The HOW Blog: All about periods
All about periods from The HOW People
When was the last time you had an open conversation with your teen about periods?
When did the topic of periods become such a taboo?
Are there questions as an adult that you still feel you do not know the answers to?
The HOW People offer the opportunity for frank conversations about this very natural bodily function that we actually wouldn’t be here without!
Schools give all students a basic education in what periods are, how and why they happen and the products that are available to use but there are so many questions that teens have that they might not have the confidence to ask their teachers or parents.
Are there more environmentally friendly products on offer?
What is the best product to use when playing sport?
Can I still go swimming when I’m on my period?
What happens when my periods stop?
What is the menopause?
From starting your period to the menopause, this series of videos is designed to be watched together, to open up communication lines, build understanding between parents and teens and increase awareness.
Led by HOW People founders Jo and Polly, this series of informative talks with inspirational experts, activists and adventurers not only offer the answers to these questions but do so in an engaging and thought-provoking way that we guarantee will have you changing the way you think about your periods.
It’s time to embrace and celebrate this natural bodily function; it’s time to ditch the taboos and shout about our periods from the rooftops.
Included in the series LINK HERE
Starting Your Periods
This can be a particularly anxious time for any young girl so we aim to answer some of those concerns your teen may have. Friend of HOW, Dr Kathy Morton, talks us through why we have periods, using some fantastic diagrams, and provides useful advice on products available.
Most importantly, the emphasis is on how everyone is different - what age we start our periods, what our periods are like and which products we use – an important thing for our young teens to be remembering at a time when it can become so easy to compare ourselves to others and, if we aren’t the same as our friends, wonder if there is something wrong with us. Help ease their worries and check out this fantastic video!
The Menopause
This may seem a long way off for our young teens but for many parents this is just around the corner. There is still a distinct lack of education surrounding this which means no one is prepared for what for many years has been dubbed ‘the change’ – a unfortunate euphemism surrounded by embarrassment. The menopause has had a lot of bad press and has become synonymous with irrational mood swings, hot flushes and emotional turmoil and is the source of blame in many a fractious household. Just as with teenagers going through puberty, hormones are all over the place but we can’t help it – it’s a natural process.
For many of us, the only experience we have is watching our own mothers go through it and I think we can all agree that it isn’t a topic we would necessarily want to broach especially if it was a particularly difficult time for all. However, just as with starting your periods, we believe that the more information there is and the more we talk about it, the better. By sharing our experiences, we can all help each other to get through what can feel like an impossible time. We also think that it is never too early to know this stuff!
From what the menopause is to how we know it is happening to how we can make it easier to cope with, Dr Heidi Kerr and Dr Victoria Hobbs from VHK Education share their knowledge and help us to navigate this rarely openly discussed topic. Watch with your teen and those households with hormone changes coinciding will hopefully find some common ground and live in a little more harmony.
Periods in Adventure
Being on your period doesn’t mean that you can’t be the adventurer you are for the other 23 days of the month! We chat to explorer Charlotte Austwick about how she coped with being on her period in the jungle and to Mikaela Toczek, a mountain leader and climber who never lets her period keep her from the rock face!
Period Poverty
Periods don’t take any notice of financial situations and we take it for granted that we are able to go out to the shops and buy the products we need to deal with our period and stay hygienic. Period poverty isn’t just a problem in third world countries, there are many young teens in the UK who miss school due to their period – campaigners have stated that this could be as high as 1 in 10. We believe that no girl should miss out on education due to a lack of access to period products. We chat to Hey Girls UK and UFULU.org and explore what we can all do to help and also hear from an inspirational 17-year-old Cardiff school girl who is on a mission to end period poverty with her campaign @loveyourperiod
Periods in Sport
We chat to expert Dr Natalie Brown who gives us an insight into how to handle your period when taking part in sporting activity, the best products to use and some fascinating information about how our energy levels and performance are impacted by our menstrual cycle.
Plastic-Free Periods
Jo and Polly host a panel with Emma Askew from Earth Minutes and Jasmine Tribe from City to Sea who are fighting to reduce the plastic waste from period products. They offer some shocking statistics which will have everyone switching to alternative, more environmentally friendly products. Doing more for the planet is at the forefront of everyone’s minds at the moment but not many of us consider the impact that our periods can have on the environment. Small changes can make a huge difference!
But periods aren’t all we talk about.
Our aim is to empower, inspire and support young teens by giving them access to people just like them who are fighting for change, are incredible role models and have a wealth of experience to share.
Like the sound of what we do?
Join our amazing, revolutionary community by heading to www.thehowpeople.com sign up for membership and gain access to this information about periods and so much more. LINK HERE for period videos on download.
