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Behaviour/development

Talk to others about child development and behaviour stages here. You can find more information on our development calendar.

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Original poster

My 8 year old niece has started her periods......advice please

12 replies

pepsi · 13/10/2004 19:31

My SIL has just called to say that her 8 year old ds has been off school for 2 days with tummy ache and tonight she has been bleeding, just a bit, but enough for the to think its her periods starting. What a shock for them. Anyone got a ds who started this young, just a bit of advice would be nice. Also, Im sure it is her periods but could it be anything else? Her Mum is taking her to the doctors in the morning anyhow.

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Amfs · 13/10/2004 19:42

No experience sorry

but think you should know that DS .. means Dear / Darling Son

jampot · 13/10/2004 20:09

poor thing - friend of mine started at 9, my dd 11 but had signs for quite a while before so was expecting IYKWIM

yoyo · 13/10/2004 20:14

If your niece is really starting her periods she would probably show other signs of precocious puberty, e.g. breast development, pubic hair, underarm hair. She might also be taller and heavier than her peer group, and started to have spots and greasier hair. She might also show mood swings more typically observed with teenagers. Precocious puberty is often familial - did yor SIL start her periods early?

If she has been feeling unwell could she possibly have a urinary tract infection? The discharge from this can be quite significant and brownish in colour which could be easily mistaken for a very light period. Does she have a temperature?

I would definitely take her to the doctor and take her pants if the "bleed" tails off overnight. I would also reassure her until she sees the doctor and wouldn't mention periods unless she has already discussed them with her mum. There would be no point in worrying her unnecessarily.

Please post when she has seen the doctor.

womba1 · 13/10/2004 20:16

Pepsi, i'd just turned 9 when my periods started and i was terrified. I didn't realise that it stopped after a few days and thought that i would bleed everyday for ever!!
My Mum took me to the Dr's as she was rather concerned but he said there was nothing to worry about and that nature would take it's course. I do remember though that after my 1st period, i was rather irregular for a good few months and missed a few. The most embarrassing thing for me was my school friends finding out..we all know how nasty children can be. But on the plus side, it made me feel really grown up and when my friends were getting theirs at the ages of 13 and 14, i was a dab hand and took it all in my stride.
I hope your niece isn't too phased by it all and let her know how special she is x

Original poster

pepsi · 13/10/2004 20:23

My niece has had mood swings for the past 5 years so its hard to say at the moment if things have changed. She is well developed for her age, but no hair anywhere at the moment. Her Mum said that she gets sweaty under her arms though. My SIL started when she was 9 so it could well be she is starting. My SIL said the blood in her knickers was red not brown. Its such a huge thing to go through. I remember I was nearly 15 when I started. I couldnt wait in fact because all my friends had started and I wanted to be like them......little did I know.

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gingernut · 13/10/2004 20:40

I started my periods when I was 10 and still at junior school. I had no idea what it was (my Mum hadn't thought to tell me about periods as she thought she had plenty of time!). So it was a bit scary. Thinking back, I'd had a few symptoms of impending puberty such as spots but nothing very obvious (breast development, such as it was,(!) came a little later as did the body hair). The worst thing was that there were no facilities for disposing of used towels in the loos at my school and I had to use the staff loos which was very embarrassing (I hope schools are a bit more enlightened now as I think a lot more girls are starting their periods early). Hope she copes OK...8 is so young.

JiminyCricket · 13/10/2004 21:16

Yeas, a colleagues dd started periods at junior school and went from loving school to having lots of time off just because she was embarrassed about her periods and there was no where to dispose of towels - my colleague gave the school hell but they weren't very helpful - said she should ask a teacher every time!

froot · 13/10/2004 21:36

message withdrawn

marthamoo · 13/10/2004 21:37

Oh poor kid - that seems so young to me. Mind you I was 16 and thought I never would.

froot · 13/10/2004 21:39

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Original poster

pepsi · 13/10/2004 21:43

Its quite scary really isnt it. Does this mean now that she really will grow breasts, hair, acne, etc, or will it be a really slow thing that doesnt happen until she is a teenager. Earlier on today I was posting about inviting them to my Halloween Party and going Trick or Treating, and now her she is entering a whole new phase of her life. I hope her school are helpful. She does love school but she is often off ill, she is just one of those children that doesnt like going to school if she is even the slightly bit off colour. Then again I expect it will be a while before things happen on a regular basis. All advice is appreciated because obviously it has sent my SIL into a bit of a panic....its something she hadnt thought of yet.

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Original poster

pepsi · 14/10/2004 13:39

My SIL went to the docs this morning, by herself, and she is taking my niece tommorrow for a double appointment inc. an examination, poor little thing. Theres been no more bleeding. She also has to make an appointmetn to see the paedatrician as she is still quite young to be starting. As of this morning they hadnt had the big conversation so she was none the wiser what was going on, but it has to be done today. We got to talking today about whether she knows about it or not and, then we were talking about when we are on our periods do we change our tampax in front of the children, well I said I did, hadnt really thought about it to be honest, but my SIL said she definately didnt as it was a private thing. Im wondering now if I should or shouldnt be.

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