From Shame to Celebration

Preparing Your Girl for Her First Period

A Complimentary Guide from Julia Dunbar & Dr. Sarah Anne Rothman

Co Founders of My Moon Kits

Dear Parent/Guardian,

If you’re reading this, you’ve already taken one of the most meaningful steps. You care deeply about how your daughter experiences this important threshold.

A girl’s first period isn’t simply about learning how to use a pad. It’s about how she learns to relate to her body for years to come.

Will she feel embarrassed or empowered?

Will she hide or ask questions?

Will she believe her body is something to fix, or something to trust and honor?

 

5 Ways to Help Your Daughter Feel Prepared

1. Start the Conversation Before She Needs It

The best conversations happen before there’s any urgency.

Normalize menstruation by talking about it naturally, answering questions honestly, and reminding her that every body develops in its own time. Also show her your rituals and practices.

Try saying:

“Your body is incredibly wise. One day you’ll begin having a monthly cycle where you bleed. It isn’t something to fear or hide. It’s simply one of the beautiful ways your body grows into womanhood, and I’ll be here for every question along the way.”

 

2. Create a First Period Basket or Gift Kit

Knowing exactly where to find supplies can make her first period feel far less overwhelming.

You might include:

• Period underwear

• Organic pads

• A heating pad

• Herbal tea

• Chocolate

• A journal

• Cozy socks

• Lip balm

• A handwritten note reminding her she is deeply loved

• Ritual ideas

This simple basket became the inspiration behind My Moon Kits, a beautifully curated keepsake designed to make girls feel prepared, celebrated, and supported.

 

3. Celebrate!!!

Many women remember hiding their first period.

Imagine if our daughters remembered flowers, laughter, heartfelt conversations, and feeling celebrated instead.

Celebration doesn’t have to be elaborate.

Light a candle.

Pick or get her flowers.

Bake her favorite dessert.

Write her a letter.

Invite trusted women to share words of wisdom.

Throw her a party!

The memory will stay with her far longer than the gifts.

Many communities and villages do a yearly group celebration for all the girls who began their first blood that year. This can be held as a bridging ceremony or threshold ceremony where the bleeding girls walk over a threshold, across a bridge, or through a doorway to symbolize the transition into womanhood. Often red items or special jewelry are given as gifts to celebrate the threshold. Aunties, sisters, mothers, grandmas, and friends join to witness and offer gifts and blessings.

 

4. Teach Her About Her Amazing Body

Help her understand that menstruation isn’t just about bleeding.

Teach her that her cycle is a sign of health, growth, and the incredible wisdom of the female body.

Teach her about:

• The menstrual cycle

• Ovulation

• Hormones

• Fertility

• Healthy cycle signs

• Body literacy

Encourage curiosity instead of shame.

 

5. Create a Ritual to Honor Her Body’s Connection to Earth

Ideas include:

• Pour or offer some of her blood on the earth.

• Plant a special plant or roses to honor this special time.

• Make a cycle bracelet with her.

• Co-create a ritual of her choice that you can do together every cycle.

Our Favorite Books

For Girls

• The Care and Keeping of You 1

• Celebrate Your Body (And Its Changes, Too!)

• The Period Book

For Parents

• Untangled

• Raising Girls

• The Whole Brain Child

 

Continue the Journey with My Moon Kits

When we couldn’t find a first period gift that felt beautiful, educational, and meaningful, we decided to create one.

Together with our daughters, May and Naia, we thoughtfully designed the My Moon Kit to transform a girl’s first period into a celebration she’ll remember forever.

Inside each kit you’ll find carefully chosen items that nurture both body and heart, including a Moon Journal, organic Belly Balm, reusable organic Moon Pads, Moon Tummy Warmer, herbal lip balm, rose candle, ceremonial cacao, dried roses, crystal, affirmation pen, handmade bracelet, Moon Bag, and ritual keepsakes, everything needed to help a girl feel prepared, cared for, and celebrated from her very first cycle.

Whether you’re preparing for your daughter, granddaughter, niece, student, or another special girl in your life, our hope is that this becomes more than a gift. It becomes a cherished family tradition.

Visit www.mymoonkit.com to learn more and explore our collection.

Our Wish for Every Girl

May she know her body is wise.

May she trust herself.

May she never carry shame for something so beautifully human.

May her first bleed be remembered as the day she felt loved, prepared, and celebrated.

 

With love,

Julia Dunbar & Dr. Sarah Anne Rothman

Co Founders, My Moon Kits