The answers below are written to support a conversation with your daughter. Of course, boys can ask about periods too. If they are young, they might need to be told that only girls have periods. You can adapt what is here to give boys information too.
You can also look at the question: What is puberty? Will it happen to me? And in the Talking About section – organised by the age of your child – there is more on how we can talk and learn with our child about periods/menstruation.
3, 4 and 5-year-olds
While a child this age may be unlikely to ask this question, they might overhear conversations with older siblings or ask a question if they see period products. A short answer is offered here, you might want to use or adapt the additional comment in brackets, to be adapted as you need to.
This is something that happens to women and to girls when they grow up. We can talk more about it when you grow up. (Mummy/your big sister… has a period every month).
6, 7 and 8-year-olds
The answer here refers to period products, children might see these, and it may be the reason for the question. You can name/adapt to what you use if you have periods.
Women and older girls have a period every month. This happens for girls when they grow up and go through puberty. During her period some blood comes out of the girl’s vulva. That’s okay, that’s normal. You can wear a little pad to keep your pants clean. We can talk more about puberty and periods when you are a bit older.
9 and 10-year-olds
This is a suggested answer to the question, but you will also want to offer reassurance to your child about how normal periods are, and that you will help her be ready and have period products available for her to use. More support on this in the Talking about section.
Puberty is the time in your life when your body begins to change because you are growing up. When a girl goes through puberty she will start to have a period. Periods are also called menstruation. This is the way a girl’s body makes itself ready so that when she is grown up, she can have a baby if she wants to.
How will you know when your period will start? Well, you won’t know exactly but before it happens there will be other changes with puberty. You will notice that you start to develop your breasts. Some soft body hair will start to grow around your vulva and under your arms. You might get a little white sticky stuff called discharge (sometimes people say mucus) come out of your vagina, you might see little white marks on your pants. All of this is normal. You can talk to me or… (insert other trusted adults you wound like your child to know they can talk to…) about any changes you notice.
Then when your period comes, blood that comes out of our vulva for a few days every month. This is normal. When a girl has her period, she wears a period pad or tampon, period pants or menstrual cup to absorb the fluid. You can talk to me (other adults/older siblings) about what you would like to use.
When a girl has her period, this can affect her emotions and moods. This is normal. She might feel tired or annoyed or sad. When you start to have your period, you can talk to me about your feelings. It is important to know that a girl can still do anything she wants when having her period. Girls start having their period at different ages. Every girl is different and unique.
11 and 12 year-olds
13, 14 and 15 year-olds
This is a suggested answer to the question, but you will also want to offer reassurance to your child about how normal periods are, and that you will help her be ready and have sanitary products available for her to use. More support on this in the Talking about section.
Puberty is the time in your life when your body begins to change because you are growing up. When a girl goes through puberty she will start to have a period. Periods are also called menstruation. This is the way a girl’s body makes itself ready so that when she is grown up, she can have a baby if she wants to.
How will you know when your period will start? Well, you won’t know exactly but before it happens there will be other changes with puberty. You will notice that you start to develop your breasts. Some soft body hair will start to grow around your vulva and under your arms. You might get a little white sticky stuff called discharge (or mucus) come out of your vagina, you might see little white marks on your pants. All of this is normal. You can talk to me or… (insert other trusted adults you wound like your child to know they can talk to…) about any changes you notice.
Then when your period starts, blood comes out of your vagina for a few days every month. This is normal. The blood is made up of the lining of the uterus which comes away every month because you are not having a baby. There can be some fluids called pre-period discharge before the period starts. You can probably expect to have a period about every 4 weeks (28 days), but this does vary between girls and women.
When a girl has her period, she wears a period pad or tampon, period pants or menstrual cup to absorb the fluid. You can talk to me (other adults/older siblings?) about what you would like to use. It is important to know that a girl can still do anything she wants when having her period. Girls start having their period at different ages. Every girl is different and unique!
When a girl has her period, this can affect her emotions and moods. This is normal. She might feel tired or annoyed or sad. When you have your period, you can talk to me about your feelings. When a woman is older her periods will become less regular and eventually stop. This part a woman’s life is called the menopause. It’s a normal part of life.
16, 17 and 18 year-olds
If there is a need to talk with your 16-, 17- or 18-year-old about periods you can use the information provided for 13-, 14- and 15-year-olds. One important aspect for teenagers of this age would be to reassure your daughter if she has not started her periods by age 16, but to also support her to visit her GP or local young people’s sexual health service just to have a chat about why this might be so.
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