Living with one bathroom and three teenagers can get pretty complicated, especially when it comes to dealing with periods.

Our reader’s daughter just started her period, and her two teenage sons are grossed out by it. What’s worse, her husband is siding with the boys, which is upsetting for both our reader and her daughter. Our reader dropped us a message. Our daughter just started her period. We also have two teenage sons, one is 14 and the other is 16.

We have one bathroom, and she occasionally leaves her period products there. Once, our sons saw a used pad in the trash can. They were shocked and said it was “disgusting.” I explained to them that periods are normal, but my husband stepped in and asked our daughter to hide everything she uses and disposes of during her periods. He says it makes the boys uncomfortable.

Our sons have even started avoiding her when she’s on her period, which upsets both me and her. The last straw was when they refused to sit on the same couch with her because they thought they’d get stained. What should I do?

Thank you for reaching out to us! It’s a tricky situation, and we would like to give you some tips that you might find useful. Talk to your sons. Sit down with your sons and have a conversation about what periods are and why they happen. Make it a safe space where no question is silly.

You could also find some educational videos online that explain menstruation in a way that’s easy to understand. The more they know, the less weird it will seem, and they’ll start to see it as just another part of life instead of something gross or mysterious.