Joy A. Mead

As my daughter and I entered the room filled with other mothers and daughters, there was equally a buzz of nerves and excitement about what to expect. The year 5 girls and their mothers had been invited to a “girls only” meeting to discuss managing menstruation. The practicalities were talked about by their teacher in a soft, relaxing manner—body changes, signs that you may start having periods, and what to expect.

I couldn’t help but smile at a room full of lovely young women and their mums coming out for an informal, conversational chat about the amazing body of a woman. And that truly was the whole point of gathering—to educate, empower, and build confidence in this next generation of women. You see, my school while growing up never hosted such an event nor did the schools of any other mothers I talked to that night.

Our girls really don’t have any clue how lucky they are to be taught so much openly, even before starting menstruation, about their incredible bodies and how they will develop in preparation for having babies one day. It made me so proud to know that my Anna is being equipped, not just through me, to face her young womanhood to the best of her ability! These nine and ten-year-olds will hopefully feel less embarrassed and more confident in their normal body changes over the next years to come.

Toward the end of the meeting, the girls all circled around a table full of sanitary pads, tampons, period underpants and even a menstrual cup. It was wonderful as a mother, to see what a great variety of products in various shapes and sizes are now available to help women manage their monthly bleed. Being able to touch and feel these samples and take some home were further steps to grow and boost their self-esteem as girls, nearing young womanhood. And the cutest small pencil cases/make-up bags can now hold feminine products, whereas I remember having to discreetly tuck products into my cardigan sleeve because these bags weren’t on trend yet! Period products have progressed well for the young women of today.

As mamas, I pray that we can lovingly and calmly walk through this season of bodily changes with our girls —that there would be an openness between each mother and daughter to talk about anything, great or small. May we set aside any negativity or anxiety around our girls starting their periods, so that we empower them to fully accept themselves and know that they are growing beautifully into the healthy, strong, women that they were designed to be.