Is your daughter period prepared?

Nice ways to prepare your daughter for her First ever

Introducing period, it is a difficult topic….Period

First period experience is special and the one a girl would probably carry for next 40 years. Every mother plans for this seemingly daunting task, but it doesn't have to be daunting. With changing worlds and changing parenting styles, most of the mothers find ways to introduce periods to our daughters with ease and comfort without making it look like a big issue of life. However, with the work schedules that women have adopted for present times, we hear about many heartwarming stories from our fans about how a mother was at work when her daughter started her journey of womanhood somewhere in school or at playground or even at home.

What helped and went well with those mothers who shared their experience is what we are sharing here. To start with, be open, honest, and positive to make this new puberty body change as easy as possible for girls.

1. Your own opinion about periods will always reflect in your conversation so that is where you start from. While talking about periods there are all sorts of words like 'curse' and 'suck’.  According to Julie Metzger, R.N., M.N., co-founder of “Great Conversations” an organization based in the Pacific Northwest that offers classes for parents and pre-teens about puberty, sexual reproduction, before discussing the details with your girl, check on your own story telling because there's a lot about periods that have to do with really amazing and wonderful things like fertility and the opportunity to have a baby rather than being messy or painful.

Communicate a different kind of story to your daughter about what it means to grow up, what it means to be a woman, what it means when our body changes, what it means to have a normal healthy body that's working well. If your experiences with periods have been sucky, it doesn't mean your daughter's will be. So, share those stories and facts that she will cherish.

2. Myths around the details - There's this real perception that life is limited by having a period. Once engraved at the inception, this myth can go long in your daughter’s life. Emphasis should be on the fact that this is not a disease. This is not that time when you are going to be sick. The biggest message about having your period is you can do almost everything you can do on a day you don't have your period. To empower girls in that way is really important.

Reduce the fear of blood. May girls imagine that there is free-flowing blood gushing out of their bodies. De Natterson suggests, explain that your uterus is about the size of your closed fist it's only about three tablespoons of total blood. It will be a good idea to show them what three tablespoons is, they realize it's not a lot. "Also, explain that it's really hard to ignore the physical sensations of moisture that go along with having a period for long enough that you're going to be sitting in a puddle of blood on a chair," Dr. Natterson says. "When we're talking about leaking, we're talking about a small amount. That's a big relief to girls, because they imagine it very differently than what we mean."

3. Shopping is big therapy - From pads and tampons to period pantiesto online platforms like LiZZOM.com. Take your daughter along with you. Metzger says. "Explain how there are several options for protecting her clothes when she gets her period—even some you haven't tried yourself—and ask if she wants to go look at some together.

For girls who resist to talk about these, online platforms are a big relief. Just with the click of button in her privacy, any girl can search and shop through to know what products are available and how to manage them.

4. Explaining to use period supplies is more relevant - "Girls are often afraid of the materials they use to deal with the period," Dr. Natterson says. "Pads may fail you, 'Is it gross? Tampons are inserted inside the body. Is it safe?” There will always be many questions in her mind. First step is teaching your girl how to use a pad, when to change it, and basic hygiene. What you may want to decide is whether you want to be on this side (inside washroom) of the door or the other side (outside the washroom).

5. Empower her to read and find her own choice - There are several books and online reads available that can answer her questions. Hand pick the ones that has questions that you think you cannot be there in person to handle. What to do if you start in school? What to do if you're a swimmer? How to build a pad out of toilet paper when you don't have any supplies. “It is simple but requires empathy and courage to discuss it rightly with your daughter" Metzger says.

"The biggest lesson that is shared is - be prepared for the mishaps. When you're younger, periods take you by surprise” Along with this education comes the education about making right choices when it comes to periods.

6. Choosing the right combination - Along with choosing size, what your daughter must know how to choose is the right product for herself. Pads that are chemical free, pads that do not harm you or environment. Conscious mindful decision will help her lead a natural organic period life. Read more about what goes inside pads here.

A girl can have a little pouch in her backpack with a clean pair of underwear and a couple extra pads and even a pair of shorts or leggings as an emergency kit. Girls should be given permission to never have to worry about how they're going to manage their periods."

7. Avoid focusing on any negative symptoms she may not even have. Share what is important. Cramps, bloating, breast tenderness, and mood swings are real. Your best bet is to just address these issues as they come up. "If your daughter has just got her period and she have her hands on her belly and is not that hungry, you can ask, 'Are you feeling queasy?' You might be having cramps. Is this how it feels?'" Address the tissue but do not overate it.

8. Get the men in your life involved in the conversation. Fathers play the most important role in daughter’s periods. It is extremely likely that periods may start in presence of father. There are so many ways dads can participate. We want our daughters to be able to tell Dad she needs to run back inside the washroom because she forgot her pads without feeling embarrassed or that she needs to be secretive about it."

And don't forget to talk about periods with sons, too. To change the narrative around periods it is vital to talk to our sons about periods in a way that normalizes this subject.

9. Teach girls to have each other's backs. We are in this together. Mishap can happen with anyone experiencing periods and they're going to have mishaps and leakage. Even if we do not teach this to girls, most of us already have it in us. Comradeship is at its best during periods.  'Hey, follow me to the bathroom’ or handing your sweatshirt and telling your friend to tie it around their waist are common gestures. You just have to mention it to your daughter that this is her best option in case.

10. Remind her that other women have periods, too. Mother Teressa, Rihana, Beyonce, Women in a jungle, Women doing science experiments, Women writing prize-winning literature, Your teacher, Your parent, all have periods. Being a part of that story makes you a female human being—and that's cool.