Over the last 6 months I have written several articles as a Kotex Mom Ambassador. I hope these posts have encouraged you to keep the lines of communication open with your daughter, educated both her AND you about her first period, and provided information about Kotex and their Hello Period website. I have learned a lot, myself, by writing these articles and researching the topic of teens and their periods. My mom was never good at talking to me about personal issues like this so I had no frame of reference to go by. All I knew when I started this campaign is that I did NOT want my daughter to be as uneducated as I was when I first got my period.
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For this final phase of the Kotex program, I was sent a gift card to encourage my daughter and I to spend some quality time together. Our days and weeks are so hectic with school, work, sports, etc that it is often hard to find time to just hang out together. When we do get a free moment or two of unscheduled time, we usually just flop on the TV or surf the internet instead of interacting with each other. Keeping the lines of communication open often means forcing ourselves to make time to do things TOGETHER. Here are a few tips to help encourage you to find time in your own hectic lives to talk with your daughter:
1. Turn off the radio in the car: We spend a lot of time in the car that could be spent actually communicating with each other. Every once in a while, turn the radio off and see what conversations pop up!
2. Prepare a meal together: We have to eat, right? Cooking dinner for the family is a great time to chat with your daughter. Send the boys off to play a video game while you and your girl(s) bond over a simmering sauce.
3. Don’t over-schedule yourselves. We are bad about this in our house. Just because there is a school club, scout program, birthday party, or neighborhood get-together doesn’t mean you actually have to go to all of them. Learn to just say NO so you can stop running around so much.
4. Turn off the electronics. In my house, we have a no headphones rule. I refuse to have children wandering around my house who are plugged into an iPod 24/7. With no headphones in their ears, it is much easier to actually talk to them.
5. Learn to do things together: A few months ago, my son and I started a Taekwondo class together. It is good exercise and it gives us something to talk about. My daughter loves to do her nails and while it is not really MY thing, we spent some time this weekend giving ourselves a French manicure. This is MUCH harder than the package makes it seem but we had a lot of fun.
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The most important part of this campaign, for me, has been learning ways to keep the lines of communication open with my daughter and making sure that she is comfortable with her changing body, hormones, emotions, and all the angst that comes along with being a tween. It makes me feel good to have shared all of the information on the Kotex site with her and the emergency kit we created for her backpack eases both of our minds quite a bit. Now she is confident that when she finally DOES get her period, she knows what to do. She also knows that she can come to me with any questions she may have which is comforting to both of us.
As much as I would love to keep my baby girl from growing up for as long as I can, I know that isn’t possible. It seems like just a short time ago that we were coloring together and playing with play-dough. While I miss those days quite a bit, I realize that she needs me just as much NOW as she did when she was 2…probably even more so! In order to make sure we don’t drift apart as she grows up, I will try hard to spend quality time with her and keep the lines of communication open. I am thankful for Kotex for providing a resource to go to for BOTH of us!
Communicating with Tweens
Disclaimer: I wrote this review while participating in a Brand Ambassador Campaign by Mom Central on behalf of U by Kotex Tween and received products to facilitate my post and a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate.
Diane is a professional blogger and nationally certified pharmacy technician at Good Pill Pharmacy. She earned her BS in Microbiology at the University of New Hampshire and has worked in cancer research, academics, and biotechnology. Concern over the growing incidence of human disease and the birth of her children led her to begin living a more natural life. She quickly realized that the information she was learning along the way could be beneficial to many others and started blogging and freelance writing to share this knowledge with others. Learn more about her HERE.
What a great idea to make an “Emergency kit” – that will sure bring peace of mind! Great communication tips, too.
I love this! it is a way to bond with your daughter and at the same time talk about what will happen later. I love the Emergency Kit. I remember when I was little they sure did not have that. Now I know what to do when my little one get to that stage. Thanks for this incredible review. Love it a lot!!
I wish I would of had an Emergency kit when I was a teen. What a great way to bond with your daughter and I love that you and your son takes a Taekwondo class together.