When Should I Talk to My Child About Periods?
Follow up question: How?
First, some good news:
Having one talk one time is a thing of the past. The reality is that kids learn best when we have lots of smaller conversations over time about how and why bodies develop. So, there’s not so much pressure to build up to one, pass or fail, presumably awkward conversation.
Females can start their periods as young as 8 years old (average is 10–14) and they may experience discharge in their underwear up to a year before their first period. Because of this, it’s helpful to normalize conversations about periods in the years leading up to their first period; according to experts, as young as 4-years old.
In many cases, kids will naturally start to ask questions by age 4 or 5. They might pull a pad out of mom’s purse or see an ad for tampons when watching TV with dad. When your child asks, “what’s that?”, it’s an opportunity to share a bit with them about periods. If they don’t ask, you can use moments like this as a prompt for conversation. For example, when you’re dropping a box of pads in the cart at Walmart, you can check in; “Do you know why I buy these for your mom?”.
If they’re familiar with the term ‘period’ and have heard a thing or two, elaborate on what they already know or correct any…
