Jeanne told me she was afraid it would happen to her at school.

No drama, no tears. Just this little sentence thrown out like that, one evening, and I realized that it was a real concern for her. That in her mind, school is far from home, it's complicated, and that finding herself with nothing would be a disaster.

Honestly, for me, menstruation has always been a part of life. Not much to do about it. But there, in her eyes, I saw that for her it was still an unknown. And the unknown is scary.

So I did the simplest thing in the world.

I took out a the Préféré Confettis pouch and we prepared it together.

An individual wipe. Two teen sanitary pads. A small change of underwear. That's all.

Before zipping it up, I showed her how to unfold the pad and stick it on. Two minutes, zero ceremony. And I told her: the pouch stays in your backpack. All the time. Just in case.

She looked at it, nodded, and we moved on to something else. No big speech. No solemn moment. Just: you're ready, now.

What struck me was how much this small, concrete gesture settled something in her mind. The worry wasn't about menstruation itself, it was about not being ready. Not knowing what to do. Being caught off guard away from me.

The pouch in the bag was the answer to that.

If you want to do the same, here's what we put in it:

An individual wipe, to feel fresh, no matter where they are.

Two teen sanitary pads, adult sizes are often too big, teen ones are designed for their body.

A small change of underwear, because peace of mind sometimes doesn't take much.

All in the favorite Confettis pouch, small enough to slip into any backpack, cute enough for them to want to have it with them.

We prepare our kids for lots of things. The first days of school, sleepovers at grandparents', school trips. This transition from childhood to adolescence is big, this discreet, practical pouch was my way of telling Jeanne without big words: you have everything you need, it's going to be okay.

— Flo