For the ladies... (poss. tmi)

[3isthelimit]

If you use tampons, at what age did you start using them?
I have a 13 y/o who has just started 8th grade. She has asked if she can start using tamons on several occasions. I have instructed her not to use them yet. When she asks why, I am stumped. I end up giving her the old "b/c I said so" schpeel. I know I always HATED pads. Why do I want her to keep using them?
Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[brittone2]

I think if you believe she's reliable enough to be sure to change it often enough to not have to deal with T.S.S. etc. kwim?

My thoughts for this would be the same as something like contact lenses for a child that age...for me, no hard and fast "age" that is appropriate. I'd make my decision based on how responsible, etc. she could be w/ changing it at appropriate intervals, etc.

I think it is reasonable to allow for a 13 year old as long as you think she understands the risks of leaving it in too long.

[Melaine]

I was terrified to use Tampons. I think I finally used my first around age 15?

As a mama, I will never tell my girls that they can't use them however. Personally, AF for me is so heavy that not using them isn't really an option and I was very limited on sports and swimming because of my fear of tampons! I would definitely go over the safety and cleanliness aspects with her, but I wouldn't have a problem with her using them if it were me.

[MommyofAmaya]

Probably at 10 or 11. Summers woud have been unbearable otherwise as we spent ALOT of time at the beach.

ETA: I started at 9 so I was experienced with my cycle by then.

[Meatball Mommie]

I don't have an answer for you, because I really can't think of a reason why she shouldn't try them. I just wanted to say that my mom said the same thing to me when I started having my period at the end of 7th grade. I know I used tampons in high school, so I must have started to in 8th grade sometime. I remember being upset one morning bc. I got my period before school and I begged my mom to let me use a tampon (she gave in and I've never used pads since).

I'd say that she should go ahead and try one of the smaller ones once she's had her period a few cycles.

[Melaine]

A little OT, but I think I may go right to the Diva cup for my daughters. I wish I would've started using it right away rather than dealing with tampons which I really hate.

[3isthelimit]

Thanks ladies!
She has had her cycle close to a year. She is active in sports and swimming, that has been when she asked. I don't know why I haven't let her try them yet. Maybe, just not wanting my little girl to "grow up"???

She is responsible, for the most part...she is 13. She has worn contacts for a few years now with no major problems. So, I feel like if I explain how to use them she would understand.
Do I bring it up, or wait for her to ask again?
Thanks!

[Melaine]

I would just pull her over to the Tampons next time you are at Target. Then pick out some that look like good starter tampons! (please don't do what my mom did and give her a super jumbo non-applicator tampon for her first try).

[brittone2]

Thanks ladies!
She has had her cycle close to a year. She is active in sports and swimming, that has been when she asked. I don't know why I haven't let her try them yet. Maybe, just not wanting my little girl to "grow up"???

She is responsible, for the most part...she is 13. She has worn contacts for a few years now with no major problems. So, I feel like if I explain how to use them she would understand.
Do I bring it up, or wait for her to ask again?
Thanks!

I don't think there's anything wrong with just saying, you know, I've re-evaluated the issue and I think you can handle this just like you handled proper care, etc. of your contact lenses. Should we go to the store and pick some up?

[DietCokeLover]

A little OT, but I think I may go right to the Diva cup for my daughters. I wish I would've started using it right away rather than dealing with tampons which I really hate.

:yeahthat:

[AnnieW625]

I was 16 and my dad went and bought them for me; I think he just bought the same ones my mom used; basic Tampax w/flushable applicators. Prior to that I wasn't comfortable using them and then all of a sudden I was at my grandparents and wanted to go swimming but was on my period.

[KathyN115]

I was about your DD's age. I really wanted to use them, so lied to my mom and told her I had used them at a friends house!! What a relief, I still hate using pads. I would start her with the Slender or Junior ones. IMO contacts are more difficult than tampons!!

And, totally OT, but what is with those Always commercials "Have a Happy Period." What???? Those advertising people should be fired!

[mecawa]

I don't think there's anything wrong with just saying, you know, I've re-evaluated the issue and I think you can handle this just like you handled proper care, etc. of your contact lenses. Should we go to the store and pick some up?

:yeahthat:

[mommylamb]

I started using them a few months after AF came for the first time (I was 13). I tried the first month and it didn't fit comfortably so I didn't try again for a few months.

Now I use a Diva cup and before that a Keeper. I much prefer them to tampons and if I have a daughter someday, I would encourage her to try one of those when she's ready. Pads are gross.

[AngelaS]

I got mine at about age 12 and started using them w/in 6 months. I hated pads. :P

[elephantmeg]

I started using them at 11. Really it was fabulous-I hate pads

[pinkmomagain]

My mom never taught me how to use a tampon. A friend walked me through it when I was probably around 20 yo. I never turned back.

When my daughter got her period 2 years ago (at age 11) I handed her a tampon and explained how to use it. She uses them whenever she has her period (with the exception of overnight). The ped saw no reason not to. He told her that she needed to change her tampon everytime she toileted.

I really don't get the hang up with tampons (other than a safety issue). If the child is responsible enough to change the tampon regularly, I don't see why they shouldn't be able to use it and enjoy a freedom that pads don't provide. (Can you tell if there was a tampon flag I would wave it?)

[MamaMolly]

My sister and I started the same year. She was 13 and I was 11. Our mom told us we could use tampons after we had babies. How's that for a heaping lack of knowledge about basic anatomy??? It kind of messed with my head and I never tried them until I was in high school and started one day and was told to go see the female gym teacher. She asked if I'd ever used a 'plug' and handed it to me. I admit I was terrified but it was easy to figure out.

I use them when I swim, my period is pretty heavy so I'd be changing a lot otherwise.

The way I see it is that if you can't give her a valid reason not to, and she is asking for them, it is time. FWIW I taught a friend in college how to use them by explaining with a tampon and a water bottle. ;)

[katydid1971]

I didn't start using tampons until I was in college. No lie, my mother told me you hsve to wait until you,re married to use tampons. It was a long time until I found out she ment until you lost your virginity, which my mother wanted me to keep until marriage ;) I know now that this isn't to most factual information.:rolleyes: FWIW I HATE tampons, they always pinch me, I stopped using them about 10 years ago. The thin pads are really comfortable. Right now I haven't had a period in 5 years and I don't miss it!!!!

[s7714]

My mom never offered tampons, only pads. I constantly swiped tampons out of her cabinet because I thought I wasn't allowed to use them since she never offered. Eventually I just secretly bought them with my allowance.

I plan to offer tampons and/or a Diva type cup to my DDs after they've shown they're responsible enough to remember to change when needed.

[Moneypenny]

I used tampons from my very first period when I was 13. I tried pads for one day and hated them so much I switched right to tampons.

[elizabethkott]

I think I was about 12 when I started using tampons. I remember stealing them from my mother along with the box insert and following the diagram instructions. I also remember that the first cycle I used tampons was also the first cycle I had cramps with... and I was so afraid that I had TSS because I had read that whole warning section as well in the insert... I broke down and told my mother in tears that I had used her tampons and now I had TSS, but she realized what it was, handed me a couple of Advil and sent me on my way. A box of my own tampons made their way into my bathroom the next day. :)

[wellyes]

I started using tampons in college and I was AMAZED. They're so freakin' awesome compared to pads. Especially pads 15-20 years ago.

Definitely use the slender, so much more comfortable -- she may need to change it more often but maybe that's not a bad thing. Tampons aren't shy about letting you know they need changed and it will get her into good habits early.

[StantonHyde]

The old hang up about tampons was that you would rupture the hymen and thus you wouldn't be a virgin--or it would hurt too much to use them because of the hymen. Well, given that most girls these days stretch them out through activity (I rode horses since I was at least 9--I think I probablyn ever had one :loveeyes:) this really isn't an issue. But it does stick with us..

[MmeSunny]

Your DD is probably in the MINORITY in 8th grade if she's not already using tampons. I'm a middle school teacher. I used to keep a box of pads in case of emergency for girls. After having no less than 6 girls (6-8th grade) squish up their nose and ask, "Um don't you have any tampons????" I realized, these days, most girls don't use pads for very long if at all. Especially the athletes.

Also, tampons are easier to "hide" in your purse/pocket. Pads are more likely to pop out of a pocket/purse and s/o might see them. *OH the HORROR!!!*

[brittone2]

Also, tampons are easier to "hide" in your purse/pocket. Pads are more likely to pop out of a pocket/purse and s/o might see them. *OH the HORROR!!!*

LOL. When I was in middle school the boys would "steal" the girls' purses and look through them...just to horrify/embarrass them if they found a pad or tampon. Horror of horrors ;)

:dizzy:

[Veronica's Mommy]

My mom never really talked to me about that kind of thing. I was curious and finally got the nerve to try out one of my mom's in the 9th grade. (I'd had my period since 6th!)
The next day I realized I didn't have anything on me and asked a friend and she said "I only have the kind where you have to put the applicator together, is that ok?" I said "Oh sure" and figured it out on my own. Thank goodness I had at least tried a regular tampon prior to that, I don't think I could have handled learning both on my own w/o diagrams!
I still went back to pads after that, I really didn't use tampons regularly until I was in my 20's I think, they were always so uncomfortable to me.

Another note- I had read in an issue of Sassy magazine how as a young teen, one of the writers put in a tampon and spent the whole day laying out at the beach. She got TSS and didn't have a period for 10 years after that. I think that freaked me out and that may be one reason I avoided them!

[momof2girls]

Not until my twenties! This is mostly b/c my mother never explained them to me and I thought they were scary. After many years pads just got to be an inconvenience.

[daniele_ut]

I started using them the first summer after I got my period. We spent every summer a beach house we shared with cousins so there was no way I was going to stay home from the beach for several days every month.

[JElaineB]

I don't have a daughter but I so wish I had found out about menstrual cups years ago (I use the Diva cup now). No risk of toxic shock syndrome, you can leave them in up to 12 hours (so no changing during the day unless the flow is really heavy) and they are great for swimming as they don't get saturated with water like tampons can. Also they are environmentally friendly. There are some good websites out there with info on various menstrual cups, some might be better for young girls than others.