When it comes to talking to your children about menstrual periods, one advocate says the earlier the better.
Jana Girdauskas, founder of , an organization working to bring equitable access to period products and ending the stigma around periods, told CTV's Your Morning on Wednesday that parents should try to not be so secretive about the topic at home.
She offered these and other tips around how to speak to your kids about something that, at the end of the day, is just about health.
AT WHAT AGE SHOULD I TALK TO MY KIDS Â鶹´«Ã½ THIS?
Girdauskas says to start the conversation early and not make it a taboo subject.
"It's not uncommon for kids to get their periods at nine or 10 years old these days and our school isn't teaching it until a little bit later, so we need to have those conversations at home and I just think let's start when they're really young," she said.
HOW DO I START THE CONVERSATION?
Using pop culture can ease your way into a talk about periods, Girdauskas says.
Movies such as Disney's "Turning Red" or the upcoming film adaptation of "Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret," both of which touch on the subject of periods, or books such as "Welcome to Your Period" and "P.S. Tell No One" can help with those discussions.
"Those are really good ways to open the door and to have those normalized conversations with your kids," Girdauskas said.
INCLUDING YOUR SONS
Girdauskas says all genders need to be included in the conversation about periods in order to remove the stigma.
"My kids at home obviously know a lot about periods but that is also because they're classmates of kids who have periods right now, and in the future they're going to be colleagues and roommates and possibly partners," she said.
"So this conversation needs to include all genders for us to make it normal in our society."
There may be some awkwardness at the beginning but in her experience, she says it usually leads to good questions and interest.
"(We) want everyone to be comfortable with it because it is just part of health, periods are normal," she said.
Watch the full interview with Jana Girdauskas at the top of the article
