How to Help Your Tween How to Track Period Arrival Dates

Helping your daughter learn to track her period arrival dates is a great way to take some of the anxiety out of menstruation. When a tween or teen knows how to predict her period, she's better prepared to handle the challenges that go along with menstruation. And she may even be in a better position to deal with some of the negative side effects of menstruation, such as cramps, headaches, lower back pain, moodiness, acne, and other irritating symptoms.

Tips for Helping Your Daughter Track Her Period With a Calendar

First, buy your daughter a small monthly calendar, one that's tiny enough to carry in her backpack or fit into a small side table drawer. Instruct her to use the calendar just for the purpose of figuring out her monthly cycle. Her commitments, tests, sleepover parties, and other events can go on the family calendar or another calendar she keeps for herself.

To track period dates, instruct your daughter to put an "X" or another mark on the first date of her cycle. Mark every additional day she experiences menstrual bleeding.

Repeat the process the following month. Then count the number of days between each month's first day of flow. The result is your daughter's monthly cycle. It may take several months of tracking to get a firm handle on your daughter's menstrual cycle, and some girls routinely experience irregular periods. But by keeping track of her period, your tween may better predict when her flow will begin and take the steps needed to prepare for it.

In addition, if your daughter experiences other menstrual side effects, be sure she records those on her calendar, too. By doing so she may be able to better manage her symptoms, and possibly prevent them altogether. For example, if your daughter's calendar reveals that she breaks out 1-2 days before her period, she can take extra precautions to prevent those breakouts by practicing good hygiene and using over-the-counter products to prevent or treat the breakouts right away.

Helping your daughter understand her cycle and track her menstrual cycle is an easy way to increase her self-confidence and make her feel more in control of her changing body.