Periods--tampons... - Page 2

[lolar2]

Originally Posted by bremen

in far enough? sounds like you may have been trying to push them too far. i only use tampons without applicators, and i just push them in far enough to get past the pubic bone. only an inch, at most of my finger goes in.
i have never had any issues with leaking, etc.

My pubic bone is high on that end (ask me what station DS got hung up on for a really, really annoying hour during pushing ) and my fingers are very short. So it would be too low to be comfortable for me, I could feel the tampon and it was rather painful, unlike using an applicator. After having DS I guess the bones moved around a bit, because it is no longer an issue with OB tampons.

[Sk8ermaiden]

:

I've been a tampon user for years and years and never had a problem with any of the brands but O.B. It just sucks not to have an applicator. And I don't have the problem of the above poster. They just always feel like they're going to fall out.

[talk de jour]

Originally Posted by Marsupialmom

My oldest is far away from periods but she is getting friends that have them.

What is the push to wear tampon? I can see encouraging them for at least swimming but I have heard mom's "assisting" putting them in.

Am I wrong for thinking that is WRONG, WRONG, WRONG? I can see talking about it, giving instructions, telling my dd to feel herself so she knows were it goes. Giving a little ky--nervous body isn't always friendly body. But I feel actually assisting is violating. Am I wrong for feeling that if they were/are ready they will either do it themselves or ask me to help?

I love swimming but I don't see it that big of a deal to push a girl to wear a tampon to take her swimming. I would find alternative plans for her if she wasn't comfortable.

Am I missing something here with the push to wear a tampon?

When we get there I plan on discussing options, explaining how to, and just having them avialble for when they decide to use them.

I think no mother needs to assist in putting a tampon in! If she cannot put one in place and remove it HERSELF, why should she wear one?

However, I don't know that there is necessarily a "push" to wear one -- although I do agree that if she is planning to swim, that (or a menstrual cup) is the only sanitary solution.

[talk de jour]

Originally Posted by Sk8ermaiden

:

I've been a tampon user for years and years and never had a problem with any of the brands but O.B. It just sucks not to have an applicator. And I don't have the problem of the above poster. They just always feel like they're going to fall out.

I LOVE OB tampons. They are the only ones I don't "feel" inside me. I think because they are shorter.

[LaLaLaLa]

Man, my first few periods hit with a vengeance (still do when I'm not on the Pill). Lots of physical pain, added to the psychological trauma of frequently bleeding all over my clothes and bedding. Plus I was a cross-country runner and pads chafed and bunched and made my life even more miserable. It was an ugly situation for a fourteen-year-old to have to sort out.

Luckily my mom was a tampon wearer and suggested I try those. The first couple of times I had a really difficult time because I just wasn't inserting them properly. Maybe I should have read the directions, but really I was just a mess about the whole situation. I could have used a good talking-through, but was too embarrassed to ask.

I eventually did figure things out, but it was a messy and tear-filled time until I did. I don't think I'd be comfortable inserting a tampon for someone else, but I'd totally be sympathetic about giving instructions to DD or anyone else who was having trouble.

[Linda on the move]

Originally Posted by Marsupialmom

I have been at pools and a party and the topic has been talked about becuase my kids are at that age were the girls are starting. They are parental "war" stories.

My DDs are this age and are competitive swimmers so we live at the pool. I've never heard a conversation like this. I cannot image how a girl this age would feel about her mother talking about her periods with her friends. It is so invasive. Just because girls are this age isn't a reason for the moms to sit around talking about it.

Why don't you get up and walk away from these conversations? They are weird and inappropriate. Not all mothers talk about their DDs private issues in public.

[Ruthla]

DD1 generally prefers tampons- she finds them to be more comfortable. They're also more environmentally sound as they're simply smaller and produce less waste than disposable pads. I've offered to either sew or purchase cloth pads for her, but so far she's not interested.

I've never actually put in a tampon for her or kept her company in the bathroom while she was putting one in. However, we did discuss tampon use, safety, comparison of different brands and types, and general discussion of how to put in a tampon. After studying the package insert, she was able to figure it out on her own, and now likes tampons better than pads.

I don't think it matters if a girl gets her first period at 8 or 15- if she's physically mature enough to menstruate she's probably physically mature enough to wear a tampon.

[talk de jour]

Originally Posted by Ruthla

DD1 generally prefers tampons- she finds them to be more comfortable. They're also more environmentally sound as they're simply smaller and produce less waste than disposable pads.

They also don't have the plastic and adhesives in them, so they're pretty biodegradable.

[waiting2bemommy]

Originally Posted by Linda on the move

My DDs are this age and are competitive swimmers so we live at the pool. I've never heard a conversation like this. I cannot image how a girl this age would feel about her mother talking about her periods with her friends. It is so invasive. Just because girls are this age isn't a reason for the moms to sit around talking about it.

Why don't you get up and walk away from these conversations? They are weird and inappropriate. Not all mothers talk about their DDs private issues in public.

I just wandered onto this thread....but wanted to say that as someone not long out of my teens, a LOT of moms apparently are that invasive. I had a friend whose mom forced her to use a tampon at age 9 because she had paid for swimming lessons and didn't want them to go to waste. on teh converse, my mother forbade me from shaving my legs or using tampons. she gave me the same story another poster here mentioned about TSS. I didn't believe her, researched it myself, asked the doctor, and then proceeded to stop trusting her. but, yeah, she and her friends definitely had conversations like this, and my mother was still monitoring my tooth-brushing and deodorant use when I was in the tenth grade. I can't imagine being that interested in someone else's personal hygiene.

[Marsupialmom]

Originally Posted by Linda on the move

My DDs are this age and are competitive swimmers so we live at the pool. I've never heard a conversation like this. I cannot image how a girl this age would feel about her mother talking about her periods with her friends. It is so invasive. Just because girls are this age isn't a reason for the moms to sit around talking about it.

Why don't you get up and walk away from these conversations? They are weird and inappropriate. Not all mothers talk about their DDs private issues in public.

One I am not perfect.....and sadly it is something I grew up with. I don't do it because I don't like it but at the same time it was the realm of my growing up....even in my adulthood I sensor what I tell her because I know she will talk about it.

[Arduinna]

That is just wierd. There is no way I am acutally putting in my kids tampon. No freaking way. I don't get the push for tampons either. What I did was give her an assortment of items to try out and see what she wanted and needed.

[esmicosaquehago]

My mom had to help me my first couple of times... I was 10. I think she offered, but I needed it.

[thepeach80]

My mom never helped me, but we did get slender tampons (I think they were advertised towards teens) to help. I was 11 when I got af and didn't try tampons till it would've been right after I turned 13. I was going on a school trip and there were going to be water rides involved so I made sure I could use a tampon! Now I wear my cup (or will again eventually) and it's loads better than tampons ever were. I'm not sure what we'll do when the time comes, I guess it depends on age/maturity but I would like to see them use something at least more eco-friendly than just run of the mill pads. Yuck.

On a side note, I taught my bff how to use tampons when we were in college. I still remember standing outside the bathroom giving her a step by step on how to do it! lol

[amynbebes]

My dd is 13 and has been menstruating for a year and a half and I've never pushed either. She wanted to try tampons over the summer because she was going swimming. She went through a whole box trying and gave up. She didn't ask for my help other then me telling her a bagillion times how to do it. I suppose I would have help had she really wanted me to but quite frankly I have no desire to actually physically help her.

[enkmom]

I have to honestly say that when my daughter was a young teen, the pressure from the moms went the other way - "You can't wear tampons until you are older" or "Tampons can't be used by virgins", etc. etc. When my daughter was ready, she read the instructions and started using them herself. My help was not asked for or necessary. By 14 or so, she was using tampons nearly exclusively.

I have never heard a conversation about menstrual choices between mothers. My daughter would pass on information about what other girls were told by their mothers.

[skreader]

I started wearing tampons from my 1st period (used my mom's OB). When my DD started, I got her pads and also suggested she might want to try using tampons. I gave her some very small OBs and showed her the instructions, etc.

She has found that at this point she prefers tampons w/ applicators & likes to use a pad at night.

[Kidzaplenty]

When I started, I pulled out the directions, read them all the way through, and learned how to insert them on my own. I hated them and went to pads.

When my oldest started, I insisted she deal with the "horrible" pads for three cycles, then we could reevaluate tampons. She did, and now much prefers tampons, which she taught herself to use by reading the directions as I told her to do. My second will not even try a tampon, she thinks they are gross.

I now use a diva cup and will never look back. I am looking for a cup for my oldest, as I think she will really like it. But I think my second will stick with pad for a while longer. My third has not started yet, so we will see. But I will not do it for her either. If they can't read the directions and do it themselves, they have to do without. I think it is just something that should be private.

[Sarah W]

Originally Posted by Sk8ermaiden

There was no way I would ever, ever, ever wear a pad. They feel (and often look) like a diaper and I will never sit in my own blood if I can have it all nicely contained inside.

I agree. I also would never wear a pad. I'm almost 30 and have worn one when I had surgery and PP. When I started, my mother gave me a tampon. If I had wanted something else, no doubt she would have bought them for me. I think a lot of girls use what their mothers do.

[AbbieB]

I was on the swim team in high school, and that is the only time I have regularly used tampons. I just hate them (although after 2 babies I am sure they would fit differently). I remember my mom being a little freaked out that I knew how to use one and did not ask for help (I'm sure she meant verbal instructions though!)

I just got my period back after baby #2 and just like after baby #1 it's like being a 12 year old all over again. I leaked onto my jeans while at an amusement park play date (not noticeably thank goodness) and the other Mom I was with made fun of me for not using tampons. She made some comment about growing up and getting with the modern age or something. : I was really surprised by the attitude.

I don't think it is my place to push any one type of product at my DD. I will just talk to her about the options and then help her get what ever she decides to try. It's her body. It's her choice about what to use/what works best for her.

Some parents need to back WAY off!

[funfunkyfantastic]

I started wearing tampons as a teen not because my friends told me to (although they did, but i'm stubborn and won't let people tell me what to do.) I started wearing tampons when I got annoyed with always feeling like I was going to leak. I guess I was paranoid that i'd soon be walking around school with a big red spot on my behind! lol. I also hated the way the pads would stick to me and make me sore. I use cloth pads for CM right now, and plan to use them with tampons once AF returns. I just find tampons easier to use and more comfortable, and also less likely to cause a leak that would stain my clothing.