I was five years old when I got “the talk“. Yep… five. My older brother Derek was there, I remember that much. He was nine.
My brother and I were about to move in with my dad, and my mom wanted to make sure that we got the story straight before we got there. She knew that my dad wasn’t going to talk to us about it (which was true, he never did).
I have a huge bucket of memories from those days, but I can’t remember one word my mom said to us. Not one word. I blacked out it all out. Maybe a counselor will find it some day…
Tomorrow night I’m beginning a teaching series with our highschool students called “Bow Chika Wow Wow“. It’s not really about sex though. More about our humanity… the temptations and urges that can jack up our lives if misused and abused.
So… when did YOU get “the talk”?
Parents… when do you plan on giving “the talk”?
And… shouldn’t it be more than one talk?
ryanguard.net 
Me? I got handed a “health” book by my mom when I was 13 (way too late for any of that). I was so embarrassed that I simply said, “Oh, I know all that stuff” and took off.
We made a definite effort to never have The Talk with our kids. Stuff was discussed as it came up, and sometimes it came up in the grocery line up 🙂
However, I did buy a couple of books for my kids (one girl, one boy) that made it easy to read and talk through. Very age-appropriate with cartoons and stuff. As they’ve gotten older (this started probably three years ago, when my girl was 7) the questions have changed, so the depth of the explanations change.
The funny thing is, I refer to parts with their proper names, e.g. penis, vulva. They’re the ones who don’t like to – LOL.
With the amount of parents who say their kids just don’t listen to them (and vice versa), how can anyone say that one talk will suffice? How can people think that one talk will be enough to address all the questions that this little future-sexual-being will have?
I haven’t had the talk and don’t intend to – ever. I’m leaving it up to you and have high hopes for your teaching series that begins tomorrow night. My almost 17-year-old junior and his 14-year-old freshman girlfiend will be there so no pressure or anything…
dangit! Why is my picture there? I tried to be anonymous! Oh well…
Totally JK on the not having the talk thing. We have been talking for a long time, especially since older women starting calling my son whe he was 12 and in the 6th grade. It takes lots of talks and lots of reminders (not to mention PRAYER). The purtiy promise card that is in his wallet is a good reminder, too.
I am very happy that y’all place an emphasis on the topic as well. At this point, it is good for them to hear it in a different voice than their parent’s. can’t wait to hear how things go for the next 3 weeks. Keep up the great work!
Probably 12/13ish…I think its probably easier for parents of girls cause moms HAVE to do the “period” talk before their daughter freaks out on that first day…and that just naturally leads into the sex talk.
My mom always liked to have those talks in the car. You knew they were coming when she would roll up the windows, turn down the radio, and start a sentence with “sooo…” Ugh, my palms just got sweaty remembering those days! So awkward!
Philippa, that’s interesting to hear about cartoon books that cover this stuff… and um, the word “vulva” makes me a little queasy too.
2xjms, you’re funny…
Lindsay, you’re sitting right next to me, so I feel weird responding to this.
Problem with waiting until the girls are 12/13 is that their friends are all talking about it and spreading wrong information. When my niece was 12 she confidentially told me that a woman had to swallow an egg every month to get pregnant – that’s why she was staying well away from eggs…
The Care and Keeping of You is good for younger girls (7-9). The Feelings Book is good when they get older (10-12). There’s also What’s Happening to Me (guys & gals version) and What’s Going On Down There?
Talk about giving new meaning to graphic novel… 🙂
haha!
i got “the talk” when i was in 1st grade, immediately after my parents were advised, “if you dont tell them someone else will.”
so literally, “immediately after” that phone call, as im heading out the door, waffles in hand, to catch the bus to go to school my dad calls for me to come back up stairs and proceeds to tell me details using the 2 remote controls as props. dont remember much beyond that except it was awkward and i didnt know any more details than i did prior to that incident. HS taugh me all i knew, just the way the cookie crumbles for some… fortunately i didnt have any dirt bag friends.
Poor baby! I’ll pay for the therapy 😉
My mom wants me to make sure that everyone knows I was kidding when I said that the word “vulva” makes me queasy (she called me). I’m not afraid to talk about these things. In fact, I’m going to say the word “vulva” at least 3 times tomorrow in casual conversation just to prove it.
i love my mom 🙂
vulva
That does not count as 1 🙂