Schools out for summer and this is the best time to introduce the idea of reusable period pads to your young people.
You may already be fully on board with the idea of reusable pads, but it can be a little trickier convincing school age kids, they’re heavily influenced by their peers at this time and will most likely already be really conscious of standing out in their crowd
I remember when I was that age – I didn’t start my periods until I was 16 (I know, my mum was hovering over the GPs phone number as my older sisters had all started way earlier) – when I was around 13, my friends were talking about their monthly pain (most of which was the sticky wings on disposables ripping out their pubes), and how they’d have to miss swimming that week, I was so conscious of not being part of their conversations I actually pretended I had mine too, I would echo their ‘oh these bloody wings and the free waxing’, truth was I didn’t even have pubic hair at that point either (I was a late bloomer babes), I’m sure you must have similar stories of your own (maybe)
And imagine the horror of feeling like you’d need to rinse out a menstrual pad in the school toilets, I mean, wow, that is a HUGE ask, and I get it, which is why the summer holidays are the PERFECT time to show them how it’s done, it’ll give you both a chance to experiment in the safety of your own home or on holidays, and a time when you are around to fully support them and answer any of their questions (if they have questions you can’t answer, hit me up, I’m here for you)
I remember when it came to the time transitioning my daughter ( Darcy, now 18 and an full-time reusable pad/menstrual cup wearer), It felt like a really important switch, I had been wearing reusable pads for years at this point and I wanted her to take the same path, but I was up against societal ‘norms’ and her need to fit in with her peers, turns out she ended up influencing her peers, funny how that works right?
Me and Darcy
It’s about leading by example, explain to them why you’ve chosen to wear reusables, was it the environmental impact of disposable pads? Or maybe it was the dodgy toxins reportedly found in them? (This was of particular concern for myself and Darcy )- you can read more about these subjects on our blog ‘Why Switch to Wear e’m Out Reusable Pads’ – or maybe it was simply that they’re far more comfortable to wear (our customers are constantly feeding this back to us) whatever your reason, share them with your tween, with no expectation for them to follow your lead, and zero judgment if they choose not to (you can’t lead a horse to water and all that), we model the behaviours that our children usually pick up
It’s good for them to know that firstly, they don’t have to wear them full-time (one wear of a reusable pad is one less wear of a disposable pad), they can dip in and out, maybe just wear them at home, maybe just wear them at night, there are no rules, they can go in their own time, in their own way, its all a positive step in the right direction, they’ll be having periods for a long time, they have time to make it work for them. And secondly, they can wear them without even having their period initially, just so they can get a feel for them without having to navigate the blood.
Starting your period is a big deal – I’m sure you remember – there’s so much adjusting going on, the hormones are shifting – the BRILLIANT *Tara Ghosh wrote a fantastic blog for us on everything that’s happening to your tween hormonally, and how to support them, you can read that here ‘The First Period – How to Support the Tweens in Our Life’ – and to load another expecting onto them can turn them off any conversations around the topic
Make it breezy, offer them a few pads to take away with them so they can have a play in their own way, and be around for any questions they may, or may not bring.
Our First Period Pack is a great selection of our smallest pads for them to begin their reusable journey. Or if you wanted to make a celebration of the main event, you may want to gift them a First Period Gift Box, or you may choose to start with just one of each, a Mini Flo or a Medium Flo, the way you introduce them is entirely up to you, but I hope I’ve help shed some light on how to open the idea to them, of course if you have any questions or want to chat more to me about any of this, please do just drop me and email , I’ve been where you are, you’re not on your own
Please do feel free to drop any comments below about anything I’ve talked about, or if you and your tweens are already lovers of our pads, I’d love to hear from you
All the love
Lauren x
P.s if you have friends who may find this useful, please do share it with them 
P.p.s are we friends on Instagram?
