'My ex-wife is furious I didn't tell her our 10yo got her first period'

"She called me an a**hole for excluding her from a milestone in her daughter's life." 

For many mums, guiding their daughters through getting their first period is one of those big parenting milestones.

So a woman was left enraged with her ex-husband after he didn’t tell her their 10-year-old daughter had started her period.

The father-of-two explained that his ex-wife is away for work for two weeks, then gets one week off, so they split custody to match.

As it so happened,  it meant she was out of town when their little girl got her first period.

“I grew up with sisters and I am not a complete idiot, so I had read up on what to do,” he explained in his Reddit post.

"I talked to my mum and sister about it, I had been prepared since she was eight.”

Want to join the family? Sign up to the Kidspot newsletter for more stories like this

RELATED: ‘What do I do if I get my first period at school?’

The man helped his daughter when she got her first period. Source: iStock

"She said it's a mother-daughter thing I took away from her" 

So when the time came, he bought his daughter boxes of pads and tampons.

“I explained to her that it was normal and healthy. I watched a video with her that was a tutorial on what to do. I also asked her if she would like to talk to either my sister or the woman I'm seeing about how to do everything right,” he says. 

“She said that she understood and would like to talk to my sister on the weekend.”

However, after she had the conversation with her aunty that Saturday, the man’s ex-wife called and was furious when she found out.

“She called me an asshole for excluding her from a milestone in her daughter's life," he says. 

“I asked her if it had happened during her week with the kids if she would have told me about it. She said that wasn't the point. It was a mother daughter thing and that I took it away from her.”

RELATED: Man FaceTimed wife about sanitary pads

"You didn't need to tell your ex" 

Turning to Reddit, the father wanted to know if he’d let his difficult feelings for his ex get in the way of how he handled the situation.

However, hundreds of people supported the man’s decision and praised his actions.

“You took good care of your daughter. You also showed her that some men do understand what is happening and what she may need. You gave her female options for questions you couldn't answer, and you did it in a way that she didn't need to feel ashamed or uncomfortable,” one person praised.

“You handled the situation very well and managed to teach your daughter everything she needed to know, as well as redirecting her to people who could also advise her. I don't see the need for you to have immediately gone to tell your ex about her first period, especially considering that it was already happening,” another agreed.

However, some suggested he should’ve offered for his daughter to call her mum.

“The only issue I have is that he offered his sister and gf as female sources of support and didn't suggest his ex. Yes, I'm sure his daughter could've asked to speak to Mum, but kids pick up on these things and if it seems Dad is uncomfortable with Mum then daughter might not feel comfortable asking to speak to Mum on his weeks so as not to rock the boat,” someone else pointed out.

Originally published as 'My ex-wife is furious I didn't tell her our 10yo got her first period'