periods & swimming

[RelentlessActivity]

Hi
I've recently got involved with helping to run a swimming club, and quite a few of the younger teens miss sessions due to their periods. They are generally too young to be wanting to use tampons or cups. Does anyone on here have any experience with the "period proof" swimwear? Or any other advice? (Can't draw on personal experience because am blissfully period-free with IUS.)
Thanks in advance

In what way are they too young for tampons? I used them from early on; so around age 12ish. You get teen ones and thinner ones too.

Period swimwear is quite expensive

@dementedpixie I suppose it is more that if their parents say to me that they are struggling to find a way they can swim every day of the month, then I assume they've already ruled tampons out for one reason or another. Personally I didn't manage to use them until late teens.

The price isn't great for period swimwear, but does it actually work? Have you tried it?

Haven't tried it, sorry

Does it really matter if they miss a session? Ie are the children themselves looking for alternatives?

Surely its fine that they know tampons are an option but if they dont want to try them thats ok too, and missing one session every month isnt a big deal?

Im assuming its not an excessively competitive club, as if so, the children involved would probably be more keen to try tampons.

I think you need to step back and let them make decisions on their own body with minimal external pressure or expectation.

@dementedpixie

In what way are they too young for tampons? I used them from early on; so around age 12ish. You get teen ones and thinner ones too.

Period swimwear is quite expensive

She didn't say they were "too young for tampons" but that they were "possibly too young to want to use tampons".

Presumably the ones who are comfortable using them do so, and the ones who aren't, are then choosing to miss the class instead.

Competitive swimming, you need tampons or cups, from experience, the new swimwear looks good

Are there no female coaches there already who are aware of the ins and outs. I have a son at a swim club but we have a female coach and all the girls know to go and have a chat with her when they start their periods.

I second what chatter said.

So many girls give up sport at puberty. The focus would be best placed on ensuring the.lessons/ activities are accommodating and accessible for girls navigating periods rather than pressuring them to use stuff that perhaps just doesn't suit or they aren't comfortable using at that moment

Tampons are by far the best option, but even if girls miss sessions would just encourage them to continue to enjoy swimming.

IME it’s really hard to find swim training sessions for younger teens that are for fun and skills and don’t require twice a week plus attendance at unappealing times.

IME it’s really hard to find swim training sessions for younger teens that are for fun and skills and don’t require twice a week plus attendance at unappealing times.

The best version of this if they arent wanting to swim competitively is Rookie Lifeguard sessions particularly those run by actual life saving clubs not the local leisure centre. BUT if they do want to swim competitively you are looking at 6 plus sessions a week with land training on top which doesn't really fit with any girl not wanting to try tampons etc.

Oh that’s interesting, thanks.

Yes, mean non competitive sessions for enjoyment and fitness, not speed, sadly my DC although enjoying swimming are not speedy

Our tri club swims once a week ( precovid was twice) and it's not uber competitive. You choose what competitions you want to do, some don't do any. We have the modi bodi swimsuit, seems to help. Not cheap but if it keeps them swimming I don't mind. Any club should be trying their best to keep teen girls involved,

Thanks for all the input.
Yes, the girls themselves are looking for advice. My first port of call was the young female coach who swam competitively throughout her teens; she told me she felt it was a significant problem and a major hurdle to kids remaining interested. She said she often absolutely dreaded sessions as a teen.

It is as competitive as they want it to be: some train up to seven times a week, including early mornings; some train once a week; some are in-between. There's no pressure to turn up - we don't have attendance goals or anything like that - but I'd like to be able to make constructive suggestions when parents ask for advice. It would be much better, IMO, if they didn't feel their life had to stop for one week each month. I'm not trying to tell anyone what to do; just to be able to give them the benefit of some collective experience.

@hellocatshome some of our members swim competitively on one swim per week. OK, they are never going to be selected for the Olympics, but they enjoy it which is what matters :)

@horseymum thanks for the tip about the modi bodi suit. I agree about trying to keep them interested: I'm keen to reduce the barriers wherever I can.

@RelentlessActivity thats brilliant but very much not the norm. I wish there were more clubs like yours. My sons current squad attendance expectation is 100%!

With her usual knack for timing my daughter started her first period about 3 days before a week long swim camp. After frantic googling I found a few articles suggesting that you don't bleed heavily whilst swimming.

I bought her Teen applicator tampons and (I think they were the Innersy brand) period pants from Amazon that she could wear under a dark legsuit. They weren't padded like the Modibodi ones, they have more of a waterproof inner layer.

Of course she's off swimming today so I can't ask her.

I bought my daughter the modibodi red black period swim pant and she wears them under her regular swimsuit. They do show but she is doing life saving so regularly wears clothes over everything, though when she doesn't, she doesn't care if anyone sees it.

I could never get the hang of tampons when I was young so I hated it when PE teachers rolled their eyes when I got a note from my mum saying I couldn’t swim one week out of five. One awful teacher pulled me to one side and told me off and said I should be using tampons and she seemed to have absolutely no understanding that a) I might find them difficult to use or b) that I had bodily autonomy and it was none of her business. I’m really glad the girls can talk to you OP.

My DD uses modi bod swim short pants and wears them under a leg suit for training and you can’t easily tell. There’s several options out there now she’s also used wuka ones, but preferred Modi ones.

My DD used a tampon on day 1 of her first period as she swims.

The female coaches had given the girls a talk on periods some months prior and she had asked me for some tampons. As she was prepared, she started off as she intended to continue.

@GrannyBloomers

My DD used a tampon on day 1 of her first period as she swims.

The female coaches had given the girls a talk on periods some months prior and she had asked me for some tampons. As she was prepared, she started off as she intended to continue.

That’s great for her but surely you must understand that not everyone finds it easy to do?

@TheBareTree Agreed but she wouldn't have been prepared had the coaches not given the talk, we then discussed it and I bought supplies. I think the same would go for buying a specialist swimsuit.
Some girls though never swim on their periods - I think some its because of anxiety of bleeding but some have seriously heavy periods. My friends daughter was one of these and a regional swimmer at one of the clubs which required maximum attendance. The girl ended up on the pill at 14 running packets into each other so she didn't have a period. I really don't know where to start with that.

Well my 9 yr old is barely getting to grips with her period having started, tampons would be a bit of a stretch.

Dd misses swimming if her period is heavy but we have the modibodi pants too. Dd worries they’re bulky though (she’s quite small and they’re not really designed for the average 9 yr old).