Is it weird to tell my 2 year old DD about periods?

[JetPeanut]

What I really mean, is not that I intend to sit her down and give her a lecture about menstruation/ ovulation etc. BUT when she asked the other week "what is that?" (my mooncup) my instinct was to respond with a pathetic "a special thing for ladies" and then I thought what am I DOING?" In the end I just said "it's mummy's mooncup" - and by the time I'd responded she had lost interest anyway! But it got me thinking.

When I was growing up, it was obligatory to keep children completely in the dark about periods until they were about 10. Then girls got a "special talk" at school, (which boys were excluded from - they weren't let in on the big mysterious secret until a few years later in Biology).

I am thinking of being open about periods from the very beginning - just like poo, wee, and "where do babies come from?" - i.e. answer any mooncup-related questions honestly as they come up.

Is this now the done thing? Or do schools still prefer the "mysterious conspiracy" approach? I don't want to rock the boat by having my DD chatting about tampons and mooncups if this is particularly frowned upon?

Any experiences with this, anyone? Thanks.

dd knows what a tampax is, why i use them and that its for older girls or ladies..thats enough for 4yr i think, ill go more into it when she's a bit older

I think being open is the best way, not in explicit detail, but age appropriate, and gradual, rather than turning it into a big sit down talk at aged 10 or whatever. My DDs are 6 and have a rough idea about periods, due to me being open and answering their little questions honestly. They are completely chilled about it all. I was shocked that a neighbours DD who is 10 doesn't know anything about periods, according to her mother. She was talking about 'having THE CHAT' with her. I just find that astonishing. She must have asked odd questions over the years, unless her mum is very very private and manages a locked bathroom door all the time .

Thanks very much for these replies - very helpful. I agree that it must be very difficult to keep it all completely hidden.. but then again, I'm sure my own mum managed it. I remember "finding out" from an older girl at school when I was about 9, and it was all a bit of a shock. This is what I want to avoid.

My ds (9) is only just asking what tampax are after seeing them lying about all these years! I'm trying to tell him the basic facts without horrifying him - he's very squeamish.

Oh absolutely be honest with her (age-appropriately of course) from the start. My mum always claimed they were 'completely honest' about 'bodies and things' with us - but while yes, they may have been honest about sex, she completely avoided mentioning periods!! 'The Chat' (which came just before my first Guide camp because 'it might happen to you while you're away' [terrified emoticon]) meant that anything to do with periods completely freaked me out for YEARS - probably because it was kept as the 'one last big secret'. Which made it much much worse ... I think things are much much more open now anyway, what with adverts for sanpro on TV and the like.

I agree that being open & honest about stuff is best. There is no need to go into too much detail, unless they press for more. DS (3.5) has been very curious about my mooncup & my periods as he has accompanied me to the toilet since he was a baby. He started asking about it as soon as he could talk & seems happy with the simple explanation that the blood is "mummy's period" and the mooncup is for "catching the blood". The tricky bit has been explaining where it goes ....he crouches down & tries to see exactly what I'm doing & then asks where is has gone ..."inside mummy" seems to be satisfying him atm.

ds1 (4.10) knows what my sanitary towels are for - vaguely. He knows that sometimes mummy's body gets ready to make a baby, but if the baby doesn't come, the special baby bed in mummy's tummy turns runny and comes out because I don't need it.

Same here, Systemaddict - my parents told me about sex, but forgot to mention periods! It was all done with this "special lady's thing" mysterious aura when I was eventually told. Very bizarre, looking back.

Thanks for all these responses, it has given me the confidence to be open about it all. I didn't know if I was being weird, but it seems like it's quite normal to be up front about periods these days. Good!

I have never managed to keep my children out of the bathroom when I am using it, so they know all about periods. My five-year-old knows what they are for and the basic facts of life. However, it can be quite embarrassing when a three-year-old is enquiring loudly in a public toilet 'Mummy, are you doing a wee, a poo or the red stuff?'