# How old were you when you got your first period?



## mamazee (Jan 5, 2003)

I was just turning 13. My daughter hasn't had hers yet and she's just turning 12, but I think it'll be soon.

I think the average when I was a kid was 12, and it's 11 now? I'm not positive about the average. I wonder if we here are around the average. Maybe I should make a poll. I'll have a wide range.


----------



## neptunemama (Jun 20, 2005)

I was 13 when I got my first period. My older dd is 14 1/2 and has yet to get hers yet. I think she'll get it by this summer. My younger dd is 12 and hasn't gotten it yet either. However she's developing earlier than her sister did, so my guess is she's going to get it sometime within this year, so probably when she's 12 1/2-13. They could both get their first period about the same time! Different kids different maturation process. I'm not sure why my younger dd will be so much earlier than her sister, or to look at it a different way, I'm not sure why my older dd is such a late bloomer as they eat the same basic diet and both have been vegetarians for over half their lives (by their choice btw).


----------



## jmarroq (Jul 2, 2008)

I had a minor incident of spotting a few months before I turned 14. I later got my first period five Days after I turned 14.


----------



## pokeyac (Apr 1, 2011)

I was 11. That seemed a little early to me at the time although I had friends who started earlier.


----------



## Chloe'sMama (Oct 14, 2008)

I was either almost 15 or right after my birthday when I had turned 15.


----------



## Mirzam (Sep 9, 2002)

I was 13, DD #1 was 12 3/4, it lasted a couple of days (spotting?) and she didn't get her second period until 14. DD#2 was 15 years 3 months when she got her first period.


----------



## lilbsmama (Nov 18, 2008)

I was 10 and in 5th grade, and my first period came the week before we had sex-ed at school.







talk about embarassing. I had no idea what was going on. I thought I was dying. I didn't know anything about periods or cycles....my mom didn't think she should tell me at such a young age.


----------



## DesireeH (Mar 22, 2003)

15


----------



## Mylie (Mar 15, 2004)

I was a couple weeks shy of 12......


----------



## farmermomma (Oct 30, 2012)

Mine came when I was away at Sumer camp for a week. I didn't tell anyone. Just put tp in my undies. I was pretty blue but I knew what it was. Just doesn't seem fair, like it's taking childhood away too soon.


----------



## mirthandmercy (Feb 10, 2014)

I was 9 when I started my period. My mom didn't think I would start that soon so she had never even talked to me about it. I was a at a birthday party and went to the bathroom and found I was bleeding, after having a stomach ache all day. I locked myself in the bathroom and luckily the birthday girl's mom was a nurse and she explained it to me. It was kinda scary. And I've had bad periods ever since.


----------



## motherVS (Jun 13, 2013)

I was 9 (or 8, but I think 9) and while my mom told me what was happening, and that it has stuff to do with having a baby, etc., she didn't tell me how THAT happened. A few months later we were visiting some relatives and my uncle pulled me on his lap and gave me a kiss. For a whole month I was terrified that I was going to get pregnant from that kiss. Haha.


----------



## Shanny2032 (Aug 10, 2009)

I was 14. Based on some of these replies it reassures me that I am doing the right things by talking to my young daughter about it (she is 5 and has all kinds of question every month when she sees the panty liners etc).


----------



## Belle (Feb 6, 2005)

I was 16. My mother was 14 and my maternal grandmother was 18. I think my oldest daughter will be younger than me.


----------



## aurora_skys (Apr 1, 2008)

I was 15, my mom had her first at 17. I think a lot of it has to do with body fat, we are very slim in my family, especially as teens.


----------



## Taylor Winfrey (Nov 1, 2011)

I started on my 13th birthday. Happy Birthday!


----------



## ancoda (Oct 17, 2005)

I was the summer between 4th and 5th grade. So I think that would have made me 10. My mom had explained about a year before what to expect so I was ok.


----------



## chickabiddy (Jan 30, 2004)

I was 10, my daughter was 10. I was underweight and my daughter is pretty average.


----------



## blessedwithboys (Dec 8, 2004)

My mother got hers at age 10 so she made sure I was informed by at least age 9, plus I was present at my little sister's HB when I was 9-5, so I had some in depth insight.

I didn't start until I was 13.5. It was final exams week and I was so scared I would leak I wore red shorts to school 3 days in a row. True story.


----------



## ocelotmom (Jul 29, 2003)

I chose 13, but realized after choosing that it was actually late 12. Oh well!

I had a grandmother who got hers at 9, so my mom talked to me about it by the time I was 8 or so.


----------



## inthethicket (Jan 30, 2014)

I was almost 15. Seemed like most of my friends had theirs at 10 or 11. So, I was certain there was something wrong with me and that I'd never be able to have babies. I was and still am quite thin.


----------



## Voondrop (Oct 31, 2012)

I was also 12. I think it has to do a lot w/ getting close to the 100 lb mark, you need a certain amount of body fat to sustain a pregnancy.


----------



## farmermomma (Oct 30, 2012)

My feet stopped growing at about that age as well.


----------



## nia82 (May 6, 2008)

One month shy of 15. My sisters were 13. I was a late bloomer; I know it's genetic as well as a certain percentage of body fat needs to be reached. I was tiny (I was asked whether I was in kindergarten yet when I was in 6th grade). I knew from an early age on about periods, puberty and such and I was eagerly anticipating it. I weighed about 80lbs at 15. A lot of growing happened after my menarche - from short to 5'6'' and around 100lbs at 18. I didn't gain my final weight until 21.

By the time I hit 14, I thought something was seriously wrong with me. Everybody else had their period by that time. Me and my friend were the last ones.

I also always was very tired and still am. I wonder if I have high levels of melatonin naturally. I read some study a while back of high levels of melatonin are associated with late onset puberty.


----------



## daughterspeaks (Mar 3, 2014)

I was 15. My mom brought me flowers, chocolate, and a romantic movie to celebrate. She has treated me like a queen every month since, making me powerful herbal infusions to ease the pain, bringing me whatever I needed, and encouraging me to rest. I am a better woman for it.


----------



## beedub (Dec 15, 2013)

daughterspeaks, that is incredibly sweet! I'm going to remember that for when my daughter gets hers.

I had just turned 11, it was the summer before 6th grade. I recall being slightly worried about swimming in the pool during that week each month. Also, i was embarrassed to tell my mom and my sister. I think I'm doing a good job of letting my dd know it's nothing to be ashamed of, just by not making a big deal out of mine.

I was one of the first in my class, most were 13-14.


----------



## SunshineRocket (Mar 12, 2012)

I was a few weeks shy of turning 12.


----------



## Metasequoia (Jun 7, 2005)

I was 15 (about 4 months shy of 16.) My oldest daughter was 13.5. DH's mom had her first baby at age 12, so I wonder if genes from his side had something to do with her period coming earlier than mine. 13.5 seems okay; not too early. Dd2 is 11 and I'm hoping she'll be at least 13 as well.


----------



## applejuice (Oct 8, 2002)

I was just six weeks short of my 13th birthday. 

My last period started on the same calendar day 36 years later.

My own daughter started when she was 10. I was shocked. That was so soon. No one in my family started that soon. I had a whole plan to give her flowers and herbal tea, but I did not think she would start that soon, so I was a bit off guard, and she was a bit confused too.


----------



## EGraff (Jan 10, 2015)

I was 12 years old when I first started. My daughter started at 13. I think a lot of kids are starting younger and younger because of the hormones that are in a lot of the food we eat. When chickens are pumped with hormones to grow to full size in a few days when it normally takes 3 months.. it's going to effect the consumer.


----------

