Will you be more ready than that when it’s time to talk to your daughter about her first period? That time may come sooner than you think. A girl’s first period should actually be a milestone in a series of talks over many years about normal development, physical changes, and psychological changes.
The average age for a girl to get her first period is12. This does not mean that all girls start at the same age. A girl can start her period anytime between the ages of 8 and 15. Most of the time, the first period starts about2 yearsafter breasts first start to develop.
See your doctor about your period if:
-You have not started menstruating by theage of 15.
-You have not started menstruating within3 yearsafter breast growth began, or if breasts haven't started to grow by b
-Your period suddenly stops for more than 90 days.
-Your periods become very irregular after having had regular, monthly cycles.
-Your period occurs more often than every 21 days or less often than every 35 days.
-You are bleeding for more than 7 days.
-You are bleeding more heavily than usual or using more than 1 pad or tampon every 1 to 2 hours.
-You bleed between periods.
Seven Tips for Talking to a Girl About Her First Period:
1. Start talking about periods in general terms from an early age.
2. As your daughter gets older, get into specifics.
3. Answer questions with simple, factual information that is age appropriate.
4. Take time to understand what your daughter is really asking.
5. Use your own experience to spark discussion about hers.
6. Know that “I don’t know,” is a perfectly acceptable answer.
7. Don’t just hand your daughter a book or video.
As puberty draws near, a girl is likely to be excited at the prospect of leaving childhood behind and “becoming a woman,” but she’ll probably also have more specific thoughts, worries, and fears about menstruation and the way her body is beginning to change.
Here are some of the types of questions may she be asking herself:
-Will I get my first period at school?
-Am I normal?
That fear that “I’m not normal!” can also make the usual fluctuations of early menstruation seem like dire events. Be sure to let your daughter know that she might not get her period every month right away. Irregular periods are common during the first year or so. Talk about the symptoms that may go along with her period, such as cramps, retaining water and weight fluctuation, mood swings, and headaches. young girls, when they first begin to menstruate, are usually anxious, so helping them be prepared makes these things easier to cope with. So, don't hesitate and provide your daughter with every necessary information she should know of on her first period.
Syeda Raiha Bukhari
Author