HELP! Tampons for my young daughter??

Hello All,

My daughter started her period in December 2005 at age nine & turned 10 in February 2006. She is not on any type of regular schedule yet, and in fact is only having it for the fourth time right now.

This is the first period where it is 'real'...not to be gross but it is a full fledged stream this time. She is a competitive gymnast....she spends a lot of time at practice & I spend a lot of $$ I let her miss practice this week b/c she had to use the thick pads & she felt uncomfortable going to practice with them. They are only allowed to wear gymnastic shorts over top their leo's for safty reasons & these types of shorts in all honesty do little to hide a pad made for a woman on a little girls body. Missing practice all the time is not going to work, because they are expected to be there & they take it pretty serious.

Well, anyways.....she asked me last night if she could start using tampons. I had bought some of the super small ones last year just in case her cycle came on & she had a gym meet. Thank God, that didn't happen. BUT, what do you ladies think? Is she too young?? Do you think it would be bad for her health??

I didn't start my period until I was almost 17, so I'm unfamiliar with young ones having to deal with this. Any advise would be soooooo greatly appreciated!!

[Necee419]

I think so long as you instruct her carefully on how to use them and get her the lowest level of absorbency, she should be fine. Because of the risks of toxic shock syndrome, it is important that she use the smallest ones and change them frequently. Other than that, I think she will be ok.

[Janet]

I think it would be best to talk with your gyno first before making any decisions at this time. Take your daughter so she will be use to asking and answering these type of questions with her gyno.

[Taurus Babe]

I think it will be fine. Tampax makes "Junior" tampons, so I'm sure there's a reason that they are called juniors. As we know TSS is a risk when wearing tampons, but most cases are from people leaving tampons in for over 8 hours. I say that because when buying your daughter tampons, you don't want to go over board with worrying about TSS and buy her itty bitty ones that may cause a leak which would lead to even more embarrassment. My absolute favorite: Tampax Pearl! Go with the regulars to start with, I really don't think she's too young, or her body is too small for tampons. Good luck with your daughter.

Thanks for the input ladies!

I think my biggest fear is teaching her how to use them, if that is what I decide to do (we've already about made it through this week, so I have time to think about it until next cycle). Like I said, I was older, so I read the directions that came in the box & I was fine. Besides, admittedly, I lost my virginity b4 I started my period so I wasn't worried about inserting a tampon.

But, I don't know if my 10 year old would be able to understand what to do the first time. Have any of you had the luxury of teaching the art of inserting tampons yet? I don't think I could do it for her because I'd be afraid of hurting her. Plus, could you imagine the memory that would stick with you of your mom doing this to you!! How embarrasing this would be by the time you were a teenager!!

Yikes, I swear!!! Have I mentioned that I have not had a period in 4 1/2 years???? Now this!!

[Ponyup]

I'm no help I was nearly 16 when I had mine. The girls on the softball team talked me into using them so there I was at home reading the instructions with my one leg propted up on the tub trying to get it in. It seems like something you would want to do alone. I would explain how to do it to her & give her the directions & see if she would like to try on her own. Tell if she can't get it that it's no big deal it's hard the first couple times it just takes practice. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't of wanted my mom inserting it for me or hovering over me while I tried to do it. Just make sure you are available for questions.

[Taurus Babe]

How about you give the the directions (it has pictures) and tell her you'll wait outside and if she has any questions you'll be right there to help her. Also tell her that it's okay if it takes 10 different tampons until she get is right!

Check this out:

http://www.youngwomenshealth.org/tampon.html

[Necee419]

Well, you can't exactly do it for her. But the box instructions offer a few ways of insertion. Talk to her about it. She can experiment with a few ways until she gets comfortable inserting them. The first time I ever tried tampons, I wasted half the box just trying to figure out how they went in. But through trial and error you find the way that it is most comfortable to you. Plenty of young girls like gymnasts, skaters and swimmers use tampons at a young age, so she should be fine. She is well ahead of the game because she has a mom who is willing to guide her and talk to her about these things. My mom said her mom NEVER even uttered the word period to her and she had to figure things out on her own. I think it is great that you are so open with your daughter. She is very lucky to have such a good mom!!