10 yr old started period today.. questions..

[dol89]

Hi, my daughter turnt 10 literally 6 days ago. She came home from school today and told me she had blood when she wiped.. when we got home I confirmed she started her period.
I am absolutely distraught, she is so little. She's my first and only baby and I've never had to do this before so I have a few questions for parents with children that have recently gone through this.
It's been a long time since I started so I can't remember.

Will this be a proper period?
Will it ease in slowly?
Will she have a period every month now or will it go and come back later on?

Anything else you think would help would be appreciated, I'm so upset 😭

I don’t think DD has ever been asked about them, but she has a little pouch for putting them in which is very discrete.

You’re going to wash the pants anyway so why add to landfill with pads?

Initially dd used them as she was too embarrassed to change a pad at school (rustling), also she found pads leaked (due to not changing) she didn’t change the pants at school. sometimes she would wear two pairs!
Now she is older she wears a pad in the period pant and removes it at lunchtime. Period pants give good coverage in a way pads just don’t.

although now at 15 her periods are so bad and she’s having to go on the pill, we’ve literally tried everything else and she wouldn’t be able to sit an exam on a period day otherwise. She plans to just go on the pill during exam seasons.

With the good quality period pants a pair lasts a whole day, change to a fresh pair bed bed on very heavy days

No additional pad required

So the pants asorb the blood bit like recyclable nappies and then wash ?

Yes.

I was also 10 (+6 months but still in Year 5) and mine were quite regular from the start. I do remember having a few which were a week early or a couple of weeks late, but overall they were quite predictable. They were 'proper' periods but not particularly heavy. I started off using the smallest Bodyform pads without wings and I don't remember them leaking.

I hadn't been prepared for them to start this early so it was a big shock for me when it happened - my mum was surprised too. She got me to do the explaining to my teachers when I first started but it would've been better if she'd phoned the school herself so that I wouldn't have to risk other kids hearing me (not that I should've been ashamed if they did, just to be more discreet!).

It was a difficult time as in addition to the shock of starting early I didn't get much advice from either my parents or the school (we hadn't had sex education). The piece of advice I would've needed most would've been to keep at least one pad in your bag EVERY day of the month, not just when your period is 'due'. Sometimes they arrive earlier in the month than you expect! It wasn't until much later that we were all told at school where their supply of pads was.

DD was 13 when she started hers but the first year was really light and not painful, she’s into her second year now and they’ve become much heavier and she gets cramps now too. She’s on tranexamic acid from the Dr now to help. (Not sure if that’s the correct spelling!) She uses period pants but uses a pad as a back up as well on the heaviest days .

My daughter was 9 and a half when she started. She's now 12. It took a year or so to become regular.

I told my daughter's teacher as they were pretty strict about using the toilet other than at breaks.

I’m so glad my daughter has moved from a school when they were never allowed to use the toilets during lessons and only 2 were unlocked at break and lunch for 600+ kids so most didn’t get near, because in her first week at her new school (we moved her just before the summer), she got her period unexpectedly- they’ve not yet settled into being regular - she felt it start With a sudden flood and was thankfully able to get to a toilet and clean herself up. In her old school, she’d have been in some mess by home time - it doesn’t bear thinking about.

@Heather3308 hi, no she actually hasn't had one since which I'm very happy about! 😊😊

I was 9.

F
I hope you didn't show her you were distraught?! Good grief.

My DD was also 10. We told her "great, your body is doing what it should be doing". We then went to town to buy all sorts of pads and a big cake. She was the youngest in her year so and her friends already had periods and in fact, handing out pads to classmates if they were caught short. Didn't tell teachers, they would most definitely have spare pads when teaching age 10 upwards. My DD and her friends were all keeping each other informed of who had had a period or not.

It's absolutely normal to feel upset - while 10 is in the normal range for starting periods, it still seems so young (I was 12).

Bur please, keep those emotions to yourself so she doesn't pick up on it. Periods can be crap enough as it is, without thay extra pressure of knowing your mum is upset about it.

I would mention it to school, simply so thay they're aware rhat she may need to use the loo more or at short notice, and rhay some days she might feel a bit off.

In terms of regularity, it's completely normal for them to be all over the place for the first few years. I was lucky that mine were pretty regular from the start, but I know friends wirh daughters and my friends had no rhyme nor rhythm to begin with - which feels grossly unfair because they've already got enough to deal with - but it's normal.

Definitely look into period pants. I use a cup now (which I imagine isn't a great option for a young girl, but definitely something to look into when she's older and feels more comfortable), but periods pants are amazing as well. I hated (still hate!) Using pads because I always found them really uncomfortable all and noisy and never felt very fresh - I did think periods pants would feel gross but they are game changing. That's going to be what I will first offer to my daughter when she starts - but of course, sanitary products are a very personal choice and preference and it can be trial and error to find one that suits her.