9 year old daughter question?

Question

my 9 (10 in a few weeks) is extremely athletic and muscular. I have been told that this may prevent her from menstruating at a very young age (which is fine by me). I allow her to use deod/antiperspirant, but now i am told that that could cause a bilological change in her to make her mature faster.
Either way, is 9 too young to have the period talk with her? i would like to keep her as innocent as possible for as long as I can. they have the talk next year in school anyway.

any advice on how to do it. i guess the baby talk will follow. i do have a book with great illustrations that i always planned on using

Answer 1

I learned about my period when I was 9, and I was fine. However, since your intentions are to keep her innocent (admirable, by the way), I would advise keeping it until a little after her tenth birthday. It's a great induction into the double digits! As I recall, that was the age when I learned about sex for the first time. And if it was me, I would definitely rather hear about it from my mother rather than from some video. That creeped me out in the sixth grade when I saw it.

Additionally, there is no definite way to tell when she will have her period. I have a friend who is 15 and is still waiting, and my mother was 18 before she got hers. If she gets it, she gets it, and it should be a moment of celebration!

Well, as opposed to my dad: "You're going to start bitching and moaning and blaming everything on PMS, aren't you?" How supportive.

Answer 2

Periods can be affected by body fat, which is why so many anorexics stop getting their period and it's a tell tale sign, as well as extremely athletic girls. My daughter plays ice hockey and a 10 year old already has her period and uses deodorant. My daughter was curious and we just told her the facts she needs to know. Don't complicate it. We didn't go into the whole "how babies are made thing", just kept it more biological, akin to when you have a cold, you get a sore throat, runny nose etc... Answer each question as it comes a long and she will absorb the info better. Just use a gentle deod. like the Teen Spirit ones or as the other poster suggested a natural product. Oh yes, if she watches any TV she probably already has an idea as to what it is.

Answer 3

I believe that we all wnat to keep our daughters innocent as long as possible, but hte reality is that our little girls are maturing at earlier ages.
I would like to encourage you to begin exploring with her any noticeable changes in her her body... If she has a need for deodorant, it is a sign that her body is beginning to mature... Her menstruation may or may not be far off. I think it is important even at this young age to discuss how she feels about her self, and if she has noticed any changes, and then give her some basic information on what growing up is like. It can be very scary for a youg girl to have her first period before she has ever had the talk... This is a great opportunity to have some girl time and tighten the bond you have together

Answer 4

I didn't menstruate until I was 14 because I was very athletic/muscular too (and still am), but I had the "period talk" when I was 9. It's not too young; other girls in her grade will start getting theirs and she'll be wondering about it, so, just once every few months or so, remind her that it could come at any time and to be prepared. I didn't mind menstruating until I was 14 because it means that I didn't have to deal with my period for the 1-2 years that my other friends had too.

Answer 5

I recommend purchasing "The Care and Keeping of You" which is an American Girl book. It has lots of good information for younger girls to understand what they're going through. It's definitely not too early for "the talk." Just tell her how normal it is (that part is really important) and how this is the first sign of becoming a woman.

By the way, I think that if you want to let her use deodorant, you should try Adidas 24 hour deodorant or Crystal Roll-On. They don't have these harmful chemicals, or the ones that can cause cancer.

Good luck!

Answer 6

I think you should tell her. You do want her to hear that kinda stuff from you. When i was young i learned about EVERYTHING from my friends, and TV. And most of the time my friends were wrong. I was in 8th grade by the time my mom had that talk with me and by then i already it all. Im sure since she's almost 10 her friends have been talking about it i bet she has some idea of what is to happen.

about the deodrant thing...let her use it. Some of the ppl on here so dumb!! Who's ever heard of deodarant being "unhealthy". If your daughter is athletic she proly needs it. Even if she is too young to have smelly pits the deodrant will keep her from sweating.

Answer 7

i think it is very important for her to know and understand, you should definitely have a talk with her she probably already knows a little bit about that stuff b/c i remember when i was 9/10 my friends were talking about it b/c some of them had already started but i didn't start until i was 12/13 and now i am 16, so you should explain and have that talk with her plus she will feel more confident to talk to you about it when she does actually have her period, and when she takes the class next year she will not feel totally clueless about the actual information about menstruation

Answer 8

Do you have the Care and Keeping of you book? If not, get her it. It has the whole entire period talk and it shows the different kinds of bras and how to measure. It says what PMS is and healthy foods to eat. It shows how to deal with emotions and show how to avoid eating disorders. I got this book for my ninth birthday, and it told me everything. It even tells how to deal with asking to shave your legs and stuff like that. It tells about braces, glasses, vitamins that promote healthy growth, and even how to apply a tampon.
This book has been around for years, it is made by Amrican Girl, and i have loaned it to friends and never gotten it back. That would be a good tenth birthday present.
Good Luck!

Answer 9

I think that 9 years old is time to have the talk. The book will be a great ice-breaker. If you talk like your comfortable about it, she will too. Tell her about what it was like with you when you were a little girl. It's just that I don't want her to be surprised or scared when she first sees the blood.

Answer 10

There is no reason not to have her wear deodorant. At 9 years old, girls can begin being catty and would certainly let your daughter know if she had body odor. Please let her continue to use it, don't let her be embarrassed! I really don't think 9 is too young to talk about periods, I know several girls as young as 10 who have their period. It would be better for her to hear everything first from you rather than hearing "rumors" on the playground.