Starting off with a mooncup?

[smilehomebirth]

I've at least 5 years to go yet before dd1 starts periods, but have started wondering whether I can persuade her to use a mooncup straight off. She's seen me take mine in and out a few times (great one for starting off one of those conversations!).

So I wondered if anyone else out there has been successful with introducing their girl to one? Any tips?! Thanks!

I'd have thought they'd be a bit big for a 12 year old, and impossible to use if her hymen is still intact.

I actually wondered about this too - although I don't use one (Mirena so no need ). What do people buy for their DDs when they first start? I'll need to stock up in the next year or so for DD

I looooove my mooncup but wouldn't expect it to be appropriate for a young girl just starting her periods.
I'd imagine that physically they'd be a bit much for many girls (I couldn't use tampons until I lost my virginity) and they are fiddly to get used to - my first month with mine was awful, leaks, bruising, frustration!
Get her some slim towels (Always are good) to start with and by all means buy her a mooncup if she's keen to try, but I'd let her know that it might not work for her til she's older and not to worry if it doesn't. It would be great if she could use one from early on, much less restricted by her periods never mind the money saving, but I know there's no way I could have used one until I was quite physically mature as it were.

I'm not keen on tampons myself but found non-applicator ones or the tampax compact ones with the clear plastic applicator the easiest to use - maybe keep a box of mini tampons and a couple of packs of slim towels somewhere your daughter can easily access. It might also be worth letting her have a try of the towels to see how they feel, I remember the ones my mum had bought were so stiff I walked like John Wayne and she had to do a mercy dash to the corner shop!

With children being more keen to look after the planet, she might be interested in washable pads.

I'd start her off on pads personally. I remember trying to use tampons and it being a shit experience which put me right off. It was only once i was sick and tired of pads i turned to moon cups, but hey if she's enthusiastic about it then no reason why not.

I also had a bad expoerience when I first tried tampons - probably becasue I was experimenting with my mum's super plus tampax when I was a young teenager - put me off for years!

My mum got me pads called minis at first - I think they were actually panty liners - I leaked everywhere. The next month she went to the opposite extreme and got me the inaptly named Sylphs which were like paperback books. I was too embarrassed to discuss anything like that so stuck with them till I left for university.

Hoping I can do better for DD when the time comes and that we can actually discuss things like that!

Thanks guys. I've had a google, looks like it might be possible, I guess it depends how comfortable she feels about trying it out. I managed with tampons from my first or second time, but cups are indeed a little more involved to get in and out. Hymens will certainly get torn, but who cares about that?!

I can imagine horror scenarios where she gets completely put of the whole idea... There might be other types of cups that are more suitable, softer plastic or something.

I hope too to discuss things with her a little more than my mum did with me. I was making do with towels and mini and regular tampons all the way till I left home (had to learn to get up in the middle of the night to change, as I really needed super-plus). Some of the towels she bought left a little to be desired also. Thank god for wings! (More like thank god for mooncup and mirena these days though).

smilehomebirth- "but who cares about hymens!? "

shouldn't that be HER choice when and how to have her hymens torn? and maybe she DOES care about her hymens even though you don't??

my dd is def not interested in using mooncup
she's 18 now and still prefers pads

bit awkward changing in school loos I think

SHIS, why should she care about a hymen?! Its a bloody piece of skin (Tissue whatever..), that can be torn through anything, like horseriding fgs, it has nowt to do with how womanly you are!!

I think she'd be better off starting with towels. That way she can get used to her own flow, and they are the easiest thing to use. Then work up to tampons and mooncup later if she feels comfortable. Most of her friends will probably not use mooncups and may think it's gross - lots of grown women certainly seem to think so. It would be bad if she got an issue about periods etc. because she was using a mooncup maybe at too young an age. When your dd is a few years older she can make her own decision about mooncups.

I will always be grateful to my mum for encouraging me to try non applicator tampons (lilets) very early on (think it was second or third period). I was getting in a right faff with tampax and hated using towels as I was a very active teen. I was getting a bit freaked out about putting them in and she just said 'why is it any different to sticking your finger up your nose?! and that was that

I would also tell her to start with towels. I hated them a lot and tried tampons pretty fast but that was me. And it was not the greatest experience. I still cringe when remembering how it got stuck and my mum had to pull it out for me as I couldn't, hurt like hell and I was super embarrassing for mini me.
I found it easier to use them when licking them first or when putting a bit of lube in them, my mums friend told me to do so as I was so upset. Was an active girl as well. You think that could help using a mooncup? I have never had one but it might?

I used tampons from the very first period.

I was in ballet and no way was going to use those disgusting towels (which are also beyond bad for the environment).

Just used the tiny ones.

I probably didn't have a hymen because by then I was already doing stretches with one of my feet right by my head.

But to me, towels seemed even more disgusting than tampons.

It's very easy to have some towels tucked away at the bottom of a drawer to cope with the sudden arrival of your first period with minimal fuss.
As a mother all you can do is explain the different options, be prepared to actually do the purchasing and be happy to go along with your DDs decision - even if it's just copying what her friends at school are doing.
Nothing is set in stone, she can choose to swap to a mooncup or tampon whenever it feels right for her.

I would just make sure she is aware of all the options and let her know you are willing to help her with any she wants to try.

I think it is unlikely she will want to use anything reusable at the moment while she is at school, I remember being very self conscious about my period even though all my friends had had theirs for ages and weren't embarrassed about discussing it with me.

"Cottons" are a good compromise BTW between normal pads and washable ones - they are eco ones (like eco disposable nappies) and have much less chemical crap in. I find them a lot more comfortable than Always etc, and you can buy them in Boots and Tescos.

My hymen went ages before I lost my virginity - bike riding, horse riding. But I still found tampons no good 'til afterwards, and that was with plenty of ballet!

It's a lot easier to carry a slim towel or a tampon around just in case, than a mooncup. My mum always made sure I had something with me for about two years before! And then my first period started in a canoe, in the middle of an estuary, on a school trip! Not a great experience (but at least, thanks to mum I had some towels tucked in my suitcase when got back to base).

dd asked for a mooncup having read some threads on here about them. I was sceptical, explained it might be tricky to use. She wanted it anyway, so I bought her one. I doubt she will use it straight off though (periods not started yet).