What language do you use to explain periods?

[LennyW]

It's time to start talking about periods to DD (4.5yrs) so it becomes part of her lexicon and she sees puberty, periods, tampons, napkins, bleeding etc is totally normal. But I am just wondering what kind of language to use to describe the whole process. What language do you use explain these things to your kids? (Have I posted this in the right spot?)

my two (DD9 and DS7) have always known about periods in the sense of 'ladies bleed from their front bottoms every month' and use funny things like tampons (internal cotton wool is the phrase i believe i once used ) to soak up the blood, they've never asked for more info than that so far and they definitely wouldn't know WHY we bleed, except that it is vaguely related to babies!! (or lack thereof, rather!)

I just call them "periods" and I call tampons and pads just that. DD (3) has known about periods for ages (she invariably comes into the bathroom with me) so it makes sense for her to have the right language. What's the point in creating a whole new lexicon to explain it?

I made the mistake once when she was smaller (2) of explaining pads as "mummy's nappies" only to be humiliated when she started shouting at the top of her voice "look, there are mummy's nappies!" as we went down the sanitary product aisle at Sainsbury's .

Easier to just be straighforward.

Lol ramblingrosa, reminds me of my mum telling me my brother did the exact same thing (also in sainsburys funnily enough) about 35 years ago!!

I have had to explain to DD (also 4) because I have very heavy periods and she wanted to know why I had bloody trousers . I said 'periods' and that they came monthly and that it didn't hurt ( lies ) and that it was just your body getting rid of what it didn't need.

She has unfortunately interpreted this as being 'like doing a poo' so I may have to explain it again soon.