Anyone else's dd terrified of periods starting?

[perceptionreality]

Dd2 is 8 and a half. I did explain to her about periods a long time ago but she seemed to have forgotten and asked me again about it so I explained and she burst into tears and said that can never happen to her!

Then 5 minutes later she asked if I thought her life would have been happier if she was a bird(!)

I tried explaining that it happens to us all and is no big deal and that anyway she shouldn't worry yet because I didn't start until I was 14 but this didn't seem to help at all...

She has just started needing a deodorant and I feel at her age she should know about periods. I don't understand why she's so scared - I was totally non plussed when my mum told me about it.

Maybe try talking about it in an empowering sort of way, that having babies is one of the things that makes women great and we need periods to have them etc. There's probably some good info on feminist parenting sites. Try not to talk about it being to do with 'growing up' because that's probably what's scaring her.

My DD's 9 and doesn't seem that bothered, she's seen washable sanpro around the house all her life so it has come up a few times, the idea of mums needing their own nappies. She does seem to forget the specifics though ("No it's NOT poo!") and needs regular consolidation but she's the same with the subject of sex (add to the mix a lot of misinformation from the playground no doubt.)

The problem is that she doesn't want to have children! I think that might be a cause. Thanks for your reply.