Two sisters, Terri and Kathy, founded Dot Girl™'s First Period Products. Who better than two women, who are also daughters and mothers, to honestly address an uncomfortable topic?

Their motivation to create The Dot Girl™’s First Period Kit grew from their own awkward teenage experiences. Despite the fact that their mother was a wonderful nurturer to four daughters, she was never comfortable talking to them about their bodies. They found that this is more often the rule than the exception for both moms and dads. And the reality today is that parents often find themselves in the awkward position of having avoided the subject at all costs, to the detriment of their daughters.

Terri and Kathy's goal for the kit is to provide parents with the tools you need to explain the basics of menstruation to your daughters. And for the girls, they hope that having the kit will lessen their anxiety about their first period and instead turn it into a positive experience.

See below for Terri and Kathy's personal first period stories.

Kathy's Story
Our family was on a motor home trip when my first period started and I had no idea what was happening. To be honest, I thought I was dying. It took about a day before I had the courage to tell my mother. An immediate, quick trip to the grocery store followed and I still remember my mom hiding the bag from my siblings and handing me a hygiene pad with minimal explanation. I vowed then that if I ever had a daughter, she would be prepared.

Twenty-eight years later and sure enough, that day arrived. One afternoon, I picked up my daughter from grade school and she hopped into the car and told me they had discussed periods in class. Her reaction, "yuck" gave me the opening I needed. On the way home, we talked about periods and the role they fill in a woman's life. She still was saying"yuck" when we got home but at least she understood that periods were just a normal step in becoming a woman. That evening I put together a small bag of supplies for her to use in case she was away from home when her first period started. I included a clean pair of underpants, feminine hygiene products and a washcloth. I had her store it in her gym bag so she would be prepared.

As it happened, she was home when her first period started, and in a very matter of fact voice, informed me what was happening. She was comfortable and I was pleased that such an anxiety-laden day for me was a simple transition for my daughter.

Terri's Story
It was about a week after my older brother died in a traffic accident when I started my first period. Needless to say, my mom was preoccupied by grief. She managed to get me the pads I needed but didn't have much else to say. Unfortunately, I was out of school when the menstruation details were presented by the visiting health expert so I had very little understanding of what was happening to my body.

My mom was from a generation that didn't talk about their bodies so it didn't come easily for her. In the best of times, it would have been an awkward and uncomfortable topic to broach. During a time of immeasurable grief, there was simply no opportunity to have a conversation. When Kathy and I were creating the first period kit, my mom shook her head and said, "Boy, I sure could have used one of those." That was perhaps the greatest compliment our mother could have paid us.