Should I tell my husband our daughter has started her period?

In the emotional hours that followed, she grabbed my hands and said: ‘Please don’t tell Dad, I’m so embarrassed!’ And while I now know I should’ve assured her it’s normal and natural and not to feel that way - at the time, looking into her sad, stressed puppy dog eyes, I said: I ‘Of course, sweetheart - it’s our little secret.’

But in the ensuing days, I realised what a secret I was keeping. My daughter didn’t want to go to school much to my husband’s bewilderment, burst out crying when he suggested a swim (it was a 30-plus degree day) and panicked when he asked why she was ‘in a weird mood’. 

Later that night - and for nearly three months now - my husband has been kept in the dark. I’m torn between keeping my word to my daughter and keeping my mouth shut - or being honest to my husband. 

The truth is, my husband would be lovely and respectful and mindful if he knew that it was her time of the month - but I also know those feelings of embarrassment and anxiety that my daughter is going through from when I was 12. 

I’ve tried telling her that she’s being silly about her dad knowing, and that he will never mention it - but the look of horror and ‘No! It’s too embarrassing! Please don’t tell anyone Mummy!’ stops me in my tracks. 

But I’ve know dug such a hole that I don’t know what to do. Do I come clean to my husband, or keep my daughter’s secret?