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Why Periods Happen
5 Helpful Tips for Explaining The Female Menstrual Cycle to A Teenager
At some point, you’re going to have to talk to your child about why periods happen and all about the female menstrual cycle and sexual health. It’s a very important conversation to have but it can be difficult, as not everyone feels confident enough to do it.
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You can’t always rely on schools to do this for you and explain why periods happen. This still seems to be a bashful and taboo area. You really want to build a trusting relationship where your teenagers can come to you with questions.
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Below are 5 tips to make the process of explaining Why Periods Happen a lot easier:
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Explaining Why Periods Happen
Tip #1: Encourage Regular Discussions
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It’s unlikely you’ll have just a one-off conversation. It can be overwhelming and doesn’t let your child feel as if they can ask questions at other times.
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Instead, you can tackle it early and in stages. For example, you can ask them if they know what puberty is and if they’re being taught it at school or hearing it from their friends.
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Another time you can talk about other changes, specifically periods, what they are, and what sanitary protection is available such as cotton pad products, tampons, or cups.
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Once they are more comfortable with this, you can later start to talk about other areas such as relationships and sex.
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The key is not to overwhelm them (or you).
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Explaining Why Periods Happen
Tip #2. Get your facts right
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First off, ask yourself if you know the ins and outs of menstruation. Can you describe the organs involved, the cycle, and other aspects? If not, you want to get up to speed before your start imparting advice.
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As well as knowing what’s normal, you should also know what isn’t normal, so that if there’s a problem then you can visit a doctor to see if there are any underlying issues.
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Explaining Why Periods Happen
Tip #3. Don’t dismiss any questions
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There are a lot of old wives’ tales and misconceptions around periods out there. Your child may have questions that seem outrageous or hilarious to you. But they don’t know any better.
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Dismissing or laughing at their questions can make them feel self-conscious and unable to turn to you for advice.
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Explaining Why Periods Happen
Tip #4. Let them know that everyone is different
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There’s no one way to experience periods. They can start as early as eight years of age and as late as fifteen and can still be considered normal. However, the average age is 12. Cycles may not settle into a regular, predictable pattern for up to five years. Cycles can vary hugely in length.
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Explaining Why Periods Happen
Tip #5. Keep a positive approach
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Even if the thought of having these conversations fills you with embarrassment, it’s important you remain positive throughout the experience.
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Children will be able to pick up on your apprehension and this may make them feel self-conscious or embarrassed. You want them to be able to talk to you.
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Takeaways
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Giving your kids the information they need about periods can make a huge difference in how they cope with them in the future.
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Everyone deals with it in their own way. Some people have no issues talking about periods as part of everyday conversation whereas others will feel a little more self-conscious about it.
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Knowing the facts, having the conversations early, and keeping the tone positive will help keep you on the right track.
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