Oh I never liked them either. My uterus was tipped back a little bit and everytime I would sit it would hurt. I was stuck with those awful pads!!!

I started my period at 14 and my Mother gave me a box of pads. I had extremely heavy periods and they just did not work for me. I had to teach myself how to use them because my mom didn't know how. The first couple of times you hurt yourself, but then you get the hang of it. I don't think being a virgin is even an issue. If her flow is heavy, she may need to use a bigger tampon. It never bothered me. Oh by the way, I admire you for having such an open relationship about such things. My period apparently didn't even warrant a discussion. I am glad that Mothers are capable of sharing in these rites of passage.

I ask our pediatrician soon after my daughters started their periods, and he said there is no minimum age, it's all a matter of preferrence.

My daughters are totally different, one uses tampons, one uses pads. When they were young, the tampon companies would send you a starter kit for young girls with a little book showing how to use them from a young girl's perspective. My daughter who uses tampons says the Tampax Pearl have the easiest to insert applicator and they have wings so they absorb better.

I had a hysterectomy 12 years ago, so I'm not personally up to date.

Wishing you and your daughter the best with this and her gymnastics!!

Are there olympic rings in the future????

I hear you.....I had a hysterectomy about 4 1/2 years ago & I definately don't miss it! I will admitt, every once in a while I will look at a friends baby & feel a little sad, but I wanted to finish having kids by the time I was 30 (just a personal preference) & so the surgery just insured that:)

No, I don't think we'll have olympic rings in the future. She didn't start until she was 8, so she's at a fairly low level for her age. BUT, she's pretty darn good & most importantly, she LOVES it!!

Ten is kinda of young. Yikes! Then again, I was 11 when I got mine, but I didn't start using them until I was in HS (about 14). Just tell her to be EXTRA careful!! My mom left a tampon inside her for about a week. She went to the DRs b/c she was having stomach pains and he pulled it out. :eek: Thank God she didn't get TSS. She didn't use one after that, and she didn't want me to either. But, I did anyway.

Oh yeah, what if the string gets "lost" and she can't find it? Will she be okay at 10 with "searching" for it?

I've actually been using Playtex Regular plastic applicators all my life. They slide in a lot easier than cardboard. I do not like Tampax, they don't slide out as easily and are not as comfortable inside for me. :o

How is your daughter doing??? Has she had a chance to try them yet? Tell us what she thought of them.

These little girls are growing up so fast....:)

Well this conversation was started a little while ago so this info may be too late to help but I'll share anyway. When I first started my period I wasn't able to get the hang of the whole applicator thing. I did however want to use tampons rather than pads so my mom got me the O.B.'s without the applicator. You have to use your finger which was kinda gross but I was able to insert them without a problem. Plus they are pretty tiny and fit in your pocket without a problem so no one knew I was taking one to the bathroom. My sister had a cousin who was the same as me and she told her about the O.B.'s so she started using them too. After a while I was able to switch over to an applicator but in the beginning the no applicator was a life saver for me. Anyway just thought I'd share. Hopefully everything is going ok.....