# Uncle Urban, I need pads... **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 13, 2019, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uncle-urban-i-need-pads/844825 "2019-12-13T21:03:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Die\_Capacitrix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/die_capacitrix/32/9_2.png) [@Die\_Capacitrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Die_Capacitrix)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2019, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uncle-urban-i-need-pads/844825/21 "2019-12-14T08:08:12Z")
Can I say that smart phones are the best for this? Take a picture of the box, send it to someone, and then they buy exactly what you want. When I was that age I would have never asked my any of my uncles. I didn’t even want to talk to my parents. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2019, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uncle-urban-i-need-pads/844825/22 "2019-12-14T11:09:34Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > UrbanRedneck, you acted like an idiot wimp who can’t even put a worm on a hook. Did you think the aisle would be dripping with menstrual effluent? Don’t be ridiculous. That would be a health code violation. He probably only thought the aisle would be fashioned in a stark, but stylish, menstrual effluent drippings _theme_. ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2019, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uncle-urban-i-need-pads/844825/23 "2019-12-14T13:21:29Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > My Daddy the oldest of 13 sibs. And father of 5 girls was the least embarrassed man when it came to the needs of girls and women. He used to buy Tampax by the case when we were all still at home. I never knew Men could be so touchy about it til I married. My father worked in a pad factory and would rearrange products on shelves if they were in disarray while we were at the store. Between that and multiple women in the house, I never understood the touchiness either. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2019, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uncle-urban-i-need-pads/844825/24 "2019-12-14T14:36:15Z")
> [@Die\_Capacitrix](#): > > Can I say that smart phones are the best for this? Take a picture of the box, send it to someone, and then they buy exactly what you want. > > When I was that age I would have never asked my any of my uncles. I didn’t even want to talk to my parents. Thank you. I like that response instead of the slams for me not being the perfect uncle. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2019, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uncle-urban-i-need-pads/844825/25 "2019-12-14T14:39:43Z")
> [@nelliebly](#): > > But you didn’t need to have had sisters or daughters. You only needed to respond with, “OK. What kind do you need?” . AGAIN. Ok, I get it. I could have said something better. Can you back the hell off a little? Damn, what is it with some of you have have the perfect sense to always have the perfect comeback? This was supposed to be a light, fun discussion and you all turn this into a slam fest. ---
**Author:** ![Chingon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chingon/32/17645_2.png) [@Chingon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chingon)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2019, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uncle-urban-i-need-pads/844825/26 "2019-12-14T15:12:01Z")
And now we’re on to phase two. ---
**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2019, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uncle-urban-i-need-pads/844825/27 "2019-12-14T15:20:19Z")
Many years ago I took my son and 12 year old niece on a camping trip to the beach. While visiting a nearby town checking out some shops my niece said she was going to use the restroom. She came out a bit later looking like she had seen a ghost. I asked her if she was okay, she just said she wanted to go home. We went back to the campground to pack up. My niece went to used the facilities there and came back and asked for a quarter. I gave her one and off she ran. She came back about 5 minutes later with a young lady who was also staying at the campground. The young lady took me aside and told me Mandy had started her first period. She found her in the restroom crying and assisted her with the issue. I went back to finish taking down the tent when Mandy said she wanted to stay. The young lady had a heart to heart with her and Mandy felt she could handle it. We had a great weekend. When we got home Mandy told me not to tell he mother about what happened, she wanted to. My SIL got upset because she wasn’t there when her daughter became a woman. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2019, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uncle-urban-i-need-pads/844825/28 "2019-12-14T16:34:11Z")
I think you missed the opportunity for an OMG! embarrassing dad-joke moment. You could have gone with her to the hygiene aisle and picked out the biggest adult diaper package available. She would have been mortified, but would have had a story to share with EVERYONE! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![kayT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayt/32/3633_2.png) [@kayT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayT)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2019, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uncle-urban-i-need-pads/844825/29 "2019-12-14T16:42:05Z")
I don’t understand why everyone is piling on OP here. I thought his question was understandable and his answers were more than patient when all the rest of you kept saying the same thing. The OP is someone I often disagree with so I think maybe he’s being “punished” because you all have put him into a category of someone who you think is xyz, whatever. The first few posters here informed him and he thanked them. Enough already. And **Icarus** , just don’t. ---
**Author:** ![VOW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vow/32/3043_2.png) [@VOW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VOW)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2019, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uncle-urban-i-need-pads/844825/30 "2019-12-14T17:02:00Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > AGAIN. Ok, I get it. I could have said something better. Can you back the hell off a little? > > Damn, what is it with some of you have have the perfect sense to always have the perfect comeback? > > This was supposed to be a **light, fun discussion** and you all turn this into a slam fest. NOW I understand the problem. The famous line from the movie Cool Hand Luke, “What we have here is a failure to communicate.” Menstruation never will be “a light, fun discussion.” Not possible. No how. No way. That particular topic meanders through a mine field for most of a woman’s life. ~VOW ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2019, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uncle-urban-i-need-pads/844825/31 "2019-12-14T17:04:10Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > Thank you. I like that response instead of the slams for me not being the perfect uncle. It’s not for not being the perfect uncle, it’s for being one of those guys who treat anything woman-related like it’s part of a parallel universe. One that’s got cooties. ---
**Author:** ![Helena330](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/helena330/32/531_2.png) [@Helena330](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helena330)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2019, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uncle-urban-i-need-pads/844825/32 "2019-12-14T17:23:56Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > It’s not for not being the perfect uncle, it’s for being one of those guys who treat anything woman-related like it’s part of a parallel universe. One that’s got cooties. Exactly. Didn’t you say at one point that you’re a school teacher? I want to say middle school. It’s hard to believe you haven’t encountered this before. ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2019, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uncle-urban-i-need-pads/844825/33 "2019-12-14T17:42:56Z")
Women get fired from jobs because a surprise period ended up ruining a chair–this is a subject for light, fun discussion? Only for a man, never for us. Now you’ve learned something but I’m not holding my breath it will make a bit of difference. You had the opportunity to rise above and make your niece’s life a little easier and ya blew it. Go you? ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2019, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uncle-urban-i-need-pads/844825/34 "2019-12-14T18:07:05Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > So it was me and the niece buying groceries and such while my wife was off in another section and she out of the blue said to me she needed pads. Well that took me back a bit (I didnt think she was that old) and all I could say was “you will have to talk to your aunt about that”. I mean its not like I would know what to buy. > [@SmartAleq](#): > > You were IN THE STORE and she needed pads, what’s difficult about that? Why would she need to ask anyone about anything and why would you not just buy her some pads, if for no other reason than to protect your upholstery? Would you have pulled an “ask your mother or my wife” if she said she had a headache and needs some Tylenol? Good grief, it’s just a period, any man who’s been in a relationship with a woman more than a few months should know how to deal with it. If she had a headache, should I buy Tylenol, or Motrin, or aspirin; in tablets or capsules, & in regular strength or extra strength. Aren’t some of those not for anyone under age 12? Is she close enough in age (she’s not 6; maybe she’s big for her age & her 12th b-day is coming up) that I need to worry about that warning? I wouldn’t know what pad to buy for an 11yo, either. Given the nieces age & the genericness of her statement as reported by the OP, there’s ambiguity with whether she was saying, “I need pads, can you pay for them” or “I need pads & don’t know which ones to get” I could help with the former but wouldn’t have a clue about the latter sentence & would ask a female for help as well. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2019, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uncle-urban-i-need-pads/844825/35 "2019-12-14T18:36:04Z")
King of the Hill did an episode about this. > **[Aisle 8A](https://kingofthehill.fandom.com/wiki/Aisle_8A)** > > Aisle 8A is the 65th episode of King of the Hill. It was first aired on November 7, 1999. The episode was written by Garland Testa, and directed by Allan Jacobsen. This is one of the few Connie-centric episodes.  Kahn and Minh go to Hawaii for a... Best bet is to listen to the advice given here. Just tell her to pick out whatever products she needs, and then pay for it. However if she doesn’t know what she needs, that could be an issue. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2019, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uncle-urban-i-need-pads/844825/36 "2019-12-14T19:01:42Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > King of the Hill did an episode about this. > > [Aisle 8A | King of the Hill Wiki | Fandom](https://kingofthehill.fandom.com/wiki/Aisle_8A) > > Best bet is to listen to the advice given here. Just tell her to pick out whatever products she needs, and then pay for it. > > However if she doesn’t know what she needs, that could be an issue. Walk up to the pharmacy (if it has one) and, without shame or dumb jokes, ask for help to help her decide. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2019, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uncle-urban-i-need-pads/844825/37 "2019-12-14T19:08:00Z")
> [@Spiderman](#): > > I wouldn’t know what pad to buy for an 11yo, either. Given the nieces age & the genericness of her statement as reported by the OP, there’s ambiguity with whether she was saying, “I need pads, can you pay for them” or “I need pads & don’t know which ones to get” > > I could help with the former but wouldn’t have a clue about the latter sentence & would ask a female for help as well. +1 ---
**Author:** ![Helena330](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/helena330/32/531_2.png) [@Helena330](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helena330)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2019, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uncle-urban-i-need-pads/844825/38 "2019-12-14T19:36:14Z")
> [@Spiderman](#): > > If she had a headache, should I buy Tylenol, or Motrin, or aspirin; in tablets or capsules, & in regular strength or extra strength. Aren’t some of those not for anyone under age 12? Is she close enough in age (she’s not 6; maybe she’s big for her age & her 12th b-day is coming up) that I need to worry about that warning? I wouldn’t know what pad to buy for an 11yo, either. Given the nieces age & the genericness of her statement as reported by the OP, there’s ambiguity with whether she was saying, “I need pads, can you pay for them” or “I need pads & don’t know which ones to get” > > I could help with the former but wouldn’t have a clue about the latter sentence & would ask a female for help as well. Would you then come post here to hurr-durr and have a “light, fun discussion” (read: make fun of) women menstruating? ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2019, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uncle-urban-i-need-pads/844825/39 "2019-12-14T21:42:00Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > No, I think I handled it ok. I wasnt expecting it. Remember I just have sons. My wife helped her get what she wanted and no problem. I don’t have _any_ kids, but I still would have paid for my nieces hygiene products if she asked me while we were shopping for groceries. You handled it poorly. If she asked for a toothbrush, would you have panicked? There are so many types, how would you know which one she needs, right? :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![kayT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayt/32/3633_2.png) [@kayT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayT)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2019, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uncle-urban-i-need-pads/844825/40 "2019-12-14T22:04:41Z")
> [@VOW](#): > > NOW I understand the problem. The famous line from the movie Cool Hand Luke, “What we have here is a failure to communicate.” > > Menstruation never will be “a light, fun discussion.” Not possible. No how. No way. That particular topic meanders through a mine field for most of a woman’s life. > ~VOW > [@Nava](#): > > It’s not for not being the perfect uncle, it’s for being one of those guys who treat anything woman-related like it’s part of a parallel universe. One that’s got cooties. OK folks, which is it? Menstruation is a “mine field” for women or you are in trouble for “treat(ing) anything woman-related like it’s part of a parallel universe”? It seem like OP cannot win. I am a woman and old enough to remember when no one but your mom talked about menstruation. However I don’t think “mine field” or “parallel universe” fit the situation. OP wasn’t sure what he was being asked. If they had been at the check stand it would have been one thing (paying for the product) or if she had been asking for directions to that section, another thing, or “I need pads and what do I buy” yet another thing. He could have ask for clarity but not knowing the girl very well, he asked for help. Big Deal. To some of you, I think you are just beating this horse because you don’t like the OP. Time to let it go. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uncle-urban-i-need-pads/844825.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uncle-urban-i-need-pads/844825.md?page=3)