A woman who recently moved in with her boyfriend of five years says she's become very fond of his 14-year-old daughter from his previous relationship, who was born when he and his ex were still very young. Although she wouldn't say she's a mother figure to her, they've become close, and she tries to look out for her as best she can.
When the teen was over at their home one day, she made sure to show her where she keeps her own sanitary products, in case she ever needed any herself.
To her astonishment, the girl responded with confusion, and it quickly became apparent that she didn't know what she was talking about. Feeling "sick" that the youngster still didn't know about periods at the age of 14, she took it upon herself to give her "the talk", never imagining that she was overstepping a line.
Taking to Reddit, where she goes by the username u/No-Village5587, the baffled woman wrote: "It's not strange to not have a cycle at her age though a bit uncommon but to be totally clueless?
"I ended up giving her a brief talk explaining the menstrual cycle to her, why it would happen, and how she'll likely get it sooner rather than later."
Later on, she let her boyfriend know what had happened, and he too was confused, having assumed her mother or teachers would have informed her. He called his ex demanding answers, and this soon escalated to a full-blown argument.
She continued: "Apparently she felt there was no need for her to know any of this before she had to as she was of the opinion that it'd keep her from making the same mistakes they did and had even gotten her excused from the lessons in school.
"She was p***** that I'd done this as it wasn't my place and she demanded their daughter come home as she didn't want her around me now."
Her boyfriend refused this demand, as it was his week for custody, and defended her against his ex's insults. Upon reflection, she now wonders whether she should have handled things differently, or just left her boyfriend to tackle the situation.
One fellow Reddit user advised: "She would have thought she was literally dying if no one gave her a heads up. That's what happened to my mum. So she made sure I was always aware of that kind of basic biology.
"There's nothing wrong with what you did, and I'm glad she will know she has someone in her life to ask about those kinds of things seeing as her mother is so useless. The remedy for kids making big reproductive mistakes is more education, not less."
Another commented: "I was never told about menstruation. When I got my cycle at age 12, I was sure I was dying. When my mum explained it (after a day of thinking my days were numbered) I was so angry and so upset.
"I wish I knew beforehand. I'm still angry about the way I found out and the terror I went through. She needed to know and you did the right thing. Her mother is being really immature."
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