me).

FloweryName · 21/05/2023 09:26

Reassure your dd that the thinner pads can hold plenty. Do the experiment they used to do on the TV ads where they pour blue water into them if it helps!

You could try maternity pads but to set up a young girl with big bulky old fashioned pads makes no sense. They don’t sell them much anymore because they don’t work as well and they are uncomfortable.

Xrays · 21/05/2023 09:26

If you really want thicker ones see if there’s a Savers shop near you, they often stock the old style Kotex thick pads.

FatAgain · 21/05/2023 09:27

I use the old style heavier ones, they make me feel more secure and don’t have that horrible perfume

always night time.

Brackenfield · 21/05/2023 09:28

Are you her mum or her dad? Perhaps best getting someone who has had periods to advise her, some of your comments betray a lack of knowledge. Why on earth would you be changing period pants at school?

mondaytosunday · 21/05/2023 09:34

Psychologically for you maybe! I couldn't believe how thin the pads were when my daughter started. But if they do hold the same (or more) then why ask for thicker? I remember how uncomfortable and self conscious I felt wearing really thick pads as a teen.
My daughter wears leak proof pants as a back up (not the kind you are supposed to wear on their own - really can't get my head around that). I also buy her the ones that hold the most and she seems fine with them. She's not keen to try tampons yet.

Iyiyiiii · 21/05/2023 09:36

Homeymum2 · 21/05/2023 08:10

DD, 13 is having her first period and the new "technology" leaves only very thin pads to be had. Even if they really do hold as much as the old ones, psychologically it is worrying.

Sorry - WHAT???

psychologically it is worrying.

Original poster
Homeymum2 · 21/05/2023 09:36

Thanks everybody for product recommendations and we will try the experiments

OP posts:
jay55 · 21/05/2023 09:38

During lockdown Tesco delivered some the size of pillows as a sub for my usual. At the time when couldn't reject subs.
I didn't know they still made them.

They were so comfortable. Glad I was working at home and wearing joggers or pjs though. Wouldn't have wanted to walk far in them.

Yerroblemom1923 · 21/05/2023 09:38

Say what, now?! You've lost me. Period product manufacturers have found a way to reduce a bulky thick pad, without compromising absorbancy, into a no show thinner pad......and you're not happy because.....???

ColdHandsHotHead · 21/05/2023 09:40

If your child has never used anything else, will she even notice?

Yerroblemom1923 · 21/05/2023 09:41

And yes to period pants. One of my dds wears them with a tampon for "justin"/back up.