Giving my daughter the pill when she starts her period

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My daughter is 12 yrs. old. She is not really great with hygiene. I am so worried about what will happen when she gets her period. Especially at school. I have been thinking of placing her on the pill. Has anyone had experience with this? I want answers for and against so I can make an educated decision.

Thanks

I can't give you an educated opinion. It sounds like a very serious decision to make. I hope you consult doctors and child psychologists (more than one) and get a range of professional opinions before making such a decision. The pill can have all kinds of side effects and she is at an important developmental stage. I'm not sure if it would impact on her ability to have children in the future. Are there not alternative ways to address her hygiene issue that don't involve medication?

...I must have missed something.
The pill will improve hygiene..how?

Could you please explain more about what you are worried will happen when she gets her period? And why do you want to place her on the pill? What are her problems with hygiene right now?

I personally need to be on a birth control pill because of hormonal problems. I tried twice to follow the medication regimen and I quit both times, because I didn't like the way the pill made me feel in regards to my bodily sense. It's not an easy pill for the body to process, it's hard on the liver and it can have loads of side-effects and I don't see why anybody should be put on the pill, unless they are sexually active (as a means of contraception) or they have certain hormone imbalances.

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Aspie score: 138 of 200 / NT score: 78 of 200 => Very likely an Aspie.

I think there's only need to do that if she has serious health problems as a result of her periods, or if she's sexually active. Otherwise it seems just a bit pointless to give her the pill just because she's menstruating.

Whats your daughters functioning level? Is that related to her hygiene?
My daughters hygiene is not great either, but we are working on that.

I think you should discuss it with herself. Even if you alone decide to do it she should know that it might bring side effects and the plan may come to canceling because of it.

I guess I would have been happy if I had such chance to control my periods while young, they always came irregulary and were severe and managed to make a mess often. Such things bring problems accepting your own body. (I'm one of the lucky ones who has had only positive side effects with pill - I mean reduced amount of blood, pain and time it lasts. It could be even better only if the no-bleeding-at-all pills were sold where I live.)

And to those who didn't know there are pills that eliminate bleeding altogether by making no break (Lybrel) or have only four breaks in a year instead of monthly. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extended_c ... traceptive

I think it's a decision she should make.

I choose to use the contraceptive pill in such a way that I only have a period every so often (not every 28 days, I run packs together). Being able to control my periods has actually reduced a lot of gender dysphoria I was feeling. I hated my out of control, hormonally fluctuating body. I hated the idea that I could get pregnant, as well (I have weird gender issues). The contraceptive pill has done a lot for my wellbeing and I'm so glad I have this option. I know it's not 'natural', but I don't care. Life is too short to spend it being miserable.

Everybody should be able to make choices. If your daughter wants to have periods, then you have no business interfering with her bodily autonomy. If she doesn't want to have periods, then this option should be open to her.

What does the pill have to do with hygeine? Shes going to have to learn to have decent hygeine and how and when to change pads and tampons anyway, so it's really better that she get in the habit as soon as her period starts.

If it's to prevent pregnancy I would think that bad hygeine would do that trick.

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I'm giving it another shot. We will see.
My forum is still there and everyone is welcome to come join as well. There is a private women only subforum there if anyone is interested. Also, there is no CAPTCHA.

The link to the forum is http://www.rightplanet.proboards.com

I appreciate everyones' views. Thank you for the replies.

Let's see, to answer some questions: My daughter is probably developmentally 6 or 7 yrs. old. My mother and I have tried so hard to instill good hygiene practices, but she just doesn't get why it is so important. She forgets to wash her hands, gets BM on herself and thinks nothing of it, just one example, sorry to be gross.

In just the last year, we do not know if it is hormones or some other cause, but she has been having horrible meltdowns. Screaming so loud she can be heard outside our house, swearing, kicking, slapping, biting, ect. The other day she punched me right in the nose. Like I said, I don't know if it is her autism, hormones or what. Nothing has changed in our lives that comes to mind that would bring on such stress.

I am one of those lucky people whose insurance will not cover anything autism related.

If I were to place her on the pill, I would discuss it with her. And it would be one of the ones that stops menstration by taking them continuously. I would only do it until she catches up maturity wise. I guess part of me worries she will have periods like me, so heavy and messy, lasting 10 days at a time.

I worry about her unintentionally embarrassing herself because of her inabilty to practice good hygiene. She already is so unhappy in school, she does not make friends, gets bullied and sometimes even the teachers are not very understanding with her.

You have all given me things to really think about. Especially the side effects which I know about all too well. I cannot take birth control myself. I am so glad I found this place!