With Eowyn, the youngest daughter about to start year 5 at school, it will be another letter home informing parents that the school nurse will be coming into school to discuss puberty and periods, oh joy!
I remember my own puberty talks, although they didn’t happen until our first year of high school, (I guess they worked out that age 11 was a bit too late for some!) Every girl in year 7 was ushered into a lecture theatre, about 120 of us and we were all handed a little bag of bits, which was highly embarrassing as all the boys knew exactly what we had!
So its nice to see that the modern way is to educate all of the children regardless of sex together, and to explain to them all what is happening with their bodies, we have a pretty relaxed attitude in our family and I like to think that any of the children can discuss any kind of personal issue, and i’d much rather they came to me instead of hearing horror stories from their peers who may have been ill informed!
My actual experience of starting my period was up there with bad starts, firstly I was having a weeks sleep over at my friends house during the school holidays, secondly we were swimming at the local pool and I started with a stomach ache!!
Luckily for me, her mum was pretty easy to talk to and she handed me a pad from the drawer and told me where I could find them for the next few days when I needed them!
So, from a mum of seven, here are my top tips for all those parents whose children are about to begin the puberty lessons at school
- Make sure you discuss puberty and the changing body, including periods for girls, you would be amazed at some of the horror stories they hear from their buddies
- For the girls invest in a few pairs of Period Pants one of the main concerns my girls have shared is that they don’t like the thought of leaking whilst at school, especially during PE lessons, these will definitely solve the problem, and even Eowyn has requested them instead of using pads. Check out this review of Wuka Period Pants
- Try not to smirk when your teenage son suddenly becomes interested in learning how to do the laundry!
- Always be open and honest with your children, if they feel like they can really talk to you, then they won’t get as nervous or embarrassed about things
- Stock up on toilet rolls and if you see special offers for Sanitary products, grab them, it’s not a cheap part of growing up, with three females already requiring them, its an expensive business.
- Grab the Book Helping Your Kids With Growing Up
Good luck with this new chapter of your lives, its not an easy journey and be prepared for the most impressive mood swings, but above all, remember they are still your little bundle of joy deep down x
