Almost every woman who has ever suffered through PMS knows that middle of the night craving for chocolate. Or, as one woman said, the irrational urge to do bodily harm to her boyfriend upon finding out he had just eaten the last Snickers bar! There are ways to get those crunchy or sweet craving to leave you alone during PMS time!

PMS Hint: Starving off craving is about planning…not starving! For some great crunchy foods try crisp veggies, crunchy granola or trail mix, and rice cakes. For some sweet cravings, instead of reaching for that chocolate bar, try bite sized chocolate pieces, your favorite yogurt flavor, or low calorie (none fat) desserts.

When I talk to women about PMS, one of the major concerns that I have is how younger women and teenage girls are learning about PMS. Mostly, this concerns me because if we are not talking about PMS, then we are passing on the legacy of PMS as a taboo subject. Granted, almost every mother gives the basic talk with her sex and pregnacy talk that includes the statement “you can come to me about anything,” but are we really encouraging young girls and teenage girls to discuss the topics around PMS?

My fear is that we are not! Why?

Either way, without a firm understanding of the PMS symptoms coming her way every month for the next 30+ years of her life, a teenage girl will resist the planning that can help her ease the pain of PMS every month.

When his little girl hits maturity and gets her period, a father often have a more difficult time dealing with the PMS symptoms because it signifies the official end of sugar and spice. For a girl struggling with PMS headaches, cramps, and mood swings as well as the pains of teenage years, the sudden absence of her relationship with her father might make adjustment more complex and confusing.

A few tips for mothers trying to help fathers through the first stages of teenage PMS:

Most men do not feel comfortable addressing the issues with their wife of PMS, so when they find the same qualities of PMS in their daughter, they feel lost and out of place. All of the sudden, the little girl he played with is a young women developing and maturing. Rather than allowing their father-daughter relationship to dissolve, you can use PMS as a building block for both of them using the tools of PMS Central.

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Overall, PMS is considered a taboo subject because of its relationship to sex and reproduction. Taught as a one hour extension in a health class with a small pamphlet full of female anatomy diagrams, most young girls feel overwhelmed, self conscious, and uncomfortable at the end of the hours lesson to ask questions. As most girls are not raised in an atmosphere that discusses sex and PMS freely, being thrown into a discussion of both, in front of other girls, at the most awkward stage of their lives is a little like throwing bricks to a drowning person.

What now? Here are some simple steps you can use to break the cycle of PMS before it breaks you:

Where are the places that you can change PMS discussions? Usually, the best place to start is schools and civic groups. By engaging in your community, either online or offline, you help to spread the word that PMS discussions are acceptable and responsible.

When you are involved in groups that discuss PMS, you will learn tons of information about what works best for other women as well as feel connected into a community for support. By learning about what works from research and other women, you can feel in control of what is affecting your life.

Form a group for teenage girls filled with women willing to talk about the symptoms and ways of dealing with PMS. This may be a painful step for most women, but sharing information will make it all easier. Plus, knowing that women will feel stronger because they don’t have to keep quiet about their pain is empowering.

Through these steps, you can not only make a difference in your own reactions to PMS, but you can make a difference in the way other young women feel about PMS.

For free email reminders and discussion forums about PMS, sign up today and end the cycle destruction of PMS.

Here are a few tips to help father deal with PMS issues with their teenage daughters:

Want to read more about PMS and how you can help those effected in your life (including teenager and fathers??), visit PMS Central for free email alerts, articles, and discussion forums.

Most women understand the PMS cycle and learn to anticipate the early warning signs of PMS: cramps, mood swings, cravings, headaches, and bloating. But, for a teenage girl, just entering into womenhood, PMS can be a new and frightening experience that they often face alone or without information about what can help. This does not have to be the case.

For many young women, the embarassment of asking questions about PMS is hard enough. With the pressures of the usual teenage girl based on peer, boys, and body changes, explosive versions of PMS are often experienced and should be expected. After all, most women have years to adjust to the ravages of PMS. Teenage girls are treading on new ground.

Here are a few tips to help teenagers suffering from PMS:

Many women faced the questions and unreal circumstances of PMS without the aid or support of anyone. It was a taboo subject. If you only suggest the PMScentral website to her for articles, FREE email reminders, and the PMS forum where she can ask questions of our experts, then you will give her a resource of information she can depend on for the rest of her life.