I was 12 (I'm 15 now) when I got my first period. I borrowed some pads for my mom for a day, and then I said to her, "No way am I wearing these things, we're going to the store to buy tampons. Or else I can bleed all over your carpet."

Some people say you shouldn't use tampons until after afew periods so you have an idea of what your flow is like, but if you start with light/regular absorbency tampons they won't harm you.