“The sex talk” – Many sitcoms have used this topic for some good laughs. Like the awkward dad trying to explain the birds and bees to his son. The son seems to be more comfortable with the whole thing than the dad is. And often the son already knows a lot more than dad realized. Within the humor of a situation like this there is something parents can learn. In this fast paced world of information technology kids are learning about things much earlier than we did. Things like sex. Wait too long to have “the talk” and their response may be “I already know all that stuff.” Which leaves you to wonder where and/or whom they learned it from. Hopefully it wasn’t from a friend who watches porn on their iPhone and thinks they’re the expert who should pass along their sex wisdom to all their friends. But chances are if your kids didn’t learn about sex from you, then they didn’t learn it in the proper context. They may know the mechanics of sex, what the various parts are and where they go, but there is so much more to know and understand.  

I’ve had to give “The Sex Talk”. Fortunately, I had it early so I didn’t get the “I know all that stuff dad” response. The mechanics of sex were certainly a part of the conversation but so was that fact that sex is an incredible gift from God that he created for married couples to enjoy. Speaking of a conversation make sure your talk is two ways. Don’t turn the sex talk into a lecture series staring you. If you’re doing all the talking and your child is not saying anything something is probably not going right. Get them to engage. Ask them questions if you need to so they start talking. When I gave “the talk” I got a lot of questions and I was thrilled to answer them. I’d rather the questions get asked to me than to some kid at school. And lastly “the talk” shouldn’t be a one-time event. Your kids will be bombarded with the world’s view of sex almost daily. One conversation with you about sex isn’t going to counteract that. So keep the conversation alive and look for teachable moments to bring it up. You shouldn’t have to look too hard. Take a drive down the highway and I bet you could find a billboard that could start the conversation.