What Did You Do When Your Daughter Got Her First Period?

I am so glad you did this with your daughter. When I got my periods at 9, my Mom was like OMG and the way I was treated during those days every month has left an indelible impression on my mind and none of that is encouraging for a woman. I dislike myself being a woman and one of the reasons for that maybe is that sound of exclamation that OMG of my mom etched deep in my psyche. It was as if suddenly I had become impure, I had restrictions, I had become adult, I had done something wrong surreptitiously, I had lost my innocence. I was too young to understand and on top of that were the discomfort, the napkins and her unwillingness to talk on such things. Such things just happened to women (as if it’s a curse on us) and talking on it was taboo. It was of course some years later that I learned about menstruation, adolescence, sexuality and pregnancy. But now I understand that the moment I got my periods, she started thinking on those lines and was scared maybe for my safety or the fact that I was ‘growing up’ too fast for her comfort. Anyways, I disliked myself (still do…the woman part I mean) and always hoped and prayed that I would never have a daughter. I would not have been able to handle her the proper way and would have scarred her tender mind, too. I now hear of so many mothers treating their daughter so special during those days, talking to them about their own experiences and generally trying to smoothen out their anxieties. Just wish it was that way for me.

I laughed when she got her first period. Not because it was all that funny but because she spent so much energy trying to hide what was going on because she thought that as a man I wouldn't understand these things. My wife and I talked to her about it and made sure she was aware that this was not anything that terrible, what the symptoms of it would be, things like that. Then she and Mom went off to the store to get what she needed with a stop at Starbucks for some treats and more talk. Good for you taking her out for some chatting :)

yup eh? ah the joys of being a woman! too bad the period thing cant wait til they are like 16 lol. my oldest daughter was 12 and my younger daughter who is 11 is still waiting for hers. but i really like your idea though!

Had to borrow some stuff! lol It's a softball players jinx. They ALWAYS get it when they are wearing their WHITE uniforms! I wasn't expecting it. Had to wash out her shorts, borrow a pad and someone lent us some sliders for her to help feel better about things. Funny think is, my daughter was not bothered by it at all. She took it very non-chalant. I know when I first got mine, I was jumpy as heck. She completely took it in stride. We didn't celebrate. It was just another milestone in life.

I remember those days, I have one girl that is 21 now. We didnt have any traditions in our family as a right of passage, but I like yours. I probably would have done that if I had thougth of it, we did have a long talk and I fixed her favorite meal for dinner since she was now a woman, and she didnt feel real good :)If I remember right her brothers picked her flowers to let her know they cared and would not get in her way that week. lol

i am the daughter.. i would like to share what mom did .. my brother discovered it first.Then he broadcast it in the whole house so I cried. Mom heated up water so I can have a warm bath, she prepared my towels, told my BROTHER to go to the nearest store to buy me sanitary pads (LOL, he was very embarrassed) then she told me to act lady-like now that I am no longer a kid.. then I cried more.

well, i don't have a child yet... so i don't know what i will do... but i know that my parents didn't do anything when i first have my period... my mum just teach me how to use the liners properly... that's it... i remember that i was really scared when i see so much blood for the first time in my underwear... i shout for my mum and asked her what happened to me... and she just laughed and explained to me that i am a big girl already... that's all... congratulations for your daughter... she is not a girl anymore but a woman now... enjoy sharing time with her... take care and have a nice day...

LOL when my daughter started last yr I freaked out..in a good way..I was so excited, but then I got sad becuase it offically meant that my babygirl isnt my babygirl anymore ya knwo..then I was happy again LOL...same with when we went bra shopping for the first time a couple months ago LOL

No rights of passage here but I think your plans are great as long as your daughter feels up to it! Have fun!

It's odd to hear that someone actually celebrates a period - i hated having them, when i got my first one i didn't want to go anywhere & was a little self conscious that other people knew. I think hitting puberty is more of a personal thing & for each person it differs as to how you treat the situation. My daughter is only 2 so i have a while to go yet but i don't think we'll make a big deal out of it, it's not like an A on a test or anything, just another step in her growing up, i also have no intention of making it a big deal - many girls are actually a little embarrassed by it so i wouldn't want to make her feel more embarrassed by dragging her all over the place! Maybe a nice home cooked meal - her favourite dish - would be the way to go for me, simple & not singling her out to make her feel embarrassed.

I wish I had thought of something like that when my daughter had her period for the first time but she was so upset I spent most of the time trying to calm her down. I had talked to her about it before she started, of course, but it still scared her terribly. She honestly thought she was dying!! I tried to tell her "Hon I have been going through this for several years now, I'm still here!!" She finally calmed down but I was kind of worried there for a while. Thankfully she is 21 now and stopped reacting that way after the first time. :)

My daughter has also had her first menstrual this year. And yes I also feel old and VERY sorry for her. We are a family of very rough menstruals and she has gotten them as well. :( We never did anything for it in my family as I would have felt weird as a child if my mom did. My daughter and I are close so we had a mom daughter day of facials, manicures and pedicures. We are the only girls here too so it was nice to have a girly day.

we don't have such tradition in our family. the mother usually give all the advices to her daughter who got her first monthly period. telling her the sort o changes that will take place in her body, and what to do about them.

It's a natural human thing that all of us girls get lucky us. I think it's good that you take your daughter out to celebrate her becomeing a woman and let her know their is nothing to be afraid of. Most girls these days start their friend at the age of 12 I was that age when I got mine. My adopted mother never made a big deal out of it and her and I went to buy the pads and she said that I was a woman now and that was it. I hope your daughter dosn't get the really bad pain like some of us get. I don't have a daughter I just have a son so I can only tell of me.

Here in this part of England the rite of passage comes much earlier, it is the custom here for mothers to leave their new born one night in the woods. If it survives all well and good but it it should not they think it was not meant to be, rather than raise a weakling. all the best urban

I remember getting mine. I was such a tomboy and I was really excited. I finished in the bathroom and burst into the lounge room loudly proclaiming I got it! My Mum, Dad and younger brother were watching telly. I was 11. My Mum got up quickly and we went to my undies draw where the surfboard like pads and belt were stored waiting. She told me I had to put them on and that was it. She's prevously given me books top read about the birds and bees but it hadn't really meant anythig because I was still not ready to learn that stuff. I didn't do anything with my girls for reasons I won't go into here. My eldest daughter is taking her daughter, going on 12, to Egypt. Just the two of them. There will be a special mother daughter trip for the younger daughter in a couple of years as well.

my oldest is only 5 so i haven't had to deal with that yet. i don't think my mom did any of that with me. i don't remember doing anything. it sounds really cool though. i think that is something i would like to do with my daughters. it makes it easier i think for them to accept that it is something every woman deals with. my poor cousin got it when she was only 9 and her mom never even told her about it so she was totally freaked out.

I wish my Mom had done something like this but no...It wasn't even really talked about! I would do this if I ever have a daughter...right now I just have my boy and so I won't have to worry about that! ~Heavens~

I only have one girl, whom is 12 years old. She has yet to start her period, Amen to that! lol But I guess I never thought about what we would do to celebrate, I never thought about celebrating because I never looked at getting your period as a good thing..lol No seriously I will probably have a nice dinner with just her and I and just spend some time talking and enjoying each others company like you are going to do with your daughter. I bought my daughter cupcakes and celebrated her shaving her legs the first time..lol (just to have fun and be goofy) so of course we have to celebrate when she becomes a young lady, which I hope holds off for at least another year or so.. keeping my fingers crossed, even though I think it will be happening soon!

My eldest daughter is only 5 years old so I guess I still a couple of years to wait for her to reach puberty. I think mothers know when their child is about to turn into a woman, physically. In my case, my mom works abroad but she did sent some pads a few months before I had my period. I was boyish, perhaps, I still am and the most vivid memories I can remember when I had my first menstruation was I was advised to act lady-like, avoid biking and climbing trees, running with the boys, etc. No special supper was made but only a lot of reminders were told. I might remember this when my child will have her first mens so that she'll have fonder memories of her passage.