Menstruation

My DGDs started at 10. One was in year 6 which I think is quite common. The other was in year 5 and quite small so I think not quite so common.
When I was at school there was only one girl who started in primary school. I was one of the oldest at 13 so I think the average was 12 then.

I left teaching 10 years ago, Even then wealways had one or two year 6 girls who had their periods. We made special provision for them as regards a separate toilet and changing area for games etc. They were very sensible and grown up about it all

It's only a distant memory now - between 13 and 43. And that was it! No menopausal problems. Sisters much the same. It must be hereditary.

I was 15, nearly 16, sister was nearly 15, and daughter was 14 - so it does seem to have some genetic links. I'm so glad we were late 'starters' don't think I could've coped back then

Dizzyblonde

I remember it with shame and embarrassment, thank goodness things are a lot easier for our granddaughters

I was just 12 when I started, all fully prepared and apart from my Great Aunt telling me not to wash my hair as I’d go mad ?all was well.
I did get bullied at school in the loos though as did anyone who didn’t belong to the right gang.
I would have loved proper unisex loos such as they are designing in new schools, proper walls and full length doors with a wash basin inside.
Most of the locks were broken in our loos and if you didn’t go in a group with someone to hold the door shut the horrid girls would barge in and steal pads and announce that so and so was on ‘jam rag’ time. Vile creatures, it’s not only boys who are bullies, girls can be even worse.

I was in my first week of secondary school, had no idea what was going on, totally terrified

Both daughters started just before they were eleven ( both fully prepared!)

My oldest granddaughter was twelve, and I’ve got two nine year olds, I really hope they manage to make it till at least eleven!

That is so sad as they seem to be growing up too quickly these days without having to cope with monthly periods. I was 12 when I started mine all those years ago and they finally finished at the age of 54!!!!! A lifetime of pain.

My GD started at 10 and was very obviously pubescent. Her brother also went through puberty early as his voice broke when he was 11.
Interesting warning, agnurse, Their mum's family have a history of breast cancer.

Sort of the "standard" age is about 9 or 10 to 16 for menarche (onset of menses). That said, I know a girl who started at 8. Her mum started at 9 and the girl was tall, so her parents weren't too concerned. They had already talked to her about periods and what they meant, so when she started, it wasn't scary for her.

PSA - if you start menstruating prior to age 12, you may have a higher risk for breast cancer. I would recommend mentioning early menarche to your provider and determining with your provider at what age you should start breast cancer screening.

I was 11 when my periods started, and I remember a girl in primary school having periods at the age of 9.

My periods lasted until I was 59 (a year ago)!

Can menstrual cycle is affected by taking antibiotics? I have been consuming for a while. I read about it at menstrual-cycle-calculator.com/antibiotics-and-menstrual-cycle/ and then I consider it seriously.

My grandma had a baby in her 50’s . A little girl who sadly died shortly after birth or else I would have an auntie 4 years younger than me . My grandma was a devoted Catholic but admitted to being deeply ashamed of the pregnancy . So much do that she believed that her babies death was her fault. I was still having very regular periods until just over a year ago (aged 55-56) so perhaps a connection . My mum had a hysterectomy aged 38 so cannot compare with her .

There is a lot of info on this on the nhs website
www.nhs.uk/conditions/periods/starting-periods/
It’s perfectly normal for some girls to start showing signs of puberty at 8 and 9 though signs of pubic hair and breast buds growing are the first signs followed by periods 1-2 years later . There is also info on precocious puberty - search under this - on the same site which has good info on many conditions
. If you look at ‘view all health stories ‘ it also debunks the latest health stories in the press by giving you the science and research behind the headlines and tells you how accurate the study was and what the general conclusions are.
Apologies for the soap box but we all need accurate information on our health !
My DIL asked me the same question as the poster about a month ago ! Hope this helps .

Yes you are correct about weight for girls starting their periods ,they have to be 7stone 3lb strangely enough. Same for anorexia, periods stop if weight falls below that.

It was in the late 40s am 81 now

I was 10 , and a real skinny ma link , menapause ar 55 . Must have spent a fortune on STs , in spite of 6 babies

I knew two girls at school who started periods at only eight and this was in 1950s. Both were very short when they stopped growing, less than 5’
I think girls who are going to be very tall start puberty late then go on growing for much longer, like big breeds of dogs do.

There have always been girls who mature earlier than their peers - there were one or two when I was at primary school in the mid-60s. I was a late starter like Chocolatenoodle8 and my mum was preparing to take me to the doctor to see why I hadn't started!

It is harder when they're still at primary school but I think things are much better than in our day and it's a subject that Mums talk to their daughters about more - it was whispered in our house!

Interesting about the connection with weight. As I said, I started in 1951 at 11 and three months. I was very, very slim (skinny) but quite tall for my age.

I had been well prepared by my mother, and took it pretty much in my stride.

Later I had a school friend who had been told absolutely nothing and like Grandma2213’s mother thought she was dying. How she had avoided playground gossip I cannot imagine. She was 13 years old, so not particularly young.

It is interesting to see how young many of you were when you started menstruating, so it is not that unusual. My friends mostly started between 11 and 13. (late 50s early 60s) Even if it was not discussed it was obvious when they were excused showers after PE.

My mother told me she started at 16 and thought she was dying so went to the doctor. She was orphaned and brought up by her sister who you think would have told her. Anyway to avoid history repeating itself she started telling me at about 8 years old. Imagine my distress when I didn't start till I was almost 18. I was convinced I was a boy especially when the next one didn't appear for 6 months!

I was undernourished and only about 6 stone but went on to be quite normal and had 3 easy pregnancies. I can't remember the menopause exactly but realised it had happened when I was around 50. As Saggi says we are all different.

It seems to affect more the overweight girl more than the slim ones, apparently fat makes more Oestrogen in the body and so girls tend to grow breasts etc at a much younger age.. I started mine in 1956 at age 10 but they weren't regular and I was very slim, my mother didn't explain to me why they had come only to not play with the boys...LOL

Thank you ladies for your kind thoughts. Mother is a real job of work.

I always put some sanitary products in the food bank collections at the supermarkets too. Also if you are collecting for/donating to homeless charities/organisations, they are always desperately short of sanitary stuff.

Some young girls are unable to attend school when they have their monthly period because their families cannot afford to buy or won’t buy sanitary products for them. Could I ask you to support The The Box Project by making a donation or buying a sanitary product and dropping it off at your local collection point. Thank you.

redboxproject.org/

We are all so different aren’t we , even in the same family. My grandmother ( b. 1885 ) was 17 I remember her telling me! Extremely late! My mother ( b.1915 ) was just 10! My sister (14) me(12). My daughter b.1977) was 15 , quite Latish for then. So I don’t see any pattern even in families. 9 is very young bless her and I wouldn’t wish it on any girl. But we all have to learn to cope and get on with it. I remember what I felt for my poor mum when she told me she was 10....