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How to counsel my 13-year-old daughter's period-related behavior changes?

Dr Nandita

Dr Nandita Palshetkar  | Answer  |Ask -

Gynaecologist, IVF expert - Answered on Dec 20, 2024

Dr Nandita Palshetkar is the medical director of Bloom IVF.
She is a pioneer in ICSI, laser hatching, spindle view, oocyte and embryo freezing, IMSI, in vivo vaginal culture, metabolomics, embryoscope and spindle check technologies.
With over 30 years of experience, Dr Nandita is managing 10 centres across India.
She has written over 100 papers, edited 25 books and given over 1,000 lectures and speeches.
She has also won several prestigious awards, including the Dronacharya Award (2021), the Bharat Gaurav Award at the House of Commons in London (2014) and the Inspiring Gynaecologists of India (2018) to name a few.
Dr Nandita completed her MBBS from Grant Medical College and Sir J J Hospital, Mumbai, and her MD in obstetrics and gynaecology from Mumbai University."... more
Asked by Anonymous - Dec 13, 2024Hindi
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Dr Aarti Bakshi Ji, Good Afternoon. I have daughter aged 13yrs 2month. First periods started in the month of September 2024. After that her behaviour changed and became arrogant. She is not going to school on periods days. Kindly help,How to counsel her??,

Ans: Hello
Since your daughter is 13 years old and just started getting periods that is menarche, she is in her puberty. She is undergoing lots of hormonal changes which is very common in this age group from 10 to 12 to 14 to 16 years of age group.
She will be having physical, cognitive and psychosocial changes. She is bound to have mood swings, irritation, change in behavior. During this phase they are in establishment of own identity, autonomy, sexuality. Not going to school can happen cause if awkwardness in periods, scare of staining clothes, not able to perform activities as routine due to pain or bleeding.
All these are common behavioral changes in most teenagers.
1) We as a parent we need to make ourselves available for open communication. With our children without hesitation.
2) We should be more like friends to them than parents.
3) Openly speak to them regarding periods, all emotional and behavioral changes to them and reassure them that these are normal changes to happen and accept them with grace and understanding.
4) Engage the kids in other activities likes their hobbies and physical exercises to control adverse behavior.
5) Talk openly about sex to your children so that they know about self-care.
DISCLAIMER: The answer provided by rediffGURUS is for informational and general awareness purposes only. It is not a substitute for professional medical diagnosis or treatment.
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