Let’s Have A Bloody Conversation- A Single Dad’s Guide To Talking To Daughters About Periods. Plus What Period Products Are Out There.
As if having teenage daughters wasn't hard enough. Having to cope with numerous Tik Tok dances in supermarket queues, half hourly waits to leave the house because "I have to do my hair" and the regular requests to spend an entire day walking around Primark...us dad's eventually have to cope with the change in their bodies and their emotions too.
Menstruation (or periods) is not something I know much about biologically other than the small amount I have read online but I think it is a subject well worth investigating a little further if you are a dad as it plays such a pivotal role in our relationship with our daughters.
Personally, my daughter is quite shy and initially I would receive messages from my daughter's mum when she was about to start or was in the middle of her period. Often, my daughter would decide not to see me when planned because she felt safer and more comfortable going through the process at home in her usual surroundings and with her mum to turn to for advice.
As time goes on, they manage the menstruation themselves and I'm sure like my daughter they'll learn to cope and will talk to you if and when they feel happy to.
If your daughter is not willing to discuss it with you at great length, then be understanding and accepting of her personal and private decisions.
So what period products are out there?
Single use pads and tampons
There are many brands of single use/throw away pads and tampons on the market. Always, Bodyform and Tampax to name but a few.
A quick walk down the aisle at any supermarket will present you with a wall full of multicoloured packaging and complicated terms. Some are for the day and some for the night, some have wings and some don't (not made by Red Bull). You can get mini, midi, maxi, mega, compact, normal, extra-long, extra absorbent, extra confusing I say!
Reusable pads
Due to the large amount of waste going to U.K. landfill from single-use menstrual products, approximated to be 200,000 tonnes each year, there is a wave of reusable products coming on to the market.
Reusable pads such as those made by 'Wearemout' (look them up on Facebook and Instagram) are becoming extremely popular not just due to the reduced waste but also the amount of money saved over the menstruating lifetime.
Reusable cups
Another recent product now available in most supermarkets is a reusable cup, made from medical grade silicone which can last up to 10 years.
These come in different sizes depending on age and whether the user has given birth.
There are lots of helpful YouTube videos that explain how the wearer puts them in place if your daughter isn't sure.
Brands include Hey Girls, Moon Cup and Organicup.
Period Pants
Probably the most recent addition to the reusable product list is the period pant...it does what it says on the tin. Instead of using pads, tampons or cups you just wear the pants and then wash them. These are a bigger investment initially than reusable cups and pads but they are becoming an ever-popular purchase.
Important note
In 2017, a survey (Plan International UK) reported that 1 in 10 girls had been unable to afford sanitary products; 1 in 7 had to ask to borrow sanitary wear from a friend due to affordability issues; and 1 in 10 had to improvise sanitary wear. It is estimated that currently over 137,000 children across the UK have missed school days due to period poverty.
It is so important for us as Dad's to educate ourselves and to provide the necessary emotional and financial support that our daughters are going to need in the first few years of this journey and we shouldn't be scared to ask for advice from friends and family if we get a little bit lost too.
The link below is a downloadable pdf for a great booklet aimed at Dads from the brand 'Hey Girls'. It's the best...period!
Pads-4-Dads-Booklet-Final.pdf (heygirls.co.uk)
Whatever your daughter decides to use just make sure you're able to support her in purchasing the products to keep at your house and make sure she knows you're there as an adult for her if she needs to discuss or talk anything through.
Russ Storer Founded Balance Zero Waste store in Swansea. Which you can find out more about here:
If you’re a single parent in Wales and have a blog topic in mind then get in touch.