Two days before dd turns 12 and...

And so it begins... I was 14, but my girls were 12. i learned as a mom to always have an extra package of supplies hidden. Why they tell me the day they get it that they are out of supplies is beyond me.

I feel for your dd. It's too bad there isn't some sort of warning system that sends out an alert 48 hours in advance of the impending first period. My dd got her first period the day after my dad passed away. We were at my mom's (who lives out of town) making the funeral arrangements when she came to me and told me she had started. Of course we had no supplies with us.

I like the idea of having a universal start age. I think 18 or 19 would be great. Then they would be out of the house and we moms wouldn't have to deal with so many hormones!

My period app sends me a warning via text. I've responded fuck off but it doesn't go through. I'm so done.

My condolences. My dd started hers 2 months before her 12th birthday. I was hoping she would wait longer but oh well. I started her on an app which right now she refuses to use so I keep up with it. Our cycles have been perfectly synced until this month when we were both off by one week. Fun times in our house during pms week.

Our fourth grade class always had a good handful of girls who had their period. These would be nine turning ten year olds. Many of my fifth graders got it too. It was funny how the girls who had it didn't want it and vice versa. i

One of my better mothering moments was to have DD learn to use tampons right from the start. It took several months to really get the hang of it, but it's really made life easier for her.

This where I am so glad I had 4 boys lol!

I think I was 12 when I got my first period.

Earlier that year in school we had watched the film. At the time I had no clue what it all meant and I was too embarrassed to ask questions at school and shit my mom never ever made me comfortable enough to ask any questions.

When I got it we were staying at friends for the September long weekend. I remember going to my mom telling her I thought I was sick ugh. She didn't drive and had to tell my dad she had to go to the drugstore. He made a huge deal of it because he was on the way to a football game with his friend. Geez within a few minutes the whole house knew I had my period and of course I was totally mortified and still really was clueless

For years I felt ashamed of my period, thanks mom and dad for another fucked up thing you did as parents lol.

I was 10. And I am pretty sure I was doomed to be early, because my mother 10, and her mother was 10. Ugh.

For me the worst was swimming. I hated trying to figure out how to keep everything under control and discreet when swimming. I hated having to go dashing into the bathroom the second I was out of the pool or lake.

I was a late bloomer at 15. I don't expect DD will make it that long. I was just talking to a friend whose daughter started at nine years old.

Poor kid! I was 16, and my older kids were 15. I couldn't imagine having to deal with that at such a young age. It's bad enough as an adult! Why can't that wait until we are at least 21!

I began at 11...I have 3 older sisters, so my mom had experience in this. The school had not shown any movie. Girls didn't talk about such things. About 3 months prior to beginning I had little pains in my abdomen. I was afraid of appendicitis (a sister had had hers removed) When I told my mom, she gave me a book from the Kotex company and told me I was probably getting ready to start having periods. I was to read the book and let her know if I had a question. I read, but didn't question. So, when I began to bleed, I knew what was happening.

I never tried a tampon until college.

My periods were always heavy and very painful. VERY PAINFUL That pain did not stop until after I had a child. ...I was pain free when on the pill.

I did menopause when I was age 40. I always have wondered if our bodies have a set amount of years--early start = early stop.

Are there some cultures that celebrate this? Isn't it weird how most of us are feeling bad about a major life moment? We talk so much about empowering women, maybe we (not RefuPeas- women as a whole) need to work on this.

I'm not chastising, I feel for her too! I was even glad menopause was complete early for myself.

I hope she's able to manage. Do the students ride in the planes? That sounds amazing!