Dad Unknowingly Lets Son Bring Mom's Menstrual Cup For Show And Tell

Jessica Booth

No matter how many fancy toys a kid has, they always manage to find something random to play with, and they can become obsessed with some pretty strange objects. But this story just might take the cake: an unsuspecting dad let his son bring in his mom's menstrual cup to school for show and tell. Not only that, but he allowed him to play with it for weeks, even toting it to a restaurant.

Reddit user sothishappened2 wrote about the entire hilarious tale in a post on the site. His wife was out of town for work for a few weeks, and during that time, he noticed his son was playing with, in his words, "this little silicone cup that kinda looked like a tulip." Although many women might instantly recognize it as a menstrual cup, used to collect blood during your period, this dad had no idea what it was.

He asked his son what the new "toy" did, and wrote that "he proceeded to show me it's versatility—over the next few days it helped the Paw Patrol save the town, it was a treasure chest holding tiny pebbles guarded by pirates, a force field protecting a space ship. It came with us to the park, grocery shopping, and even out to dinner one night. I loved that it had its own little satchel and assumed it just went to a playset."

For days, this dad had watched his son excitedly play with his little cup toy and love every minute of it. So, naturally, when the son decided to bring the cup to show and tell, Dad didn't blink an eye. It wasn't until he picked up his son from school that he realized that that silicone cup may not have been a toy. His son's teacher asked if she could speak with him about the "interesting" show and tell choice, and the ensuing conversation was awkward but hilarious.

He wrote on Reddit, describing an uncomfortable conversation where he told the teacher that Ben had been playing with "that thing" for days. The teacher then asked if he knew what it was and explained the concept, saying "It's um, used to collect menstrual blood..."

The dad replied, "Are you sure? I don't think that would, uh, fit....too, uh...comfortably...there."

His son's teacher then explained that the cup folds over and opens once inserted, leaving both adults clearly uncomfortable with the anatomy lesson. Dad then proceeded to ask the teacher where he could get a replacement cup, saying, "my wife will probably not be too pleased when she returns home and will not want to continue using this one."

Luckily, his wife took the whole thing in stride. Dad wrote, "My wife laughed hysterically when we told her." As for the son? He still has no idea what he's actually been playing with, and it's probably better that way. Dad explained, "My son is none the wiser and is having a tea party with the cup right now."

Once his story started getting a lot of attention online, Dad felt he needed to clarify that he knows all about his wife's cycle. He explained that they've been trying to conceive again, and he's actually completely aware of when she's ovulating and how to track her cycle with her, and he even sometimes gives her hormone shots.

However, despite his knowledge of his wife's cycle, he's still not totally aware of all the ins and the outs of period products. He said, "I grew up with four sisters and the only devices I was aware of for periods were to absorb the blood, not collect it." He also didn't understand how the cup could fit, saying, "I've seen a tampon—they're much slimmer than this cup is." This was definitely one learning experience he'll never forget.