What's that string in your bits Mummy?

[Prufrock]

So how do I explain tampons to a 2.8 year old? I have just started my periods again after 17 blissful period free months and it is, as all SAHM's with toddlers will know, impossible to go to the loo on my own. I just told her that it was "a tampon darling", and she walked away syaing "oh, tampong", but I know it's only a matter of time before she asks what it's for. I don't want to go into detail obv, but don't want to tell any lies that might cause problems in the future

If we are doing tampon anecdotes ( and thank God we are, this has been very amusing to read throughout the day) a colleague of mine once told us that his young son came bounding in to him one day before Christmas and said: "I know what I want to give Mummy for Christmas!" When asked what, he produced her box of tampons! Well, I suppose he thought she used them a lot and kept running out... I have received worse things in my time!

DD2 walked in on me wiping myself during a period and screamed that I was bleeding, I said I was fine and she stopped crying. Ds is 7, and just accepts my periods but hasn't asked about it, Though he did asked the other day how long till Misdee's baby comes out, I was waiting for the "How does the baby get out??" but it didn't come. I think thats because he was a C/Section and he knows that he was cut out of me.

should I explain that not every baby is "cut out" of their mummies tummies, or is that asking for trouble

Definitely asking for trouble. If they don't ask, don't volunteer the information. I am not sure what my children know about it although I have told them that having a baby is hard work and I may have mentioned painful. When asked a bit more about it, I think I did liken it to pushing out a big, hard, stuck poo so maybe they do know roughly where the baby comes out. When I was a child I thought babies came out of either the belly button or the breasts (??!!??) so I know I wanted my children to know it came out from between a woman's legs, so they wouldn't be as ignorant as me! But, beyond that, they haven't asked and that suits me fine!

One day my nephew then aged 6 had just finished watching a video with his mummy of a woman giving birth. l arrived and he ran up to me and said in a very concerned voice ' is it true babies come out of your bum?'........... at the time having no child of my own and thinking the video should have cert. 18 replied 'no we buy you from the shops!' He turned to his mummy and said 'see'.

i took the practical route
ds aged 3 whats that
me - a tampon its one of mummys special toilet things.
he never asked anything else until he was 6-7 and was old enough to be explained to a little bit
But also cue mad taxi dash one night bag spilling everywhere, thought I'd grabbed everything when ds (now 4) yelled as loudly as he could MUMMY your TAMPONS
Hmmm v v v v embarrassed, tried to fling him out while maintaining dignity BUT MUMMY they are your special toilet things
not sure how I will deal with dd and her questions when theya rise...

When he was about 2 my ds liked to take sanitary towels from the box and stick them to the shower door in an artistic pattern. I call tampons "mummy's special things" and that satisfies them - for now!. Contraceptive pills are "the pills mummy needs to make her a mummy"!!!(He's very happy wuth that for some reason)