How prepared are you to talk to your daughter about their period? For me, I am not but I KNOW that I need to do it soon because she is now nine years old. It is a known fact that girls are having their periods earlier. I mean I had my first period when I was thirteen which back in the day was the norm, now girls are having their period as young as eight years old. Yikes! So there is a possibility that my daughter could get her period in the next year and I really do not want to her have the same experience that I did which was being alone at school without knowing what was happening.
Seriously, my Japanese mother NEVER had The Talk with my sister or me. In fact, I pretty much know everything about the female form and puberty from the book “Our Bodies Ourselves.” And I only even knew about that book because I found it on the bookshelf while I was babysitting. Let me say, I was shocked at what I read but even more scary is that I had questions but had no one to ask.
So given my upbringing, you can imagine my own awkwardness on broaching the topic, let alone discussing it with my daughter. That said, I want her to feel comfortable asking me questions and I don’t want her to be scared when it finally happens. I want her to know what to do and that is natural and part of becoming a woman.
My daughter and I have a wonderful relationship but as she gets older, as is the norm with most tweens/teenagers, they become more closed off and secretive.
When I was chosen as a U by Kotex Mom Ambassador, I was thrilled, not only because it provides me a forum to discuss the topic and the impact on my relationship with my daughter but more importantly Kotex was my brand of choice as a teenager and throughout my adult life so certainly I feel great about her using their products when the time arises.
Obviously what has changed since I was teenager is the internet. Now both of us have an amazing resource in ubykotex.com/helloperiod , if there are questions I can’t answer during or after our talk. And I am pretty sure my daughter is going to ask questions I can’t answer.
One of my favorite helpful videos showcases Aimee Teegarden (Friday Night Lights) talking about her First Period experience and her relationship with her mom. I think it is so important yes, that I talk to my daughter about getting her first period but let’s be honest, someone close to her age is going to be able to reinforce everything I say and make it real.
As a U by Kotex Mom Ambassador, I will be talking about beginning the period discussions and those talkable moments that hopefully will make it more comfortable to have The Talk with your daughter.
Disclosure: I wrote this review while participating in a Brand Ambassador Campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of U by Kotex Tween and received products to facilitate my post and a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate.”
Congrats. I’m sorta sad I wont be having this kind of conversation with a “daughter” It’s a real important moment.
Okay you can have this conversation with my daughter, I am really am not looking forward to it.
Oy Veh!
is that all you have to say!!
I was lucky enough that my mom learned from her mother’s mistake to not talk to her about what was going on with her body. My mother is 36 years older than I and was born in 1947, but her bravery to talk to me opened the door to make it super easy to talk to my daughter when she’s old enough.
Love your blog!