Preparing your Daughter for Her First Menstrual Period and other Puberty Milestones

Schools and Non-Profit Organizations are eligible to purchase The Dot Girl's First Period Kit at discount prices. Contact Kathy at 1-877-202-2702 (toll free) for details or email at customerservice@dotgirlproducts.com. Ask about our free bookmarks for your groups!

Meet Chelsea Krost, the 18 year old creator and host of a radio show just for teens called Teen Talk Live. Teen Talk Live gives teens a forum to voice their opinions and discuss important issues with professionals and their peers.

In her local community Chelsea has been involved in social causes such as the SOS Children's Villages in Coconut Creek, Florida which provides a safe and nurturing home for abused and neglected children.

Now Chelsea and her family are heading to Africa on June 4th in conjunction with Dot Girl First Period Products, Kotex, The Scensible Source Company and Give a Girl a Chance. Give a Girl a Chance is a Feminenza International global program dedicated to helping women and girls reach their full potential.

Please join this mission to help raise monetary funds and collect feminine hygiene products which will be distributed to young women in rescue centers in Kenya. Dot Girl First Period Products will be donating a modified version of The Dot Girl's First Period Kit for distribution.

All donations are welcome and can be made directly to Give a Girl a Chance. For more information, please call 561-750-3500 or email Chelsea at info@teentalk.net.

Common Misperceptions Your Daughter Might Have About Her Period

Should You and Your Daughter Use the Same Protection?

Tips For Your Active Daughter During Her Period

Help Your Daughter Take Care of Herself During Her Period

Period Symptoms Your Daughter Might Experience

How to Tell Your Daughter's Period Might Be Coming

Introducing Your Daughter to Feminine Care Products

Hygiene during Your Daughter's Period

We're excited to announce our newly improved period kit which includes samples of KOTEX® Ultra Thin Regular Pads with Wings and KOTEX® LIGHTDAYS® Individually Wrapped Long Liners, a store coupon for FREE KOTEX® products, Scensibles disposal bags and a larger heating pad.

Now The Dot Girl's First Period Kit is packed with even more tools to help your daughter prepare for her first period!

KOTEX, LIGHTDAYS and the Red Dot Design are trademarks of Kimberly-Clark Worldwide, Inc. used under license.

Disposing of feminine care items. It's not a subject that is likely to come up with your sisters, co-workers and friends over coffee but it's an issue that deserves special attention; especially as you pass on your wisdom about menstruation to your daughter.

Some of the anxiety and embarrassment about having a period can be eased by teaching your daughter the proper disposal method in a public restroom, at school, at a friend's home, at the mall, and her own bathroom. Since the average woman uses 12,000 disposable feminine care products during her lifetime, it is sensible to encourage responsible practices at an early age.

Here are some helpful tips to share:

NEVER flush sanitary products (including tampons) down the toilet. (See below)

Always do your best to wrap up soiled products, do not just drop them in a waste can.

Remember no one else should have to view, smell or handle your discarded products.

Used sanitary items should never be left lying on the floor, even if there is not a disposal unit in the stall of a public restroom.

Immediately wash your hands after discarding sanitary products and using the bathroom.

CAN TAMPONS BE FLUSHED DOWN THE TOILET?

Though toilets are a convenient and quick way to get rid of unwanted items, all feminine care products, which are made to absorb, should never be flushed into a public or septic sewer system. Though some tampon packages say "flushable," the reality is that they do not immediately disperse, disintegrate or decompose.

Tampons clog toilets and septic tanks, and contribute to pipe blockages, which lead to unscheduled maintenance calls, time-consuming cleanup and expensive repairs.

Now there is a clean, easy, discreet way to dispose of feminine care products anytime, anyplace. SCENSIBLES® are specially designed personal-size pink flower patterned plastic bags with a pleasant fresh fragrance. The easy tie handle closure conceals the contents while antimicrobial additives inhibit the growth of odor causing bacteria. SCENSIBLES, made from biodegradable plastic, hold varying sizes of feminine care products and are a trouble-free alternative to flushing tampons down the toilet. SCENSIBLES are perfect for home use and to carry on the go!

Thank you to Ann Germanow at Scensiblesource.com for this article.

Buy Scensibles here.

Written by Jessica B. Gillooly, PhD, Before She Gets Her Period will help parents talk to their children. It gives them the information they need to talk intelligently about body changes, pads and tampons, cramps, mood swings and what to do when IT comes at school.

Exercises and activities get parents talking to their daughters, with tips on exactly what to say. There is also a chapter for fathers and brothers.

Throughout the book, real stories written by girls and women offer insight into the emotions of menstruation, connect women and girls together, and are fun to read. This is the book you wish your parents had.

Buy Before She Gets Her Period here.

Written by Sam Gitchel and Lorri Foster, Let's Talk About S-E-X, is the ideal starting point for the parent who wants to communicate sexuality information that is frank and clear and with the feelings and values they wish to convey.

Using the guide at the back of the book, parent can learn how to approach that BIG TALK in a way that is comfortable and positive.

The front section of the book is meant to be read together by parent and child. It can then easily be re-read by the child who may not be able to absorb all the information in one reading.

Buy Let's Talk About S-E-X here.

Dot Girl First Period Products is pleased to announce the addition of CC Girl Beginner Bras to our product line. The seamless pull-over day bras are made of smooth, seamless micofiber with lightly lined, ultra-soft stretchy cups. Adjustable back straps can be converted to a racer back. A fantastic everyday pullover bra that is just right for her! Two colors and three sizes available.

Buy a bra here.

Somebody once said that "Friends are like bras - close to your heart and there for support." This may seem like an exaggeration, but bras truly keep a woman healthy and active. That is, if they fit right, of course.

Finding the right bra can be a monumental task for women of all ages but more so for young girls growing up. For mothers and daughters all over the world, the quest for that first training bra can be a challenging experience.

Historically, corsets and camisoles were the undergarments of choice for women. When bras began to dominate the market, they came to have some social significance and are now one of the primary signs that a young girl has started becoming a woman. Previously this rite of passage was symbolized by a plain, white cotton camisole; now young girls can choose from bras of all imaginable styles and colors.

Shopping for that first training bra should be an intimate and memorable experience. One of the best ways to prepare is for mother and daughter to talk. It's an awkward time in a young girl's life, and a mother's guidance is needed to get through the many physical changes of growing up.

For some girls it may be too early to take measurements, but even if your daughter is a late bloomer, it might be best for you to still buy her first bra so she doesn't feel unattractive or left out from her friends.

If a perfectly fitted bra assists a woman to be healthy, then conversely, an ill-fitting bra can cause problems such as back pain, headaches, and just plain discomfort. So as early as the first bra, a girl should know what red flags to look out for when buying one. Straps digging into or falling off the shoulders are standard signs of a bad fit; bras that ride up over the breasts during activity or that can't seem to stay in place are other possible sore points that can be caused by ill-fitting bras.

I saw it -- I'm not blind: The hair peeking from under those arms and the little sprinkle of it Down There, too. The curvy hips and shapely legs and the bubble booty that would make the über-curvy Beyoncé do a double take.

Read the rest of the article here.

SavvyDaddy.com has excellent advice for Dads on supporting your daughter when she has her first period. Read his article here.

Seldom can a book stretch to accommodate both its author's and its publisher's fondest hopes: that it be original yet universal, artistic yet practical, and likely to sell briskly for centuries to come.

Read an Excerpt From "My Little Red Book"To understand why Rachel Kauder Nalebuff's "My Little Red Book" manages all of the above, you need only muse for a moment on the fact that your local Victoria's Secret, that high temple of undress, has private dressing rooms. Or that "Hair" on Broadway features full frontal nudity on stage and the usual segregated men's and ladies' rooms at intermission. Or that sex education still routinely proceeds in single-sex classes.

In other words, for all our public exploration of everyone else's bodies, our own personal specimens remain quite private. So when it comes to the onset of menstruation, it is the rare girl who will launch an enthusiastic dialogue with family or friends on the subject. Far more typical is she who enters the feminine-products aisle alone (and returns there alone for the duration).

To 18-year-old Rachel Nalebuff, this particular privacy made no sense. Reasoning that every lonely soul wandering through Walgreens has a story to tell, she was inspired to assemble a collection of 92 short reflections by women on the subject of their first period.

At this point, male readers may want to go outside and toss a ball around for a while. No matter how sympathetic, how curious or how deeply interested in life's little yuck factors you are, this collection is unlikely to hold more than the mildest intellectual appeal for you. But it is hard to imagine any woman, from the most straitlaced and body-denying to the most uninhibited and body-embracing, who will not read right through it with pure enjoyment, small flashes of recognition and the urge to buy it for every female preteen in sight.

Contributors range in age from teenagers to the very old, and they come from all over the world. Either Ms. Nalebuff or her editors had the good sense to prohibit all of them, especially the well-known writers, from droning on. Most pieces are a few crisp paragraphs that manage to avoid both the chirpy "You are a woman now" song of the Tampax box and the lugubrious musings on blood, moons and fertility of the feminist academic.

Ms. Nalebuff's Great Aunt Nina, for instance, got her first period on a train out of Poland at the onset of World War II, while being strip-searched by guards at the German border. Her first napkin was a railroad-issue toilet paper roll, and her first intimation of a better life ahead was her mother's hissed promise that sanitary products in France, where they were headed, were far better than Polish versions.

Sixty years later, Ms. Nalebuff herself spent a horrific afternoon waterskiing in a stained yellow bathing suit stuffed with paper towels, in the company of her tongue-tied grandfather. Her younger sister Zoe, on her day, simply text-messaged her best friend a big red dot and a sigh: "Only 40 more years."

The author Patricia Marx was furious at her first period, having decided by age 15 that she was going to be lucky enough to skip the whole thing. Cecily von Ziegesar, author of the "Gossip Girl" series, was one of untold thousands to be flummoxed by a box of applicator-free O.B. tampons. The runner Kathrine Switzer had to prime the pump with calories: only after she gained 15 pounds with peanut butter and chocolate milk did she begin to menstruate.

Even Gloria Steinem makes an appearance, with a reprint of her hoary 1978 classic, "If Men Could Menstruate." ("Congress would fund a National Institute of Dysmenorrhea to help stamp out monthly discomforts. Sanitary supplies would be federally funded and free.")

Like other menstruating women in Bangalore, India, in 1962, Shobha Sharma was banished from the family home to an isolated room in the back garden. In New York in 1942, Thelma Kandel was forbidden to water the houseplants (scientists once claimed that menstruating women secreted potent plant-killing "menotoxins"). More than one immigrant mother slapped her daughter across the face, for reasons none of them can quite remember.

Ms. Nalebuff, who will enter Yale this fall, has established a Web site for readers to contribute stories, but one suspects that a giant menstruation chat group will be just a little too much. The discipline of hard covers here is perfect for letting the reader sense themes without being bludgeoned by them.

Two surface over and over. First is the remarkably durable adolescent conviction that no matter who you are, where and when you were born, you are freakishly abnormal - too young, too old; your flow too thick, too scanty, too brown. The writer Joyce Maynard sums it up: "Before I started being ashamed of getting my period I was ashamed of not getting my period."

More intriguing is that even among the carefully prepared adolescents of the late 20th century, one contributor after another writes of her utter conviction that the stain on her underwear meant that she was dying.

The book's great beauty is that these themes are left unexplored. No one draws a moral (see, everyone thinks she's different!), or offers up the poet's lament that all life's landmarks spell a step to death. The reader is left alone to absorb it all in privacy.

See our lens book list to purchase My Little Red Book today.

What is oral health?

As a woman, you know that your health needs are unique. You also know that at specific times in your life, you need to take extra care of yourself. Times when you mature and change, for example, puberty or menopause, and times when you have special health needs, such as menstruation or pregnancy. Did you know that your oral health needs also change at these times?

While women tend to take better care of their oral health than men do, women's oral health is not markedly better than men's. This is because hormonal fluctuations throughout a woman's life can affect many tissues, including gum tissue.

A study published in the January 1999 issue of the Journal of Periodontology reports that at least 23 percent of women ages 30 to 54 have periodontitis (an advanced state of periodontal disease in which there is active destruction of the periodontal supporting tissues). And, 44 percent of women ages 55 to 90 who still have their teeth have periodontitis.

Because periodontal disease is often a "silent" disease, many women do not realize they have it until it reaches an advanced state. However, at each stage of your life, you can take steps to protect your oral health.

Puberty
During puberty, an increased level of sex hormones, such as progesterone and possibly estrogen, causes increased blood circulation to the gums. This may cause an increase in the gum's sensitivity and lead to a greater reaction to any irritation, including food particles and plaque. During this time, the gums may become swollen, turn red and feel tender.

As a young woman progresses through puberty, the tendency for her gums to swell in response to irritants will lessen. However, during puberty, it is important to follow a good at-home oral hygiene regimen, including regular brushing and flossing, and regular dental care. In some cases, a dental professional may recommend periodontal therapy to help prevent damage to the tissues and bone surrounding the teeth.

Menstruation
Occasionally, some women experience menstruation gingivitis. Women with this condition may experience bleeding gums, bright red and swollen gums and sores on the inside of the cheek. Menstruation gingivitis typically occurs right before a woman's period and clears up once her period has started.

Pregnancy
Women may experience increased gingivitis or pregnancy gingivitis beginning in the second or third month of pregnancy that increases in severity throughout the eighth month. During this time, some women may notice swelling, bleeding, redness or tenderness in the gum tissue.

In some cases, gums swollen by pregnancy gingivitis can react strongly to irritants and form large lumps. These growths, called pregnancy tumors, are not cancerous and are generally painless. If the tumor persists, it may require removal by a periodontist.

Studies have shown a relationship between periodontal disease and pre-term, low-birth-weight babies. Any infection, including periodontal infection, is cause for concern during pregnancy. In fact, pregnant women who have periodontal disease may be seven times more likely to have a baby that is born too early and too small! If you are planning to become pregnant, be sure to include a periodontal evaluation as part of your prenatal care.

Women who use oral contraceptives may be susceptible to the same oral health conditions that affect pregnant women. They may experience red, bleeding and swollen gums. Women who use oral contraceptives should know that taking drugs sometimes used to help treat periodontal disease, such as antibiotics, may lessen the effect of an oral contraceptive.

Menopause and Post-Menopause
Women who are menopausal or post-menopausal may experience changes in their mouths. They may notice discomfort in the mouth, including dry mouth, pain and burning sensations in the gum tissue and altered taste, especially salty, peppery or sour.

In addition, menopausal gingivostomatitis affects a small percentage of women. Gums that look dry or shiny, bleed easily and range from abnormally pale to deep red mark this condition. Most women find that estrogen supplements help to relieve these symptoms.

Bone loss is associated with both periodontal disease and osteoporosis. Research is being done to determine whether the two are related. Women considering Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) to help fight osteoporosis should note that this may help protect their teeth as well as other parts of the body.

Steps to Protect Oral Health
Careful periodontal monitoring and excellent oral hygiene is especially important for women who may be noticing changes in their mouths during times of hormonal fluctuation. To help ensure good oral (and overall) health, be sure to:

See a dental professional for cleaning at least twice a year.
See a periodontist in your area if you or your dentist notice problems with your gum tissue. Problems may include:
Bleeding gums during brushing
Red, swollen or tender gums
Gums that have pulled away from the teeth
Persistent bad breath
Pus between the teeth and gums
Loose or separating teeth
A change in the way your teeth fit together when you bite
A change in the fit of your dentures
Keep your dental professionals informed about any medications you are taking and any changes in your health history.
Brush and floss properly every day. Review your techniques with a dental professional or view a free AAP brochure sample on how to brush and floss.

Judy Blume has written "a book for every conversation you do not want to have with your child," quipped one of the emcees at Blumesday -- a sold-out event celebrating the 70th birthday of the bestselling author at Hollywood's M Bar on Friday night.

The line drew knowing laughs from the many women in the audience who'd grown up reading "Forever," "Deenie" and other Blume classics in the 1970s, when too-hot-to-handle subjects such as menstruation and masturbation weren't readily discussed, even among friends.

But Blume took them on, boldly going where young adult fiction had previously feared to tread, writing in the first person on topics that had long been taboo. In the process, she earned a following so devoted that 30-plus years later, many of her original readers still can't get enough.

This was definitely the case at M Bar, where a packed house listened to readings and watched comedic reenactments of scenes from their favorite books. Even Blume made an appearance -- albeit briefly and via live video feed.

A role model

Ten minutes before Blumesday's 8 p.m. start, the onstage video screen broadcast an image of a piece of paper posted on a cupboard: "Judy is coming" was all it said. Unbeknown to the audience, most of whom were excitedly chatting over caprese salads and fried calamari in the red velveteen supper club, the note was hanging inside Blume's very own New York home.

A few minutes later, the camera spun around to reveal the author's shockingly youthful, smiling face, ringed with a mane of Annie-esque red hair -- and she went on to prove that she's every bit the role model now as she was in her heyday.

"I can't think of any better way to celebrate my belated birthday than with my readers," said Blume, who has more readers than most. Since her first novel was published in 1970, she's sold more than 80 million books.

Readers want to know

Blume went on to answer a smattering of audience questions.

What would she keep or cut in a 2008 edition of one of her most famous books, the menstruation-themed "Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret"?

"We've already changed the pads once. I can't change Margaret," Blume said of the premenstrual girl with whom she's long identified.

Was it true Blume's books were among those Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin was rumored to have wanted banned?

"It's not true. There's a lot to say about Sarah, but she didn't give that list to the library," Blume said, adding, "I'm an Obama chick."

Did she realize she'd be breaking boundaries when she started writing?

"I didn't know anything. I was just writing about what I knew to be true," she said. "You had that special place, and so did I."

Blumesday's origins

The audience was (predictably) female and (predominantly) Gen X. These were the women for whom Blume wasn't just an author but a sort of genetic imprimatur. It was one of these women -- Joanna Miller -- who co-created the first Blumesday in Portland, Ore., last year as a YA riff on Bloomsday, the annual literary event that celebrates the lead character in James Joyce's "Ulysses."

At last year's event, and also during Friday's show, Miller, 37, waxed comedic about the Judy Blume diary she'd received as a gift in sixth grade and the adolescent highs and lows of its entries, such as her trip to the Esprit factory and complaints that she had no friends.

"Judy Blume is so huge and seminal," said Jill Soloway, 40, the "Six Feet Under" and "Dirty Sexy Money" writer who not only performed at the event but also helped bring Blumesday to Los Angeles in conjunction with Object, a neo-feminist group designed to help "young women move from being the object in someone else's story to being the subject in their own stories."

Whether it's the overweight Blubber enduring ostracism at school or model-pretty Deenie suffering from scoliosis, Blume's characters offer quintessential examples of girl-women being the subjects of their own stories and finding truths and their own power.

Comic digressions

That theme was played out throughout the evening, as scenes from "Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret" were reenacted and discussed by "Saturday Night Live" alum Melanie Hutsell and then comedian Lauren Weedman, who killed with digression after hilarious digression.

"When I was first writing, my little prayers were, 'Please, please, please. Let something be published someday.' Then it went to, 'Please, please, please. Let somebody read this,' " said Blume in a separate interview.

"My prayers never went so far as, 'Please, please, please. Let this last 40 years.' I wanted to write books that people wanted to read. I never realized there would be this group that would remember them so fondly and celebrate them.

About one-quarter of U.S. teenage girls received the cervical-cancer vaccine Gardasil in its first full year of distribution, federal authorities said Thursday.

The figures represent the government's first substantial study of vaccination rates for Gardasil, Merck's heavily advertised, three-shot series that targets the sexually transmitted human papillomavirus, or HPV.

The vaccine protects against strains of the virus that cause about 70 percent of cervical cancers.

"For a new vaccine, 25 percent is really very good," Lance Rodewald, director of the division of immunization services at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said at a news conference releasing the data.

"We need to see that rate every year if we are going to meet our goal" of having 90 percent of teenagers vaccinated, he said.

But immunologist W. Martin Kast, of the University of Southern California's Keck School of Medicine, said, "Twenty-five percent is not bad, but it's not good either."

He said data released earlier by Merck show that only about 1 percent of Hispanic teenagers are receiving the vaccine, and "they are the population that needs it the most" because the frequency of infection is relatively high.

Researchers also said the percentage of teens receiving two other relatively new vaccines went up. About 32 percent of teens received the meningitis vaccine, up from 20 percent in 2006; and 30 percent received the tetanus, diphtheria and whooping-cough vaccine, up from 19 percent in 2006.

Merck received Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval to begin marketing Gardasil in June 2006. Experts said it spent $100 million marketing it in 2007 and had sales of about $1.5 billion.

The vaccine has been criticized on a number of fronts. Some scientists said it is only modestly effective and its safety has not been adequately proved. Conservative groups said that giving it to young girls implies approval of sexual activity. And consumer advocates bemoan its price: $360 for a series of three shots.

The survey was based on telephone interviews with a representative sample of nearly 3,000 teens 13 to 17; their answers were confirmed with vaccination records from physicians.

Information from The Associated Press is included in this report.

Maggie O'Connor minces garlic for a Mexican lasagna while across the kitchen Melissa Thornton chops basil for a turkey wrap.

These aren't professional chefs. They're 10- and 11-year-old girls getting a lesson in cooking and healthy eating. They're also learning how to have a positive image of their bodies.

"I think you need to balance things," said Thornton, a fourth-grader from Atlanta, Georgia.

Not only is her mother peeking over Melissa's shoulder as she works, but so is clinical psychologist Dina Zeckhausen, founder of the Eating Disorders Information Network.

She gathered eight moms and their daughters on a recent Sunday afternoon at The Cook's Warehouse in Atlanta.

Zeckhausen's goal is to help the mothers be effective role models, especially when it comes to eating.

"These are just ordinary moms," Zeckhausen said. "A lot of ordinary moms these days have struggled with their own body image. They want to raise healthy daughters. They don't want to pass their own anxieties down to their girls."

The National Eating Disorders Association notes there has been unprecedented growth of eating disorders in the past two decades.

The group estimates up to 10 million Americans suffer from the condition. Ninety percent of those who battle anorexia and bulimia are female.

Zeckhausen urged the moms gathered in the kitchen to eliminate what she called "negative body talk."

"It's important that you don't put yourself down in front of your daughter," explained Zeckhausen. "She has an adult woman's body in her future and she's looking to you in terms of how to feel about that body. She's taking notes whether you know it or not."

Vicki Bratton knows that firsthand. She attended the class with her 8-year-old. "I realized so many things come out of my mouth that I don't expect. Everything we say, their ears are hearing and they are processing it."

Bratton said she was surprised she needed to start worrying about her daughter being at risk for eating disorders at such a young age.

"I hear stories of first-graders who are already afraid of eating cookies because they think they are bad," Zeckhausen said. "I heard of a 5-year-old who wouldn't put on her winter coat because she was afraid it made her look fat."

Zeckhausen put part of the blame on the media and pop culture. "Our daughters are comparing their bodies on the outside to what the girls look like on the Disney Channel and in the magazines. We want to help our daughters base their body image more on what their bodies do for them and how they feel, rather than how they look."

For more information visit the National Eating Disorders Association.

Girls and young women who exercise regularly between the ages of 12 and 35 can substantially cut their risk of developing breast cancer, according to a major new study.

Remaining physically active until the age of 35 can reduce the chances of developing the disease before menopause by up to 23 per cent, researchers found. The study, conducted by researchers at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and Harvard University in Boston, analysed 65,000 women.

The study looked at registered nurses aged between 24 and 42, who were questioned about their physical activities from the age of 12. After six years of the study, 550 women had been diagnosed with breast cancer.

Researchers found the disease was more prominent among the less active than among the physically fit. The most active women were exercising at a rate equivalent to running for 3.25 hours a week or walking for 13 hours, the study found.

Lead researcher Dr. Graham Colditz said in a press release, "We don't have a lot of prevention strategies for premenopausal breast cancer, but our findings clearly show that physical activity during adolescence and young adulthood can pay off in the long run by reducing a woman's risk of early breast cancer."

Colditz added that the findings are just "one more reason to encourage young girls and women to exercise regularly."

The findings were published Tuesday in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. The research was funded by grants from the National Cancer Institute and the American Cancer Society.

Introducing our children to change and new experiences is a natural function of parenting. It's the 'how' and 'when' that can trip us up.

At age 8, my daughter came home from baseball practice and asked, "How long does it take to bleed to death?" She said her friend Ruthie began bleeding down her legs on second base.

I stammered out reassurance that Ruthie would be all right, that the bleeding was normal for growing-up girls, and that Ruthie might stay home from practice for a day.

"You mean she's NOT dying?"

"Right. Her body is growing up, and will bleed a little bit every month now. But her mom will show her how to keep clean. It can be messy, but it's not scary."

"YUCK! I'm NEVER going to do that," she said, pounding her fist into her baseball mitt. "Am I?"

Prepare Yourself

Preparing our daughters for transition to womanhood means preparing ourselves by learning basic information.

Female puberty marches along predictably in three stages: breast development, pubic hair growth and then menstruation.

Recent studies indicate that puberty begins earlier now in American girls than in previous decades, and takes longer to complete. The possible reasons under investigation include a connection to rising obesity rates and the presence of chemicals in food and the environment.

Although breast development is beginning earlier, the beginning of menses has remained fairly steady over the past three decades. The average age for beginning menses is about 12.5 years, according to a study published in 1997 in the journal Pediatrics. It can begin as early as age 8 or as late as age 16. A girl can expect her first period after she begins developing curves and pubic hair, experiences a growth spurt and weighs about 100 pounds.

Menstruation is the discharge of blood and tissue from the lining of the uterus each month for about five days. It signals a female's reproductive maturity. A typical menstrual cycle lasts 28 to 30 days, but can vary from 22 to 35 days.

A girl's first period is called "menarche" (men-ARK-ee). The first period is likely to be light and last up to seven days. Sometimes girls feel mild to severe abdominal cramps for as briefly as an hour or as long as the whole length of the period. Every girl is different! It may take a year for a girl's menstrual period to settle into a predictable pattern.

Prepare Your Daughter

Classes, books, and "first period kits" are available to help parents explain the facts of menarche at the level of detail that is appropriate to the age of their girls.

Health educators agree that the most important step is to establish trusting, two-way communication with your daughter. Several hospitals in the Puget Sound area offer workshops to help create a clear channel for dialogue.

One such workshop, "Growing up Female," is facilitated by Sara Rigel at Swedish Medical Center. The one-hour class welcomes girls ages 9 to 12 and the adults they love and trust to learn how to discuss the pre-teen's changes. "This class is not just for moms and daughters - sometimes we see four parents with one daughter or a girl brings an older sibling or aunt," says Rigel.

"Our primary mission is to promote communication in the family," she said. The class relays facts to alleviate fears of the unknown and to equip attendees with correct information about puberty and sexuality. "But foremost they leave with a model for developing communication skills and providing opportunities for questions."

"Our main messages are that this transition is normal, talking about it is normal, and talking about it in the family is normal," continues Rigel. She says the class affirms to the adults that other parents are dealing with the same issues and to the girls that all other girls go through the same changes. No one is alone.

'The overall objective is that everybody in the class should be able to identify two good times [of day] to talk to each other." One family figured out the time and place was in the car while they were doing errands or commuting.

The Seattle School District helps parents prepare their children via "FLASH," "Family Life and Sexual Health" curriculum. District Health Education Specialist Helen Walsh says the program begins in fifth grade classrooms with students learning about themselves and their relationships with others, then progresses into discussion about puberty.

As resources permit, the school district adds the home-life dimension to FLASH with an annual after-hours evening called "Family Night." Each fifth-grader brings a trusted adult to school. If a family member is not available, one of the school staff fills in with the student.

"This was designed to celebrate the changes that are happening in the students - the ways that puberty is affecting them physically, emotionally and socially. And it is to help develop ways for students to continue these conversations at home," says Walsh. "For many, this is their last year in an elementary school, and moving into middle school is part of their larger transition."

The 90-minute workshop splits into two simultaneous sessions - one for boy/adult pairs, and the other for girl/adult pairs. Translators fluent in seven languages are available to help where they are needed to facilitate discussion.

"The family knows that FLASH information is underway in the classroom, but a lot of times the families don't know when or how to start the conversation (about puberty) with their students," says Walsh. "Here they learn how to talk about these changes and stay in communication when things - life - seem confusing, exciting, overwhelming. Parents have a lot of feelings about their children growing up, too, and want to express that to their children. It's a two-way street."

Stock Up

At the top of your shopping list write down sanitary pads and tampons. At least show your daughter what tampons look like and how they work, even if you don't recommend that she use them. Buy a small calendar and show her how to record her periods.

Ask your pediatrician about analgesics to relieve the pain of menstrual cramps and headache. Buy a small heating pad or hot water bottle for your daughter's tummy.

Your daughter will feel more secure about menarche if she knows what to do when it happens.

· Stock up with the supplies she will need and show her how to use them. Be sure she knows where to find them. Consider ordering a "first period kit."

· Have a "rehearsal." Begin with washing hands, put a pad in place according to the printed instructions in the pad box, dispose of a used pad appropriately wrapped and end with washing hands.

· At a store or her school, show your daughter how to purchase a pad from a restroom machine.

· Talk through the "what ifs" and problem-solve together. What if her period starts at school? At summer camp? Who can she turn to for help?

· Speak from your own experience. It will help her to know you've been through this, too.

· Buy books about puberty and menstruation that are suited to her age and need for detail. You read them first!

· Plan how the two of you will celebrate The Big Day. Pedicures? A special dinner out? A box of yummy chocolates?

Local entrepreneurs Kathy Pickus and her sister, Teri Goodwin, created a tidy little gift pack for a girl's first period. The Dot Girl[tm] First Period Kit is a small, zippered case containing sample sanitary pads, tampons, hand wipes, a calendar, an informational booklet and a heating gel pad.

"We have more customers asking us why we don't include chocolate!" says Pickus, laughing. "The answer is that we couldn't fit anything more into the case." The kit is available only through the Dot Girl Web site, which features "first period stories" from girls. Pickus says that when she and her sister began promoting their product, women volunteered their menarche memories. This led the sisters to create a venue where girls can see that they are not alone and can match notes with others' experiences.

"Every girl and woman goes through it," said Pickus. "What's most surprising to us is that girls in this day and age are still surprised when it happens to them."

Tulalip resident Suzanne Pate has paid the rent for 20 years by writing for public and private sector health agencies, university publications and newspapers.

Neenah, WI, Sept. 4, 2008 - Kimberly-Clark's Kotex brand and Dot Girl First Period Products ("Dot Girl"), a leading retailer of first menstrual period kits for pre-teen girls, announced today a new licensing agreement. The partnership allows the Kotex brand to offer exclusive educational content from Dot Girl on its website, as well as connect with young women by having its products featured in the The Dot Girl's First Period Kit. Dot Girl will benefit from being featured on the Kotex.com Special Offers page.

"We are excited to be teaming up with the Kotex brand, as well as including Kotex Ultra Thin Pads with Wings and Lightdays Individually Wrapped Liners in our Kit," says Terri Goodwin, co-owner of Dot Girl. "The addition of these products will be a significant improvement for our core customers, mothers and daughters looking to have the first period conversation, and will be a great way for this group to gain access to product coupons for purchase of Kotex brand products."

The Dot Girl's First Period Kit, currently sold through www.dotgirlproducts.com, will also be featured in the Special Offers section of the Kotex.com website. Dot Girl co-owners Terri Goodwin and Kathy Pickus will be regular contributors to the Kotex.com Articles and Information page, with their first article appearing in October 2008.

The Kotex brand sees this partnership as a great opportunity to help educate and prepare young women to discuss their first period with their mothers in a positive, practical manner. By working with Dot Girl, the Kotex brand will be expanding its sampling and online outreach programs, key components of its marketing initiatives, by reaching new feminine product users through the Kits. Articles by the Dot Girl team will enhance the Kotex brand's use of online communications channels to interact with consumers by providing them access to educational and useful articles.

"The Kits by Dot Girl fit perfectly with a key Kotex brand promise: to help mothers and daughters have that important first period conversation," says Maripaz Romero, Associate Brand Manager on the Kotex brand. "The Kits are informative, convenient and stylish, and they are a great way to introduce a new generation to the Kotex brand and its products."

About Dot Girl First Period Products
Dot Girl First Period Products is owned by TK Designs, LLC and is based in the Seattle, WA area. TK Designs, LLC was founded in December 2005 by sisters Terri Goodwin and Kathy Pickus. Along with The Dot Girl's First Period Kit, the company sells books and clothing to help prepare young girls for puberty.

About Kimberly-Clark
Kimberly-Clark and its well-known global brands are an indispensable part of life for people in more than 150 countries. Every day, 1.3 billion people-nearly a quarter of the world's population-trust K-C brands and the solutions they provide to enhance their health, hygiene and well-being. With brands such as Kleenex, Scott, Huggies, Pull-Ups, Kotex and Depend, Kimberly-Clark holds the No. 1 or No. 2 share position in more than 80 countries. To keep up with the latest K-C news and to learn more about the company's 136-year history of innovation, visit www.kimberly-clark.com.

Allison's Story
I got mine at home the summer before sixth grade. I was 11. At first I had no idea what it was because it was brownish. I thought periods were supposed to be red. I eventually figured it out but I thought something was weird and I was afraid to tell my mom so I didn't. For 6 months. It was HORRIBLE. I had to use toilet paper that whole time. I ruined A LOT of underwear. Eventually my best friend got hers so I decided the next time I got it I would tell my mom. When I did she asked if it was the first time I'd gotten it. (She must have figured it out somehow) I lied and said no and she just left it at that. She showed me how to use a pad and that's how it's been for the last 2 years. I really regret not telling her though. It wasn't very smart.

Lily's Story
I was at Disneyland and saw orange in my underpants. Thinking this was normal, I decided to do nothing. The next day I sat down in the living room and felt wet. I thought, well this is odd, it's probably discharge. I got up and went to the bathroom. I sat on the toilet and there it was, my period. Fortunately I had already gotten the period talk, and used a pad. I walked into the living room and saw two of my sisters, not saying a word. When my mom and dad came home I just wanted my mom to know so I told her. She, being herself, yelled it to the rest of the family and called all of our friends and family.

Luann's Story
One of my illnesses as a child (having a number of them) was my thyroid being underactive. I began taking medicine for it. My mother kept asking our doctor when I was going to start. He told her to let things be and it would come naturally. Finally, at 14, it happened. We were visiting my cousins in Tallahassee, FL and had gone swimming at a lake. I had to take my cousin to the bathroom because she was too little to go alone. I went too and noticed something brownish in my bathing suit. I thought maybe I had some diarrhea or something. When we got back to their house, I went in the bathroom to change and realized what it was. I stayed locked in the bathroom for almost 3 hours until my mother yelled at me through the door and I told her what had happened. She got some pads for me and I made it back home to TN. She told our next door neighbor about it and their oldest son told me 'congratulations, you're a woman now'! Talk about embarrassed! My mother didn't talk to me and I didn't ask, so I was pretty clueless. Now, at 47, I've already spoken to my 10 year old about it and am hoping to have better communication and understanding.