Stayfree and Menstrupedia organise special session for parents on preparing children for first period

Taking forward their initiative to normalise conversations around menstruation, Stayfree organised a special session to guide parents on preparing their child for her first period. Held in partnership with Menstrupedia, a friendly guide to periods, the online session saw participation from parents all over the country.

The session emphasised the importance of talking about periods with children and guided them on how to prepare and make their daughters period-ready. The informative session enlightened the parents on when to initiate conversation with their children, advising them not to avoid situations such as a child asking what a sanitary napkin is. It took the parents through the biological reasons for menstruation and the basics about the female anatomy. It counselled parents to refer to organs and periods by name to remove any associated stigma and taboo.

The session was designed to stimulate normalising menstrual conversation at home through methods such as celebrating periods, encouraging body positivity, empathising with period pain, and involving other family members in the conversation. The interactive session with many visual examples witnessed good participation.

Johnson & Johnson’s spokesperson said, “Stayfree has taken multiple initiatives to encourage parents to drive a healthy period conversation with their children. We want to ensure we move the needle towards normalising menstruation in the country and move towards a more understanding and accepting society. Every year, millions of girls have their first periods and most of them do not understand what they are going through. We must all ensure that these girls get the emotional and physical support to face their first period with confidence in an open and understanding home environment.”