I dunno. I think all that information for a 5-year-old would've been overwhelming.

Better than telling her it was a diaper for mommies. I've known some smart 5 year old kids and if she just said it was a "grown up woman thing" the kid probably would have said "okay" and forgot about it. Telling her it was like diapers made it stick in her mind. Kids are smarter than some people give them credit for.

Yeah I remember when I was a kid asking my sister what her tampons were and she just told me 'grown up stuff' and changed the subject. Easy.

Why would that be overwhelming? It's part of life. It doesn't mean she has to be told all about sex, just about babies. I don't understand why people think menstruation would scar children. My mom leaked onto the couch when I was around that age, and had to explain to me why she was bleeding on the couch. I just took it in stride. I think that's pretty much how most children would react. The only issue is that she won't understand all the information about the uterus and endometrium and ovulation, etc. But a simplified version of a woman's monthly cycle would have been fine.

Lol, I remember asking what pads were when I was younger. But the answer they gave me was so generic I don't even remember it. (along with the fact that it's been quite a while since that happened) If I had been told they were diapers for mommies though, I would've remembered it.

#1 has it totally right. So many parents think they're kids are stupid and can't comprehend things like this. It's a pad, not the meaning of life, jesus. Saying "it's for grown ups" or something probably would have been enough of an answer, rather than making it something it's not and then complaining when it comes back to haunt you.

i love how everyone is telling the OP how to parent her kid. if she didn't think it was appropriate, that was her judgment. the lying kind of backfired, though. but i'm sure you'll figure out how to fix it. on another note, i remember thinking that the pads my mom wore were diapers too...i just never went and asked or told people about it.

Seriously. Ever hear of distraction? It works GREAT with 5 year olds and then you don't have to say anything. When I was 6 I asked my dad what sex was. He said he didn't know. I dropped it and learned the details at a more appropriate time.

Maybe he wasn't really your father, then.

Agreed 74. I don't see any reason why OP should explain it if she didn't want to. Her choice.

Hahaha. I love you Klabauterpete.

Yeah, because you should never give anyone parenting advice, right?

#1 - Exactly. Thank you. And to those saying to reply "I don't know" - that's worse, even, I think. Honesty is important from a young age.

#5 Overwhelming?! I remember being aware of that information at 5. I didn't know the mechanics (of eggs etc), but I knew women bled from their vagina which required pads/tampons. Its just pointless wrapping kids in cotton wool. I don't remember saying "I'M TOO YOUNG FOR THIS SHIT!" when finding out. If its a natural bodily function, kids can know.

I can't remember when I first learned, but I DID think it was overwhelming, simply because "WHAT I'M GOING TO BE BLEEDING!?" "Oh yeah and it really hurts sometimes and sometimes it's really heavy [etcetc]" I was terrified, to say the least. It's a part of life, yeah, but that doesn't mean anything. Death is a part of life, and a lot of people are overwhelmed by that. I think the five-year-old should be allowed to keep her blissful ignorance if her mother so chooses. And yeah, they kind of ARE like diapers... just not the kind you poop in. I agree that she should have dodged it by saying "grown up things" instead though. Obviously a five-year-old is going to assume it's the pooping kind of diaper.

ROFL #83!!! hahahhaha

you dont have to actually tell them the verbatim reason. just a more PG way.

would you rather have her go around having her tell people mommy is bleeding from her vajayjay? think about the alternative

my mom said they were for people with bladder control problems

I don't get why OP wouldn't just explain it to her. It's a totally natural thing. That's what my mom did. I also had the sex talk at like age 7. It's really no big deal.

I would've whooped her.

Guess they can't all be winners... this one isn't even off the bench.

Yeah, it's too big a stretch. I was going for the euphemism thing, but it is too unrelated to the original post.

That must have been...interesting? XD

I had to race my daughter to the bathroom to see who was going to throw up first!

Wow. Lovely. You must have quite an exciting home life down there in Texas.

Oh, it's a thrill a minute. You know, with the stray bullets flying all over the place and the stampeding cattle terrorizing the streets.

Stampeding cattle terrorizes the streets in Texas? How exciting. D: Our cattle here in lonely ol' NC just stand in the street, wondering why we're staring at them.

Our cattle in Tennessee get smashed into burgers. Yum.

Our cattle are part of a conspiracy. They LOOK like they're doing normal cow things, but secretly they're plotting to take over the world. O.o

It's also not uncommon for women with very heavy periods to use both at once.

Alot of Woman wear pads for when they sleep, but some woman cannot wear tampons, from things like being mis-shaped(rare) as well as miscarriages.

Very true - not everyone can or wants to use tampons, and you really shouldn't care what anyone else chooses for her own body! Most women use both, by the way. Besides, the mother never even said she used pads... she just said she was watching a commercial!

You're an idiot. Toxic Shock Syndrome can kill. (TSS comes from wearing tampons in case anyone's in the dark about that.)

No, TSS does NOT come from wearing tampons, it comes from using tampons IMPROPERLY, ie., leaving them in for too long. NORMAL tampon use is about as risky as using a pad.

She didn't say she used pads... she said her daughter saw a commercial for pads and she told her they were diapers for "mommies." That doesn't mean she wears them... logic

Did she ever SAY that she wore them? No. It was a COMMERCIAL! Plus i have never been able to wear tampons. They hurt me really bad even when i insert them correctly. Think before you speak.

Moron, you don't just graduate from pads and move on to tampons. You can use either or and it doesn't matter. Sure pads might feels weird, but for me, inserting tampons is uncomfortable even though I still switch between the two on my period.

There are women who cannot use tampons, most of my friends -and I- can't because it's not comfortable and hurt, and well, you don't have a nice day when you always worry that you'll have blood on your pants... which I do as it happened to me once because I have heavy periods... Let women choose what they want to wear when they have their periods. BTW, there something else known as "Moon Cup"... never tested it because I don't know how to find it but it seems to be better than pads/tampons (less risks of TSS)

but the OP did kinda tell the truth.

No, not really. A "diaper for mommies" is a stupid thing to say to anyone. It bothers me when people say stupid things to kids. They're not stupid, just young. Edit: This was a reply to a comment that disappeared.

That can come back to bite you too. Imagine if they went around talking about that.