This mother is determined to not let her daughter feel as alone as she did during her first period.
Parenting is not an easy job. Everybody is trying to be as better at it as possible for the sake of their children. People take their own experiences into perspective while taking crucial decisions as mothers and fathers. This is exactly what u/Practical-Ad9445 did when she found her 10-year-old was going through one of the biggest phases of her life, having her first period. As a young girl the Redditor herself did not find the support she was looking for from her mother, and wanted a different experience for her daughter.
u/Practical-Ad9445 shared her experience in a Reddit thread. She began by mentioning that her daughter recently got her first period. Since the Redditor had herself gotten her first period around this age, she assumed that it could be something that could happen to her daughter and prepared beforehand for it. She made her daughter a little period basket to help her with everything. She explained her reasoning by writing, "I was just told to get on with it. I desperately don't want her to feel the way I did - hence the little basket of treats". As someone who had gone through periods when most of the people in her age did not get it, she knew her daughter could feel alone and wanted to avoid such a situation.
The basket had things like "new undies, pads, a little warming wheat filled unicorn thing you put into the microwave, salty and sweet snacks, new jim-jams, bodyspray, fancy body wash, sheet facemasks, a Primark gift card, and a little pouch". The Mother knew how scared and confused she got getting the period so young, and therefore already had discussions regarding it with her daughter, how it was normal and it was nothing to feel sad about. Still, when the daughter got her period, she felt a bit demotivated but had her mother every step of the way.
The daughter took a shower and had her mother talk her through the pad application. In the end, they snuggled and watched Home Improvement, to call it a day. Though the daughter is feeling a bit of pain it is in control because of pain medications. Her mother does not want to stop here, she wants to do more to make sure her daughter feels loved during this time. She does not want to make her feel isolated like she felt once and therefore came to Reddit to ask for suggestions.
The comment section appreciated the efforts made by u/Practical-Ad9445 in making her daughter feel comfortable. u/cockatootattoo was in awe of the mother doing so much for her daughter and gave a heartwarming suggestion, "This is amazing. You’re doing everything you can. I’m a dad, so slightly removed from this situation, but my wife did similar for our daughter. I think it really helped. Emphasize that it is completely normal. No need to suggest she’s growing up. Let her be a child for a while longer, she’ll thank you for it. But really good work. Keep it up." u/Southern-Yam-1811 found the whole experience endearing and wished she had this kind of support, "You are an amazing mom. My mom didn’t talk to me about periods at all. She was a nurse, I learned from a babysitter what they even were. I got it on a Friday and was too scared to tell my mom but told her that Sunday at a pool we went to. She asked if I had what I needed. Worst experience ever. Now I have a daughter."