Pre-teen daughter - advice re periods

[oxoxoxoxo]

Hi everyone. Posting here for traffic and advice, please. I have a daughter in Year 7 and although she's not hit puberty yet I'm sure it will be soon, and I need to be prepared.

I think I saw something here a while back about some pants that were leakproof in the event of accidents - but can't find it by searching. Any and all hints and tips gratefully received please. When I was young we wore pads for the first few years, then tampons. Is that still the same? Do young girls use mooncups? (Never even seen one, but are they good?)

I want to be able to prepare her - obviously she knows the facts but the practicalities are a different thing....

Thanks!

Period pants are essentially leakproof knickers, so you won't need to wear a pad, a tampon or menstrual cup if you wear them during your period. Because they are thicker than normal pants, you can bleed straight into them. They tend to have different options for lighter and heavier period flow days, ones for overnight and even a version to swim in. Most can be worn all day because they have some sort of anti-bacterial property which stops the smell of period blood. They can go in the normal wash, but check the individual brand washing recommendations. We’ve used Wuka and Modibodi.

Ah - @ricekrispie22 thank you! I'm sure it was the brand Modibodi that I'd seen recommended. I didn't know you could use them without pads though, that sounds amazing!!

Make her up a little pencil case for her school bag with a couple of pads and a clean pair of pants in there so she isn't caught short at school. Tell her a jumper or cardigan round the waste can disguise trouser leakage until she gets home.

Other than that it's really on her. I never wore pads, I don't think I've ever actually bought or owned a box of them. I went straight to tampons because it's what my mum had in the house and I just used hers. We were a family who really didn't talk about that kind of thing though.

Mooncups are good but a bit of a pain to get used to (and feel HUGE initially) so let her know they're an option, but probably not something she'll want to attempt until she's older. Her choice though. Period underwear are just big leak proof pants. Come in a range of sizes and styles.

I had a friend at school who's mum got her a wall calendar and special stickers so she could mark her on and off days. I was always jealous of that. There are apps that do the same thing these days, Clue is a good one.

Waist, not waste. Christ.

I’m planning on getting a range of things for my tween DD. Modibodi are on the list. They do a teen range called Red. I’ll get her a knickers and a boy shorts style.

I’m also going to get her a range of washable sanitary towels from Honour Your Flow. They make them in lots of sizes and with different backings. I’ll get a few to try. They have poppers on the wings. You rinse them in cold water then just bing in the normal wash.

I’ve bought her a little pack of Teen Lil-let’s as I saw them when I was shopping for something else.

I don’t see why teens couldn’t use Mooncups but I’ve never used one myself. I could give it a try but I’m loath to spend the money when I’m hopefully close to the whole period business being over.

Maybe this is the talk about period pants
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/preteens/3788339-Period-pants

As you can read in my answers there, I don't think it's very good to start only with the Modibodi pants for healthy and usability reasons (these are not really odor free, the protection should be changed every 3-4 hours, not very much absorbent... an accident for a teen could be a life drama!). I would start with overnight pads and the pants with just a waterproof layer to let her get used to periods without too many worries, later she will find step by step the best way to manage that.

Tampons are fine right from the start. They may be preferable for many reasons. There is no reason to avoid them. They are graded according to flow, not small, medium, large, xl, so don't make the mistake of buying something with size in mind.

I recommend you get your daughter a book called The Care and Keeping of You, published by American Girl publishing. It's available on amazon. Deals with the practical questions your daughter may face on a straightforward and sensible way.

My daughter got hers at 11 in year 7. She won't wear tampons. You can get the leak proof pants (and the Modibodi type) on Amazon. My daughter is quite a heavy bleeder and I don't think the Modibodi type pants would work - I can't imagine her changing in the toilet and rinsing it out (or put it in a bag to take home). But I might try them in the future. She's at school for 8+ hours plus she'd have to have three or four a day and they are expensive.
So she uses overnight pads plus the leakproof pants. I know when she's due her period as she's quite regular now so give her the pants to wear a couple days before just in case. She also uses panty liners towards the end of her period.