Does your son know what a period is?

[TheSippyCupSociety]

hey all

just curious here (no judgement either side) but I was never told when I was growing up to expect a period and the same happened to my mum when she was little. So it came as a surprise and I learnt about it and dealt with it myself. I also never had the conversation with my dad. I am now raising two girls and a son and it’s made me wonder how many people don’t talk to their children about it and how many do - but particularly sons (my son is the eldest so around the time we’d have these conversations where as my girls are toddlers).

if your son was with his friends say at the park and one of the girls started her period and was upset or worried, would your son understand enough to be able to support her? Even if it’s just giving her a jumper to tie round her waist if she has leaked?

also if you have a son and didn’t want to talk to him about it I’d love to know why?

as I said absolutely no judgment here either side!

My DS7 knows more about it than I did at 7! I introduced it as soon as he asked about the "nappies" in the bathroom. Its discussed as openly as other bodily functions and personal care issues. He knows that he wont experience it personally but that its a normal, healthy part of being a girl/women.

I've explained to DS5, when he's asked, that every month a woman's body makes sort of a comfortable cushion in her womb in case a baby will be growing there soon. It uses a bit of extra blood to make the cushion with, to share with the baby until the baby can make their own blood. But if the month passes and no baby grows in her womb, her body lets that blood go, and then starts the cycle again. I put a pad in my underwear so that the pad can catch the blood instead of it staining my clothes.
@Dogsaresomucheasier makes a good point about explaining that we can't control the flow like with urine - I'll add that in next time it comes up.

Yes 3 sons and 2 daughters,my sons are the oldest and they've always known about periods and they've all been really lovely when any of us were on our periods offering to make a hot water bottle,grabbing a chocolate bar for who ever needed it.

They've all been the same as they've got older with girls that were friends and with their girlfriends and they've all learnt from their Dad and from their Grandad my Dad because despite my Dad being born in the 40s he was always brilliant with me and my mum when we had our periods and I was growing up and from their Dad because he knows that periods suck and has often said he could never imagine a man dealing with them and he's extra thoughtful when any of us are on.

Yes, since they were old enough to understand. There is no period shame in our house. 3 male, 2 female.

My son is 7 with 2 sisters. His understanding so far is that mum uses pads once a month, that women bleed and that it coincideds with me usually having a sore tummy. He will often ask if i want a hot water bottle or freddo to help/make me feel better. As he gets older I will explain more about how it works. We were in a pharmacy queue once and he asked out loud whether I needed any as he recognised rhe brand I used.

My dh doesn't have a sister and only realised about periods at high school. He used to find it weird when I asked him to get me pads as he thought that I would take care of stuff like that as his mum did. He got over any weirdness about it as I speak openly about mine.I add them to the supermarket shop. I'm open about them, talk about them and dd aged 8 is aware that she will get them one day too. His mum dealt with her own periods discreetly though. I'm different in that pads aren't a big deal to me whilst stored in a bathroom cupboard upstairs , I have some in my downstairs bathroom too on a stand so visiting guests can help themselves.

My own mum thought she was dying when her period started as her mum never told her and neither did her 3 much older sisters. She always made a point of being open about it with us which was great because mine started at primary school and I knew to tell the teacher and ask for what I needed. I have 1 brother who knew from an early age and my dad would always buy us pads, know when we were on our periods and show empathy.

@TheSippyCupSociety "just curious here (no judgement either side)"

Actually-this is one of those situations where I am more than happy to judge!

My 4yo doesn't. It's never come up. I use a cup rather than products so he doesn't really see anything related to it. I'm pretty open so will explain it to him by around 7 or 8.

To be honest, he didn't like the idea of it and declared he was happy to be a boy which made me laugh, but he asked me what a sanitary towel was initially which is what prompted the conversation and me unwrapping one and showing him.

I reiterated that it just happens to adult ladies and doesn't hurt, I know that both of those things aren't strictly true but I'll develop the explanation as he gets older and eventually connect the dots with having babies. That conversation was just the first step.

It came up when they were younger but I can't remember it coming up recently and they haven't asked me about them.

I'm happy to talk about them but I haven't sat down and had an in depth conversation about it.