Periods - DD, nearly 12, devastated at having started!

[MEMsmum]

DD will be 12 in January and came in last night just before bed saying she thinks she's started her periods. Checked her pants and yep, she has. She's so upset - lots of tears about not wanting to grow up and she's not ready to turn into a woman. Tried to explain that it's just the beginning and doesn't mean she's not a child any longer. She didn't like the idea of having to wear a towel at night (refrained from telling her that she was lucky she didn't have the huge thick looped ones with the attractive belt, but didn't think it was the time for levity!) and her follow up comment after covering the basics was "is that it then?" made me wonder how much she actually understands about periods. She's always been big (over 99th percentile, is wearing 15-16 year old clothes in kids shops, and a size 12 in the shops she prefers)and now in retrospect I know I started preparing her far too early - she seems to have forgotten it all!!

Any advice?

My mother was 10 in 1939 when she started. My daughters were 13 and 14. I was 13. My father's a doctor so there was alwaysa log of talk about menstruation at home and a psychiatrist so even talk about the psychological issues, women all starting at the same time in convents etc was common so I suppose we all at home found it easier to accept. When we were about 10 my mother explained it to my sister and I so we rushed off to tell our little brother with great delight.

As my daughters were 13 and 14 they were both relieved I think to have started. Much easier than at 11 I expect. Then the issue of tampax too....after a bit - they both were glad to use tampax. Can't remember the age. Made a massive difference to their confidence on the sports field when they moved to tampax.