Reusable Cloth Pads

I use them, but we've not introduced them to my daughter yet who is still beginning. It would be awkward for her at school with all the medical kit and everything else she has to carry. She can barely put a folded pad in her bag, so carrying dirty ones as well as clean ones around would be an issue.
I'll be making her some for home use in the summer. They are fairly easy to make, and can be made in her favourite colours/patterns and to what ever thickness she needs.

 

I prefer them without PUL

 

I like this idea but thinking about having to carry around dirty pads is such a no-no for me.
I like the idea for when I’m at home though.

 

Thinkx... they are panties that absorb everything, plus odor. Check them out. Rinse and reuse.
https://www.shethinx.com/

 

Not for pads, but...
When Munchkin was potty training, I got super annoyed at the way training underpants leaked into his pants. So, I bought some dinosaur PUL and sewed it down the middle on the outside. Not on the legs, just the main part, like where a pad would sit. It was my favorite thing after I added that PUL! No more leaks, and I didn't worry about him sitting on the couch and peeing.
It didn't increase any diaper rashes or anything, and seemed pretty breathable. I don't know that it would be as big a concern with a pad unless it was a heavy flow?

And now you have me intrigued....

I will say, when we cloth diapered, we used disposables when we were going to be gone overnight because it was hard to carry both the clean and dirty diapers without smelling everything up.

 

Wondering...( This is all fairly new to me, as it wasn't around in my "day"} if these types of cloth items would be considered a health hazard in schools? As teachers, we had strict guidelines about bodily fluids and how to dispose of them from DHEC. What say y'all??

 

Those are some interesting thoughts @AJK ! Hmm....

 

Having daughters of the same age, they are aware of cloth pads because they've participated in Days for Girls with Guides/Pathfinders. But, the logistics are a bit too cumbersome to consider them as an option for school right now. Naomi's school doesn't allow kids to carry backpacks from class to class. Once you're at school, bags have to stay in your locker, because they are a tripping hazard. (Yes, this is the dumbest school policy I've ever come across.) Reusable pads would mean that,after going to your locker to get a pad, somehow discretely carrying it (you are also not allowed a purse- because, tripping hazard!) to the bathroom, and changing to a fresh pad, you'd also have to wrap up the old one, and carry it back to your locker to put in your bag and take home. Without anyone realizing you're carrying a bloody pad.

If your school has less draconian rules on bags and backpacks, I'd still leave them out of the "starter kit." Once she's got her period and summer vacation has started, you can test out different pads (like cloth diapers, preference is really personal and depends a lot on body shape). And she can figure out how to adjust the pad based on what she's doing. All without creating a YM "Say Anything" story.

PS - Naomi turns 13 next week and still has not had her period. But, in the 10 days I was away for work grew boobs. The teen years are so odd.

 

As someone who was born in a time where the only disposable towel was Modess and not everyone could afford them, We had domestic help , like full on, sleep in maid, and part time laundry lady, part time nanny and sometimes part time cook, my mum trained me to wash my knickers/underpants (when I was 8 so no period yet) in the shower as she thought not cool to make a hired help wash your intimates, plus she would make us do all the house work to learn, she said: you never know if you will have money for help (very wise) and even if you do: how would you know if they are doing it right? so when period came (which I was desperate to get before I did, and hated it after LOL) I remember washing towels as my most hated thing of ALL.

After 30 something years, trying to be more conscious with the environment, when Sarita was born we tried washable nappies.... again, we couldn't keep up, long story go do with working long hours and not having a cheap laundry service

Maybe I'm too old and tired, maybe a bit skeptical when it comes to saving the earth, maybe a LOT of things... but to be honest?
I didn't even know those existed these days!!!!
Not sure Sarita would go for it, interesting thing though, I may ask her !!!

 

So, I'm now angry and sad. I googled to see if there was a law or something regarding this. And instead found tons of stories about menstruating girls not being allowed to use the restroom. The most recent being a group of charter schools in Chicago that have the girls wrap sweatshirts around their waists if they bleed through their pants. And found stories by parents who had the doctor write a medical note saying the girl had a UTI issue so needed to be allowed to use the restroom. My heart hurts a lot now.
What a disturbing problem in the schools.

If you have her try a cup, which might be the best solution depending on flow, make sure she practices a few times. The only one issue I see with that is rinsing it out. Does that become a health hazard?
If not, I'd send her with 2. One to wear, and one to replace without having to go to the sink first.

 

kiss

kiss!

thank you!