10yo started period

[Wittsendargh]

Just that really. I feel really sorry for her, it happened at school so she had to be ushered out and changed. I was there as quick as I could and even though school said it wasn't necessary, I brought her home as she wanted a shower.

Does anyone else have experience of their child starting at this age? How do they handle social activities? My dd is a competitive gymnast and dancer, as well as attending a performance academy every six weeks. I can't imagine her wanting to use tampons yet, so how can she still participate when all the outfits are tiny? Then there's swimming...I just feel she's too young 😥

you can get girls period pants which dont require a pad or tampon to be used. as for swimming, you can incontinence swimwear (which looks just the same as regular swimwear) link. is she allowed any swimming costume? the one i linked is blue. all the best x

I was 10 too. I would have loved my mum to offer tampons for discretion but she never did. Let her decide.

@sleepismysuperpower1 all great tips/links, thank you!

@ohhelpohnoitsa I gently tried to explain tampons to her, and he recoiled in disgust. I think the whole concept of inserting something at 10 years old just doesn't sound favourable. Did you feel differently at school? Her friends got sense that something was up at school, so have been messaging her this evening but she's too embarrassed to tell them.

Mine was 11, she tried Tampax out of curiosity and didn't get on with them initially. She got an older friend to help her with inserting it (I know, I know!) and now she prefers to use them because she bleeds really heavy. I just got her everything to try...Tampax, pads, cup

I was 11 and also a swimmer, it took me a few months to get the hang of it all therefore I did miss a few sessions (like one s month for a few months) I think she’ll learn what works best for her - maybe just provide her with all the options ! Good luck

The others won’t be far behind. The earliest in my daughter’s class was 9.
She should be proud she’s on her way to becoming a woman! Try to be positive about it all it means she can have a baby and that’s a wonderful thing.
As for those period pants - I would never use them without a pad. The ones I got for my daughter add an extra sense of security in case of leaks but I don’t see how they work unless you carry several pairs around with you. At her age it’s a case if not being regular and not knowing when she’ll get her period. I just packed a little bag of a couple pads and pants in her school bag in case she was caught out. Swimming is a tricky one. The cold water would tend to stop the flow and my daughter has risked it and just went straight to changing room but that’s not ideal.

At 10 I would have freaked out about inserting a tampon. I wouldn't have been able to. 10 seems so young, the poor thing, it was bad enough starting at 13.

Happened to both me and my dd OP. You just need to make it not a big deal I think.

I started at 10 YO. Thankfully I wasn't at school when it happened.

Tread carefully OP, because this will be a big deal to her if you make it a big deal. If you just chill out about it, explain it's normal, she will take it in her stride.

Buy her a range of towels, tampons and whatever else and let her experiment with what's best for her. I always wished my mum had taught me about tampons. But she was very anti-tampons and never even explained them as an option.

DD is a club swimmer, hasn’t started her period yet bit she wears a leg suit . She doesn’t like normal cosies anymore as says these keep her warmer but would help with embarrassing period accidents. They also go half price fairly regularly.

Happened to my DD but she was prepared ,she had a little pretty duddy bag and a starter pack from Boots.It had different pads,night pads,tampons
a note to the teacher about swimming if it coincide although it was light and erratic for the first year.When she was 11 she got me to show her how to put s tampon in.She wasn't embarrassed do I had to be business like about it then recuperate with a gin.
She used them just for swimming at first until she was about 14.She now uses a cup which she is very happy with although temporarily Inthe pill for GCSEs.

I was 10 and my mum was annoyed with me as my older sister hadn’t started yet
Please don’t let her know any of your feelings, that she’s too young, you’re upset etc. I’m sure she’s already sensed this as they’re incredibly intuitive.
Maybe you can explain that it was a shock too for you and that you will support her with whatever methods she chooses, perhaps also buying a few different things and just leaving her to experiment with them as and when she’s ready to.

I was 9, but then didn't have a second period until age 10 and then they became regular. Couldn't use tampons, I used teen size pads. Now I use a cup but not sure I could have done at that age. Meluna do v small menstrual cups though
I never got on with tampax but I find lil lets applicator v v easy

The only problem she had was disposal as the primary school loos are not suitable for bins so she and others who started early had access to an ex staff toilet.
I don't think I explained tampons to her just let her find them in the started pack and read the quite good booklet that came with it

It's normal to start periods from age 8 and the trend is to start earlier rather than later.
Both my daughters were 10. Primary schools are very used to it and will have seen it many times before.
Period pants are very popular with my (now) tweens.
Celebrate it. Give her a little pack with some period pants, fancy toiletries etc to make her feel it's a positive thing.

Thank you everyone for your kind and informative responses. I am disappointed for her, but I haven't shown/said that to her. I'll mention tampons to her again when she's got used to the idea of periods. We had discussed them and she knew what to do, I just think it caught her out with being at school.

She's not too well today, stomach aches and really tired so I'll let her stop off today. But I have told her I can't do that every month, as part of growing up it's something us ladies have to deal with.

My daughter has alot of time off for her periods.

There's some great teen (and younger) information on the internet these days about periods including tampons - I bought the regular without applicator and put them in the bathroom for my girls, they could then try when they were ready/curious. You could also talk about using a cup because of environmental impact - I've recently bought one for one of my DD's (the other won't). I highly recommend the period pants as back up, we all have them but do use pads/tampons as well

It's fairly normal at 10. My dd was 10, as was I. There were about 3 girls in her class at Primary who had started periods.

Luckily I had discussed periods with her way before (I had suspicions she would start early like me). I was actually out with a friend when she she started. She text me a photo she took of her knickers and asked it was her period (tmi). Her dad was in the house but she didn't want to ask him! She was really calm and batter of fact, and I was calm and matter of fact back just reminding her where the Sanpro was.

My dd started using tampons pretty quickly. She had a watersports based school trip in the next few months that we thought would clash with her period. It took a few go's and I didn't interfere. She got the hang of it quite quickly.

She's 14 now and normally favours pads but switches to tampons when needed. She's just started looking at period pants like Thinx etc.

I wish I'd had those when I was younger!

Get these https://www.boots.com/lil-lets-teens-applicator-tampons-regular-10-pack-10164896?cmmmc=bmm-buk-google-ppccPLAsAs--(GB:Whoop!)+Lil-lets---(GB:Whoop!)+Boots+Shopping+-+Category+-+Toiletries+-+Mobile&gclsrc=aw.ds&&gclid=Cj0KCQjww47nBRDlARIsAEJ34bleLhYcvFsCHGuoarX4e3aqmJX6aKlmVVE4Puk78-BwTQarNntSoGIaAuCaEALw_wcB

I started at 9 and was using tampons by 10. Lillets are much better than tampax for younger girls as they expand outwards so you don't get that heavy draggy feeling, and they stay in place for swimming properly. It will mean there is no noisy bulky rustling pads to dispose of when staying away from home or worry about leaking.
Just give her a pack of these a mirror and some Vaseline and tell her to practice until she's comfortable.

Hi did starting periods early at around 10...affect your daughter's height. I would really appreciate some assurance as worried my daughter may start soon.
Thanks

I was 9 years old, year 4 when I started my period. I was too embarrassed to tell my mum...she had not talked with me about it but since my sister who is 2 1/2 years older had just started her period 6 months before, i had an idea what was happening. I handled it myself every month by rolling up tonnes of loo roll and stuffing my knickers. It was a very lonely time...I don't know why I didn't feel like I could go to my mum for help. Two years on she finally found out. I acted as if I'd just started. Because of this as soon as my DD was 8 and showing signs of puberty I explained it to her. I was very tall for my age! As tall as the teacher!

Your poor daughter. 10 is so young, especially with all her activities.
I was lucky enough to be 14, even then tampons freaked me out.