Tampon Age?

[coconotlove.livejournal.com]

If you use/used tampons, how long after you started your period did you start using them and how old were you?

My cousin is almost 13 and has had her period for a year and a half but my aunt won't let her use tampons! This isn't like a religious/moral issue, but my aunt just thinks my cousin's body is not "ready" for that? The reason I'm asking is cause my cousin was complaining about using pads when having a heavy flow and how her mom wouldn't let her try tampons.

Comments

[agata.livejournal.com]

I started using tampons in the 9th grade... so 14-15.
Perhaps your aunt is worried that your cousin will forget to use them right... ie: changing it every few hours and what not.

[cbackson.livejournal.com]

I started my period when I was twelve, and I don't think I used tampons for a year or two. I think that my mom thought that a) my body wasn't ready (like your aunt), and b) that I might not be quite old enough to remember when they needed to be taken out and all that (TSS stuff, you know?). I'm not sure what the "body not ready" think is supposed to mean, because even a year or two later, it hurt like f*ck the first time I put one in--maybe she thought that the scariness of starting my period and then the scariness of trying a tampon would be too much at first?

I can see an advantage to going a while without using them, because I think that you do get a better sense of what your cycle is like when you're using pads (just because you don't so much see the blood with tampons), but the responsibility with regard to changing them properly is the main reason I can think of for not having a very young girl use them.

[beachbanshee.livejournal.com]

I started using tampons in HS 13/14. My mother did not use them so they were never around my house. It was also around the time that there was much controvery over tampons causing TSS. My friends in school gave them to me the first time I tried. My mother was not thrilled but I was active in sports and swimming and it just made things convenient. I guess my daughter was 13 when she first used them. She was a cheerleader and I suggested it.

[lady-hook.livejournal.com]

Maybe your aunt is also thinking about how scary can be to get the tampon inside for the first time for your cousin without having any prior knowledge of her body...and the mess it can cause if you don't use it right or get used to it...
I remember when I was 13 I tried to use tampons and I simply couldn't 'cos it hurt too much and felt like I wasn't doing it properly (like how far into does this have to go?) and had to stick to pads

[sunshinesarah.livejournal.com]

I started my period when I was 13, and my mom never wanted me to use tampons because of a bad experience she had with them back in the '80s. But a year-ish later I got involved with marching band, which required me to be outside for hours at a time without much chance for bathroom breaks and my flow was sooo heavy, so she pretty much had to let me start using them around age 14, 14 1/2

[laudanumdream.livejournal.com]

I started my period when I was in the 6th grade- so probably around 12. I didn't start using tampons until I was 16! My mother never really talked to me about using tampons, and I had tried once when I was in 14, but I was doing it wrong or something because they'd be uncomfortable. My Human Growth teacher had told us that if they felt uncomfortable, then we were probably inserting them incorrectly. When I turned 16 I had my first serious relationship, and I started feeling more comfortable with my body so I gave tampons a second chance and they worked.

I think if she knows how to insert them correctly and change them when necessary, it shouldn't be a big deal, but that's just my opinion.

[xdreamsofdramax.livejournal.com]

My mom was the same way. She had TSS when she was younger so she didn't want me to ever use them...I was 18 and buying my own products before I started using them regularly. Before that it was just a few here and there that I could sneak from her supply she had for if she wanted to swim or whenever I could convince her I REALLY needed to use one...

I hated pads so much, and they irritate my vagina a lot, so I really didn't like using them, so once I was out of the house, that's all I use. I feel your friend's pain though.

[super-bitch06.livejournal.com]

I started my period in 5th grade, but I didn't start using tampons until... junior year. Not until after I had lost my virginity, if I remember correctly. That was my own choice, though. Mommy always encouraged me to try them, I just didn't want to.

[ehhhhnotreally.livejournal.com]

I started my period at 13 and I started using them probably the second period I had... I started my period when we were out of state at a family reunion (nice) so I had to tell my mom and she got me some pads and I used those... but the next month we were back at home, and since I have an older sister that I shared a bathroom with, we already had tampons under the sink. So I tried those and didn't look back! I've always had a heavy flow so I think they were a godsend. All those horrible nightmare stories of girls leaking and have stains on their pants at school--with tampons I didn't ever worry about that.

[mactavish.livejournal.com]

I started my period a three months before my 13th birthday, and would guess I started using tampons by my thirteenth birthday. I don't remember exactly, but I know I was using them (and had developed a preference for ob tampons, which were fairly new, back then) by the summer after I turned 13, so I'd been menstruating for about six months, at that point.

[sugarini.livejournal.com]

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.

[sand-woman.livejournal.com]

I think you should buy her a menstrual cup :)

[ehhhhnotreally.livejournal.com]

IAWTC, now! But when I was 13 (omg, 12 years ago), I had no idea what those even were! I definitely am putting my daughters (if/when I have them) on organic cotton washable pads and allowing them to use Divas if they decide to.

[dailybecoming.livejournal.com]

Her mom prob. doesnt think she is mature enough to handle the responsibility of tampons - If your Cousin doesnt changer her tampons regularly she is at risk for TSS (Toxic Shock Syndrom) which can be fatal - Most young girls (and kids in gen.) forget things and get caught up in the moment of what they are doing. I am sure your Aunt isnt trying to make things hard on your cousin - she may be struggeling with the concept that her daughter is getting older and turning into a woman - the idea that she is inserting things into her vagina may bother your aunt - also there are many more questions your cousin may have about her vagina due to using tampons and your aunt may not be ready to be there for her daughter in that way yet - so she is postponing that situation a little while. It may not be as convienant but your aunt isnt doing anything wrong by not allowing her daughter to use tampons - she isnt being unfair - she is just being a mother who is not ready for her daughter to move into inserting things into her vagina and the possible problems and questions that next step may bring.

At 13 she is still rather young - by the time she is 15 or 16 she will have friends or herself be at driving age and can get her own period products.

[mrar.livejournal.com]

I got my period when I was 11 and I used tampons on/off starting that summer. The first time I used them I wasn't bleeding that much so it was just terrible, but eventually I got it right and started using them. At my school I was basically one of the only girls who had her period, and my school had crazy bathroom rules, there was 4 minutes in between each class, and that included your locker time, bathroom time, and the time to actually get to class (which meant a lot of sprinting, because if you were late 3 times you got a detention, and the campus was fucking huge). Because of this I really couldn't deal with having to change tampons and pads during school, it just took too long (although sometimes I would go to the nurse where I was allowed to take my time), so I would wear a pad and a tampon in the morning, and during my lunchtime bathroom break I'd just pull out the tampon and already have the pad in my underwear. And I wouldn't have to deal with bringing pads to school, which was embarassing for 11 year old me.

After I lost my virginity (around 15) I started only using tampons. Now (at 16) I'm a menstrual cup convert.

[a-chromatic-sea.livejournal.com]

I didn't really have a choice in whether or not I could use tampons - I had to! I started really early (I was 8, almost 9) and I was on a swim team in the summertime... and it was a heavy period from day one. I was fine using tampons right away.

But really, have your aunt talk to your cousin about using them. Let her know about TSS (don't scare her, of course!), how to use them the right way, all that jazz. Girls, even that young, will most likely remember stuff that pertains to their periods because it's kind of a big deal to them. If your aunt still doesn't feel ready to let her daughter use tampons (which is fine, she's her daughter) then that's okay - at least her daughter will understand why! :)

[mrar.livejournal.com]

Just curious...what does driving age have to do with being able to get your own period products? I'm 16 (driving age in my state), although I can't drive, I have a few friends who can, but I know I've never driven anywhere to buy period products.

[mrar.livejournal.com]

Yeah, when I used tampons at 11 I ALWAYS remembered to take it out after 4 hours because having my period was BIG DEAL. No one else had it and for some of my friends I was some kind of crazy period role model. I was constantly aware I was on my period, and never forgot to take it out. It wasn't until I was 14 and my period had become more "normal" and a part of regular life that I started forgetting to take my tampons out.

[bonne--nuit.livejournal.com]

i started using tampons the day i got my period...so 15 and 1/2. i've never used pads.

[bluebonnets.livejournal.com]

I did it almost immediately.... and I think I got my period at 13 as well....

[so-says-ali.livejournal.com]

I think she's assuming that walking to a store might be out of the question, and referring to the ability to drive to the store to go and buy tampons without her mom breathing down her neck about not using tampons. I know if I asked my mom for a ride to the store when I was 13, she'd ask me why and go in with me-- my mom was OK with me using tampons at 13, but she'd criticise my brand choices until the cows came home.

[dailybecoming.livejournal.com]

its just that when one becomse of driving age and can drive or with friends that drive they ahev more freedom - if her mom is still refusing to buy her tampons - she can buy them herself if she can drive herself or have someone else drive her to the store. Sorry i thought that was understood i didnt mean to be vauge.

[justjess.livejournal.com]

I got my period at 12 (or maybe 11... I was in 7th grade, either way), and I think I started using tampons around age 13 or 14... but that was because *I* was nervous about it, not because my mother was. I've only used them as my main form of flow control since my junior or senior year of high school (I'm a sophomore in college now), because I was only comfortable using them when I was swimming before that.
I think 13 is a fine age and as long as your cousin is responsible enough to change them every few hours to avoid TSS, I see no reason why her body wouldn't be ready for them - I know girls who lost their virginity at 13 and 14, so bodies are definitely ready for tampons at that age!

[chiss.livejournal.com]

I got mine at 13, and only started using them last year.

[azurah.livejournal.com]

I started my period at 11 and first tried using tampons when I was 14. My first try was so painful (insertion and removal) that I gave up and stuck with pads. I tried again when I was 20 and have been using them ever since.