What is the right age to talk to your daughter about menstruation?

When girl children approach puberty, they go through changes and start growing breasts, their hip area starts widening and sooner or later they get their first period. It is important that as a parent you prepare your daughter for this transition. With lifestyle changes and the food we consume nowadays, girls start menstruating earlier than back in the day- sometimes before they become teens. You don’t want to see your child coming back home from school, all stained with blood and crying about the embarrassment caused at school. You need to arm them with the right information and at the right time, so that when the time comes, they are ready to deal and cope with the changes.

Timing is everything

Here are three signs that it’s time to have the menstruation talk with your daughter:

She is around 10 to 15 years old

According to the Kids Health Organisation, “most girls get their first period when they are around 12”.  Your child may start their period earlier than this, it is different for every child. As soon your child turns 10, you may start explaining to them what happens when a woman starts menstruating.  Make your daughter feel comfortable tackling this issue so that when they start their period, they don’t think they have done something wrong but instead come to you to share the news. Go with your child when you shop for your own tampons or sanitary towels to show them that there is nothing to embarrassed about or to hide when buying these.

She is asking a lot about how her body works

Your daughter’s curiosity about their body heightens as their body changes. They may confide in friends about the changes they are noticing. You need to create a relationship and environment where your child knows you are their first point of contact whenever they are confronting anything in life. When your daughter starts asking questions with regards to her body, listen and encourage them so that you get the opportunity to clear up any misconceptions they may have. Be as open as possible and if you have any reading material, share it with her. Do not make her feel embarrassed about the changes. Share how you went through the same changes when you were a girl and how you coped with them.

Her breasts have started to develop

Before she gets her actual menstruation, your child may have already started to develop breasts. “Most of the time, a girl gets her period about two years after her breasts start to develop,” says Kids Health Organisation. These are all natural changes that you or your daughter don’t have control over. The best you can do is be supportive and be a reliable source of information.

When they start their period

When your preteen or teenage daughter starts their period, they will be ready because you have empowered them with information. Give her sanitary towels or tampons and encourage your daughter to change as often as possible. If they are in pain, give them age-suitable painkillers. Keep on checking on your child to find out how she is coping. The first time might be uncomfortable but as time goes, they will know what to expect and deal with this rite of passage .