How were you told about the onset of periods

We were sent home from our all girls' school with a letter for our mothers, to ask them to be sure we were prepared, so that we didn't get a fright. My mother explained, gave me the Lilia booklet, and told me to come and tell her when it started, which was at the swimming pool after a cold water swim. I told her, and she sorted me out, she saud my granny had told her nothing, and she was terrified.

Me. (aged 11 reading a woman's magazine) "What are periods?

Mother "Something that happens to you when you're grown up"

End of.

I started my periods at 11. I felt very ill and woke up with dreadful stomach pains. When I got out of bed, I realised I was bleeding, but had absolutely no idea why or where from! My mother cut up bits of old cloth, which I wore inside my knickers and had to wash myself. She only told me that it was part of growing up. Only when I was able to work part time at 15 was I able to buy proper towels and sanitary wear.

My mother had prepared me well before I started my periods.
Then later on the nurse came into school and showed us films about it and sex education.
We were taught that if we came on at school to to the girls headteacher.
I came on at 13 at lunchtime when all the teachers were in the staff room.
My friends who were all super excited frogmarched me to our lovely dinner lady who calmed us all down and gave me the necessities to sort myself out.
Such sweet innocence.

I started before I knew anything. Thought I was seriously ill for 2 or 3 days before I plucked up the courage to say anything. Then I got a perfunctory lesson - this is going to happen every month, it's normal - given a towel and a belt and left to get on with it. If it wasn't for a magazine article that offered a booklet all about it I would have known nothing for years!

Nothing, secondary school covered it, but 4 years too late

As I said earlier, my periods started when I was eleven, and my mother had told me about them so it wasn’t a shock. However, I don’t think anything was said about why I had them, and nobody mentioned boys - I imagine it was perfectly obvious that at eleven I wasn’t remotely interested in boys. In fact the only boys I knew were my brother and his friends, and my boy cousins. They were totally uninteresting!

The only thing I remember about the deeper meaning of menstruation was when I and my mother visited my aunt and her new baby. My mother told her that I had recently started on the path that led to where she (my aunt) was now. Not sure that I knew what she meant.

The very basic information from one very, very embarassed and unhappy Mother, who made it clear that anything to do with the body, reproduction etc. was pretty disgusting. Started at almost twelve on my first day at senior school (what luck) and felt terrible. Remember the safety pins holding towel to belt digging in and being so uncomfortable. Not long after some pants were invented that had little tabs with press studs at the front to hold a towel that had two round holes at the end - so much more comfortable, and oh, the relief! Nothing like the great revelation of Tampax though - total freedom.

My mum gave me a sanitary belt and pads with loops. She said this will happen every month and will make a mess!!. No one told me about the horrendous pains i would suffer every month.

I had a younger friend who told me about periods, she had several older sisters......I was appalled but thought 'bleeding ONCE a YEAR wasn't too bad then she corrected me and told me once a month ugh! it was 3 years later age 13 that I started and told my older sister who sorted me out..Mother said 'you've started your 'courses' then . what a strange term to use..

i was nine. i went into my mom's bedroom as i had terrific tummy pains. I was taken to the Dr the next day. no idea what was said. I was given a sanitary belt and towel but i was never told anything apart from how to use the loops. I think i was about 13 when i eventually found out -what it was all about. but not by my mom or anybody else but by reading a magazine. Now suffering with VA - that is a taboo subject too!!!

I'm surprised at how many posters were told little or nothing. In Ireland in early 60s, in a convent school, we were given a book to read, though most girls knew the "facts" already and it was a regular subject of discussion!

My mum told me absolutely nothing. I was an early starter, just about 11, and when mum discovered some blood in my knickers whilst doing laundry, she promptly sent me next door to our lovely neighbour, who was a little bit younger than mum. She explained everything in a very matter of fact and simple way. On returning home, mum shoved a sanitary belt and Dr whites pack of towels at me, and basically left me to get on with things! The following month, my lovely neighbour took me to the chemist and bought me a pack of towels which stuck in your pants, no need for a belt! a revelation. Bless my old mum, she was a bit odd!

My mother told me when I was about 10. Apparently she had been waiting for me to ask about babies etc. I knew they grew in mother's tummies but I must have realised that women knew they were pregnant before tummy got big! I asked how did they know, and that gave her the opportunity to tell me all about periods (and everything else).

I was told the 'facts of life' by my best friend in my last year at primary school. Her Mum had given her a booklet so although she knew the correct terminology for the reproductive organs she did not know how to pronounce the words, and quite got a few wrong!
I went home and asked my Mum where babies came from. She passed me a useless leaflet with a bit at the back about 'growing up' which was unintelligible. She asked me if I had any questions and I didn't because I already knew. Eventually I did ask her what I should do 'when it happened' and she showed me a belt and pads she had bought for me which she kept in her dressing table drawer in case my younger sister saw it and I was told NOT to say anything to my sister!
When I started aged 12 I showed Mum the stain in my pants. She went to get the belt and pads but she had used all the pads herself so I had to use towelling until she got back from the shops.
The belt and pads were actually quite modern for the time; the slim, flushable pads poppered into a plastic lining with an elastic belt which sat low on the hips.

My mum did tell me but a very matter of fact don't ask any conversations type of thing and very closed book about it all.

Told all sorts of daft things not to do, ride a bike or wash my hair!!

I had seen my mother's packets of sanitary towels in the bathroom cupboard from an early age. When I asked aged 3 or 4 what they were for, my mother said grown-up women used them once a month and that we didn't need to talk about it until I was a big girl.

When I was about 11 and the first slight signs of breasts developing showed, Mummy sat me and a slightly older friend, whose mother was too embarrassed to discuss it with her daughter down and told us why women have periods and that we would have them once a month unless we were going to have a baby, until we were 45 or 50, when periods stop again, and you no longer can have a baby.

We discussed sanitary protection, but having grown up in a doctor's household I knew and had told my friend too where babies came from, as I had often seen ladies with large tummies in the waiting-room, and the local midwives dropped in frequently for coffee with the family, and afterwards a chat behind closed doors with Daddy about Mrs some-one or other who was having a baby.

We were five doctor's daughters, a midwife's daughter and two nurses' daughters in my class at school. Our Scripture teacher got very, very cross when we all started laughing at the Hebrew midwives telling Pharaoh that the Israelite women gave birth so quickly that the midwives, who were supposed to be killing the boy children couldn't get there.

We knew very well that it takes hours for a baby to be born.

We were the classroom authorities on the subject of babies, periods etc.

I can remember a time when I wondered what the box of weird cotton things with strings in the bathroom was. I don’t actually remember being told about periods. But our mum must have as when we had a lesson on it in primary school (girls only, boys were sent off to do something else) I knew all about it. I’d have been 10-11 then but mine didn’t start until I was 14.

My grandmother made sure my mum knew all about it ahead of time as her mother didn’t.
Which I think was unusual for the time judging by the number of older women who weren’t prepared.
I’m 60 for reference.

I wasn’t told at all. I was very late starting at almost 16and learnt about it from my friends. Bought my own sanitary products from money earned at a Saturday job!

My mum explained early on which was good because I started when I was 10 years old. My friend who was a year older and went to the grammar school came over excitedly after school one day eager to tell me what you had to do to have babies that she had been taught at school.
I can remember feeling incredulous at this information and folding my arms indignantly and announcing “Well you won’t catch me doing anything like that!” I obviously hadn’t really understood because I then said “ ok, suppose you are in hospital about to have a baby and you haven’t ‘done it”
My friend obviously hadn’t fully understood either because she replied “oh well…………. I suppose they get your husband to come and do it quick!” ???

I knew nothing: all girls Catholic school! No talk at school from teachers or friends, completely oblivious. At age 11 my Mum called me to the bathroom as she'd seen stains in underwear. She gave me a sanitary towel (what the Hell was this!) and a length if tape and said to wear it! I had no idea what to do or the reason for it. Ten days went by! Yes, this is true! I went to her bed very early one mng (she and dad were asleep) I whispered in her ear "could I have another 'thing' as I knew the odour was putrid" she was shocked and said "why are you still wearing it".
I didnt have a clue! It was an awful time for me, chronic cramps and sickness followed over the years; alas Mum gave me Anadin to control pain, for which (unbeknown at the time) I was allergic to the Quinine in the drug which caused nausea. At aged 23 I had an ovary+fallopian tube removed due to acute Endometriosis; ghastly periods!

With little sympathy or understanding. “That’s what happens to you. You’re a woman now!” At twelve! And oh yes, no tampons for me in case I was no longer a virgin.

I saw a used towel in the school toilets and was told you had to wear them after a certain age, I thought this meant all the time. When mine started my mum just said even cows had periods and I was imaging cows wearing STs!

Oh my goodness! Been laughing like a drain since reading this!! Did she ever recover??

I was 12 when my mum started hemorrhaging on a regular basis and her tummy started growing. She was fairly quickly taken in to hospital and had ovarian cancer, which had spread into her uterus.

Mum was very ill, and in hospital for months and someone at the hospital told me about periods and the purpose of the ovaries, uterus, etc. I was also told about increased risks for me because of mum, It left me with a terrible fear everytime I leaked.