When in the world did sex become a dreaded word? Goodness sake, it’s a natural beautiful three letter word, not a foul four letter word…
This has been a taboo discussion for as long as we can remember in many families. You can probably remember having conversations with your parents and wondering, “Why in the world are they telling me this?” Or you may recall the fact that your parents didn’t tell you ANYTHING besides, “Don’t do it!” You may even remember the crazy conversations you had with your friends.
Based on the conversations you had with your friends isn’t it better to equip our children with a sure foundation? This way when other youngsters bring them distorted truths and childhood folly (and this will happen), your child can be assured of the truth you have already instilled in them. This should not be a taboo topic in the household, allow your child to feel free to come home and ask questions about sex. Present sex as a positive subject, instead of a hidden mystery.
It begins with teaching your child things such as:
– the story of where they came from
– how babies got in their mommy’s tummy and
– the proper names for body parts (nick names are fine but include proper vocabulary)
You can see this starts at a young age. You are laying little blocks that will build the big picture for them as they grow. This is just the beginning.
Be willing to risk being embarrassed to properly educate your child. Step outside your comfort zone to properly prepare your baby girl or baby boy. The return on your investment of time, preparation, overcoming shame, and the notion that my child is too young for such information, is priceless. YOU are to be the primary sex educator for your child. You must move beyond the emotion surrounding the subject of your kid and sex. (Yes, we know this can be disturbing).
Still, it is much better for your child to find out such things from loving parents/guardians rather than from the boy in class who knows less than your kid or the girl at lunch who knows way more than your child.
Determine your parenting philosophy on this subject, so you can arm your child with age appropriate information. Alright, now you know what to do; here is a place to begin with the how to’s.
God’s Design for Sex by Stan and Brenna Jones is a wonderful book series we used when our children were small. It is a series of age appropriate books that can be used with children from ages 3-14. It will get you started.
BMWK – who first taught you about sex? How and when are you approaching the subject with your own kids?