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Up Front: What is there to be embarrassed about?
Emily Plihal
for Smoky River Express
I’m going to talk about something that will probably disgust the majority of males who read my column each week... just to warn you in advance, I’m going to talk a little bit about teenage girls starting their period. I think it is crucial that parents are well informed about the whole “period” thing before their child has to experience what it’s like to be a woman.
In the year 2010, many marriages split prior to the children going through puberty, and sometimes the father/mother has to deal with life’s changes without their spouse. Thus, I am hopeful this column will help all the single dads who dread explaining the basics about periods to their daughters.
The column was influenced by a show on Tyra Banks’ talk show about a month ago, when she had guest speakers explain what a healthy period is and all the basics of periods.
Lets face it, when young women get their period for the first time they are often terrified because they are unsure of what is happening to their body. They don’t understand why their moms have panties for that time of the month, and they don’t understand the difference between tampons and sanitary napkins.
First off... I do not want to go into many of the, shall we say, messy parts of the period... however; I think it is crucial for teens to not be embarrassed when they get their monthly “Aunt Flow” for the first time.
There are a number of self help books available at the bookstore which help young men and women understand puberty. This I discovered only a few weekends ago while shopping with a girlfriend for her pre-teen daughter.
I read through the book and took note of the information they gave the children. There was information about the general biological reasoning behind periods, body changes that occur, and various other information some parents are too shy to speak about.
Young women should also be aware of the differences that may occur during their period. Obviously flow, colour, and odour should be discussed with these children. It is a time in a young woman’s life when she feels all alone. She is not sure what her body is doing, and she is too reserved to ask her friends if they are going through the same thing.
There's no such thing as a normal age for your daughter to start her period. Most girls get their first period around 12 or 13, but some can get it as early as 9 or as late as 16. Often times the child will not know she is getting her first period, and it may come as quite a shock to her the first time.
There is no way I’ll be able to cover everything there is to do with periods in a short column, but the point of this particular piece is to assure parents they are not in this alone.
There are many resources to help make your child’s transition into adulthood easier.
Just look at how a man cringes when he hears the word “period”. There are just some things the opposite sex does not want to discuss, but it is part of natural body processes.
For the young women out there, check out Tyra Banks’ website for more information. You’ll get to hear stories from other women about their period horror stories... we all have them, it is nothing to be ashamed about.
Remember, if you are uncomfortable talking to your parent about your period there are always others in the community who you’d feel comfortable with. This could be your doctor, a female teacher, or any of your female relatives.
For more information from Tyra’s show visit www.tyrashow.warnerbros.com and search periods.
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