Unlike most people I expect, although I think and act just like a seventeen year old sometimes, I most definitely would not want to go through my teens again. Oh the hormones, the woes, the worries, the body changes that I viewed as a curse rather than with excitement, and boys! No thanks, I have been there, done that and once was more than enough.

I was one of the unfortunate girls that started my period very young…I was only ten years old and it happened while I was at primary school. I was given one of those lovely huge towels that was about two times too big without any sticky back. As you can probably imagine it was an uncomfortable day. Then I suffered for years with extremely painful periods, but on the upside I am convinced that those pains prepared me for childbirth which was a doddle in comparison.

However I felt I was pretty prepared for the changes that were going to occur luckily before they did happen, thanks to my mum, but also a lot of talks at school. Nowadays it feels that my thirteen year old hasn’t had anywhere near the same amount of advice that I did. I remember all the free samples of sanitary towels and tampons. Even then I liked receiving something in the post, even if it was a sanitary towel!

What wasn’t around when I was a young child having to deal with periods though was sanitary protection made smaller especially for teens. Well, Lil-lets now do a teen range and a starter pack which contains all the essentials a young girl could need in the first days of starting  their period. There are 4 day teens towels, 2 night ones and six of three different types of tampons (although I think girls should wait a while before using these). These are all contained in a cosmetic bag along with a teen booklet which has information about the reproductive system, periods and advice on sanitary protection in it.

I have been very impressed with the teen towels especially and the booklet has some good simple tips in it. At £3.99 from Boots it makes a great ‘gift’ that could be given to girls on the verge of puberty with a chance to have that all important period chat. I think it would be a good idea for all parents of girls to have one in the cupboard ready, it’s all discretely contained in a pretty bag away from the prying eyes of annoying big and little brothers!