Female question

[Gamom3]

My dd(14) will be going to camp in 3wks. She is worried that she will start that week. I hate for her to miss out on swimming. At what age did you allow your dd to wear tampons and did you just get her the slender size?

[Jpoy85]

I would use a Diva Cup or Soft Cup rather than a tampon. You can buy Diva Cup online (silicone cup and can be reused), Instead Soft Cups can be bought at walmart, kroger, etc and are not reusable.

[DianeW88]

My dd wore them as soon as she started. No biggie.

[AdventureMoms]

I started wearing regular tampons at age 12 so I didn't have to miss a pool party. Mom just pretty much said "yeah, they're in my cupboard, there's directions on the box." The slender ones might be more comfortable for a young girl, though I don't remember having too much trouble with the regular ones, though the first one took me FOREVER to get inserted because I had to figure it out. Slightly more instruction would have been valuable.

[Bear23]

I was 13/14 when I started and soon after learned to use the tampons. Much better choice for gym time.

[Farrar]

I don't think it's a question of "allowing." It's whenever a girl is comfortable with it.

[Lolly]

Since mine swim daily and wouldn't miss practice unless deathly ill, it was from day one. It does take a little time to get it right the first time. Make sure you get the kind for teens or super slender. She'll get it.

[AdventureMoms]

I don't think it's a question of "allowing." It's whenever a girl is comfortable with it.

:iagree:

[~Amanda~]

I would use a Diva Cup or Soft Cup rather than a tampon. You can buy Diva Cup online (silicone cup and can be reused), Instead Soft Cups can be bought at walmart, kroger, etc and are not reusable.

:iagree:

[KidsHappen]

My girls started with tampons as soon as they needed to swim during that time.

[SunnyDays]

I started when I was 12, and I was sick of pads by my second or third cycle. Started wearing tampons pretty regularly after that. :)

[TranquilMind]

My dd(14) will be going to camp in 3wks. She is worried that she will start that week. I hate for her to miss out on swimming. At what age did you allow your dd to wear tampons and did you just get her the slender size?

Way before then. I think mine started with her second period at about age 12.5 because she was in dance. Playtex has junior slender regulars and light sizes.

[MamaT]

My dd wore them as soon as she started. No biggie.

 

Mine too.

[momofkhm]

The first time my dds wore a tampon was b/c their cycle started and it was all I had in my purse. Not the first ever cycle! But a run of the mill, "who knows when it's going to start this time and we're not at home" cycle.

[Momof3littles]

I don't think it's a question of "allowing." It's whenever a girl is comfortable with it.

:iagree: I was an athlete, and my mom made it seem like tampons were a big mystery. She never used them, never offered them...I was probably 14 or so but really could have used them earlier for sure.

 

I prefer a Diva cup now but there's probably more of a learning curve with that initially depending on her comfort level. It could also be awkward in public restrooms. I have wiped it out rather than washing in a sink, but it can just be a little more complicated if she's not confident.

[AngelaNYC]

My dd wore them as soon as she started. No biggie.

 

This.

[bettyandbob]

I explained how to use them before dd had her first cycle. She was a curriculum ballet student in a prepro program. Her other physical activity was swimming. It was the only option from the beginning.

[Julie in CA]

Did you just give the box with instructions to your dd and let her figure it out, or did you give some further instruction/guidance? I'm wondering if I took the wimp's way out with my dds, or if I was supposed to do something more. :001_huh:

[higginszoo]

My not quite 13 year old uses tampons for swimming only ... it's only come up a couple of times, and yes, she uses the slim/junior size. We went over The Care and Keeping of You a few years ago, well before it was an issue. The first time she was going swimming at that time, my mom (pediatric nurse) was here, so I gave her a heads up and told dd to ask for help if she needed, but apparently dd figured it out, mom said she never asked.

 

My friend's mom died of TSS when I was 12 (more a case of neglect by the US Government healthcare system -- we were Navy families), so I have always had a personal hangup about tampons and rarely wear them, and never for long ... while I've made sure to educate dd on the risks, I've also tried to be careful not to pass my own hangups about them on to her.

Edited May 11, 2012 by higginszoo

[Kathryn]

I don't think it's a question of "allowing." It's whenever a girl is comfortable with it.

 

:iagree:

 

I don't have a girl, but I started using tampons when I asked to, whenever that was. My mom got me a box and I read the instructions. She did give me a warning about making sure you don't leave it in too long. She had a friend that got very sick because she forgot about it and left it in for over a week :ack2:

[dancer67]

I agree with the others. Whenever they are ready. My oldest daughter is a dancer and she has always used Playtex Sport. She was about 13 when she started using them.

 

My youngest daughter is 13, and she will use them when she swims, or is at an ice skate compeition.

 

Neither one wanted anything to do with a Diva Cup.

[pfamilygal]

My mom thought they were icky. I bought my own at 14. Once I started using them, she tried them again and liked them.

[J-rap]

My girls started with tampons as soon as they needed to swim during that time.

 

Here too. You should have her practice using them before she goes to camp, though. (If this is what you choose to do.)

[Starr]

Playtex sports from the beginning.

[DawnM]

Well, the problem is that a diva cup can take several months of use to get used to, even if you are in your 30s! I wouldn't just hand her one and send her off to camp.

 

Dawn

 

I would use a Diva Cup or Soft Cup rather than a tampon. You can buy Diva Cup online (silicone cup and can be reused), Instead Soft Cups can be bought at walmart, kroger, etc and are not reusable.

[Pretty in Pink]

I started using tampons when I was 13, the second time I got my period. If your daughter wants to try them then let her. I wouldn't send her off with a soft cup product to try and figure out once she gets there...I'm almost 32 years old and have all the determination to figure those darn things out that one could possibly muster (after all, I'm the one who laid out forty bucks for the darn thing), yet try as I might I just cannot get it to work.

[clementine]

My dd got her first on the morning of a swim meet. So yeah, we had hours to get things to work. :tongue_smilie: It was 3 months before her 14th birthday & she did great.

[Slartibartfast]

I would NOT hand a kid a diva camp for camp. I do think there is a learning curve.

[dangermom]

Well, the problem is that a diva cup can take several months of use to get used to, even if you are in your 30s! I wouldn't just hand her one and send her off to camp.

 

Dawn

 

Yeah, I would not advise a kid to try a cup for the first time at camp. Tampons would be fine.

[AdventureMoms]

I started using tampons when I was 13, the second time I got my period. If your daughter wants to try them then let her. I wouldn't send her off with a soft cup product to try and figure out once she gets there...I'm almost 32 years old and have all the determination to figure those darn things out that one could possibly muster (after all, I'm the one who laid out forty bucks for the darn thing), yet try as I might I just cannot get it to work.

 

:iagree: This is pretty much me. Instead of a slow leak like I might have with a tampon, the diva cup gives me a catastrophic leak every time I move. Not something I'd suggest for a 14yo who plans to swim with it in place, and especially if she may be caring for it for the first time at camp where bathroom privacy and cleanliness may be...iffy. The camp I went to growing up had communal bathrooms with toilet stalls. The sinks were the kind where you had to hold onto the faucet with one hand to keep the water coming, and they were always kinda gross. There wasn't really another water source, so you'd have to clean it out at the sink in the public restroom, one handed, likely with other girls around.

 

A tampon is easier to use, disposable, and can be dealt with entirely in a bathroom stall. Plus if she has an issue someone can probably help her with a tampon, since counselors, nurses, whatever adult females are around have likely used tampons. They most likely have never heard of a diva cup. Not that I'd recommend relying on a teen's ability to ask for help with such an intimate problem, but at least you can be sure someone will have heard of it if she does.

[Butter]

11. First month she started. She uses the same Kotex Regular size I use. No problem at all.

[Bluegoat]

I'd let her try them now, just make sure she gets some practice before going. Also, a few girls find that they can't insert them comfortably so that would be something to tell her.

 

I hated them as a teen myself - I just could not stop them from leaking unexpectedly so I always needed pads anyway. It really put a damper on my interest in sports.