How do you talk to your daughters about periods? Share your tips with Lil-Lets for a chance to win a £300 gift voucher NOW CLOSED

[AnnMumsnet]

The team at Lil-Lets would love to hear your tips on talking to your daughter(s) about growing up and preparing for their period. Or, how you faired having the same talk with your own mum.

Lil-Lets say "we are often asked by parents how best to approach that all important discussion with their daughters as they become a teen, grow up and start their periods. We know MN is a massive source of support for parents and different stages of the parenting journey and we'd love to hear your tips and experiences with this topic".

Please share your top tips on how to chat to your daughter(s) about growing up and preparing for their period. Lil-Lets also want to hear your tales of the same talk with your own mum.

Check out their video below:

Please add your comment or tip below and you'll be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £300 gift voucher for the store of their choice (from a list).

Thanks and good luck
MNHQ
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Be open, honest and prepared. I will buy her some books and get her some leaflets and just make sure that she knows she can come and talk to me and ask questions.

i'm starting early so that there is no big 'reveal' moment

I stated when my dd was young and asked questions about sanitary towels or tampons, i just quickly mentioned what they were and what they were used for. As she reached teenage years i had a more in depth conversation with dd about it.

I noticed changes happening with my daughter from the age of 9/10 years old. I decided to buy a little book for girls which gave short descriptions about puberty, periods, hormones, spots etc.
She shrugged I it off to start with but I told her where the book was if she chose to look at it . If the conversation flowed in the right direction then I would talk very briefly about subjects , mainly to stop her being scared when it happened.
When she was 10 she started her period one day. She immediately came and told me very calmly, we dealt with the situation and she had plenty of TLC that day , it quickly dawned on her that this is a regular monthly thing.
Being open when the opportunity arises, being calm and supportive and understanding has worked for us.

i remember my book buying me a book very early on because she started her periods when she was 10 and i was 10 and half so was glad she got me the book. I believe in being honest and open so it will not be so much of a shock at the time

Be open honest and talk often - reduce the need for embarrassment!!

My daughters have always known about it as I have discussed it with them from when they were very young. We had no issues at all when my oldest started her periods.

Thankfully, I've not got to that stage yet. I've still got hormonal teens to look forward to.

Like many others there was never a specific chat, I'd built up her understanding naturally when the situations arose like when she asked what tampons were. Even though she was little, 3/4, I still explained that women have a bit of blood come out every few weeks and we use the tampon to stop it getting on our clothes' or something like that. It's just been a non event.

It's always been a normal part of life. When she was little she saw me going into the loo with tampons, asked about them, and later informed her dad that" Ladies bleed a bit every so often and the use a tadpole to soak it up"

i've not got to this stage with my daughter yet but the best thing is to be open about it. to talk about puberty and the changes a young girls body goes through. I hope to think that if there was anything she didnt understand or had any questions she'd feel comfortable enough to ask me.

I sat her down in a comfortable environment at home and gave her all the information she needed without overloading her- and told her that it is nothing to worry about- its all perfectly natural and she can talk to me about it anytime xx

I gave my dd the basic information and facts they needed to know and just let them know if they had any questions at all at any time tk let me know

My daughter was quite young at 10 years old when she started her periods. As we are a very open family, something I wanted as my family was very closed, we had already had talks re periods and othe bodily activities and functions from an early age as and when it cropped up. I told her at an early age as we have a history of the females in our family starting periods early. I never bought any books I have just always been honest when she has asked me any questions and I found that that has helped. There was no disgust or embarrasment, she just came to me on the day she started her period, told me she thought she had started and asked me to get some pads, which I already had.

Drip-feed info about how bodies change, feelings change, stuff in the shopping trolley etc etc from a very early age, so that it's a normal topic of conversation. Taboo nothing. If you don't want to talk about something then treat the question seriously and explain why not - or promise to discuss it when the time is right, or to find a book for them. Keep that promise. Always be willing to listen, even if you are embarrassed or squeamish. Your personal privacy is to be respected, too. You don't have to discuss your sex-life or let your child watch you changing a tampon. But if you want your child to respect your privacy then you mustalso respect theirs. Knock or announce yourself before entering the bathroom, and accept their refusal if they don't want you in with them. Share their excitement if the puberty-changes delight them, and don't poo-poo or gloss over it if they are not happy about those changes.

I gave my daughter plenty of information and advice, probably as much I could at the time.We talk freely about having periods and I know she is prepare when going to school- spare pads in her bag.

It can be embarrassing for her, but we use humour and have a laugh about it, so it's not too difficult!

i don't remember my um talking to me, she bought me a book when i was 12ish but that was all

I have always been very open about periods and other related topics. However, I did invest in a book called What's Happening To Me, so that my daughter could get answers to the questions that she did not want to ask me. Some children can feel embarrassment about this subject.

I don't think it is as much of an issue as it was when I was younger, there is so much information out there now that kids know all there is to know before the event, in any case I think a casual chat and the promise that I am there for any questions/help needed will be fine.

My daughter is 11 and I've been thinking about this topic for a while. I always answer any questions she has as straightforwardly as I can, and I have bought some products for teens for her to keep and examine in her own time. I'm looking for a booklet to give her so she can read it and absorb the information herself.

When I was a teenager, my mum bought me a book to read about puberty and I found this much less embarrasing than having a frank discussion with her so I think this is the way I will go with my own daughter. I hope she will feel she can ask me any questions she might have.

With two sons I won't have this issue (although there certainly will be some different ones!). But based on my experience with my Mum, I think it is better to drip feed information and weave it into talk over time rather than sitting down to have one big cringey "chat"!! I think if you try and talk more naturally about these things from an early stage then it is easier for kids to ask questions / be curious, and therefore have the information they need to feel comfortable and deal with these changes when they experience them.

I am not quite at that stage yet. However i didn't have a particularly positive experience when I got my first period. I got mine 2 months after my 11th Birthday, my mum hadn't had any kind of conversation with me and I was a very innocent, naive girl. I remember waking up in the morning for school and my bed and pyjamas being stained. I was fairly tramatised, and mostly embarrassed. Now I have my own daughter, I am open and honest, and will carry that out throughout. I will aim to make sure she is mentally prepared, as well as practically prepared too. So if it starts when I'm not around or available she doesn't need to feel flustered or embarrassed.

As a family we are quite open, and so we had discussed it beforehand and of course they had lessons in school, but I think she was pleased to already know what to expect.

Ive bought a few books which explain things in a matter of fact way and I try to play it down saying its waste a ladies body needs to get rid of.