Yep, right on the heels of our Sadie turning 11. I walk into the house tonight to hear the male anatomy being discussed quite loudly, voices raised to carry from the living room to the kitchen. There is no hint of impropriety, no coloring of the cheeks, no hesitation. I suppose that comes with the territory. Sadie has older brothers and sisters who have walked this road before her. They’ve all had “the talk” and have received the 5th grade “Intro to the Reproductive System” lessons at school.
Couple that with the 8th grade Health unit (that would be Lilly and Josie) on sexually transmitted diseases and you’ve got a household abuzz with the sex talk. There are few things more enjoyable than trying to define Chlamydia and date-rape with my 15 year old daughter who still struggles with English! Although this process has generated LOTS of questions from Josie, so that’s a win…
Now, it bears saying that I have traveled these United States as a professional sex talker, so I am not uncomfortable discussing such things, even in mixed company. That’s not always been the case. There was a day when I’d rather take a beating than talk about sex with anyone; but a few coast-to-coast trips with Dannah & Bob Gresh cured me of my hesitancy.
I don’t know if it was because our house has been filled with college-aged people ever since our kids were little, or if it’s a by-product of being in youth ministry for so long, but we’ve had “the talk” with our children pretty early. Levi was probably the youngest, and he had some specific questions about sex. Fortunately for me, he asked his momma. She pulled a fast one, telling him to ask me, which he did one day while we were hiking to a cave. I almost choked on the water I was swigging! But I took a deep breath and did my best to answer his questions.
Each conversation has been a little better, a little smoother. Kim’s been better at talking about these things than me, but I’ve tried to meet each challenge with optimism and bravery. This last go-round with Sadie and Annabelle has been pretty fun to contrast. Sadie isn’t the least bit intimidated to ask her questions; Annabelle can hardly wait for the conversation to be over! But that’s the difference in their personalities…
A few years ago I thought I’d be all upset about the school telling my babies about baby-making. But the reality is that this has created an opportunity for us to talk to our kids about something that is important. They have questions which need age-appropriate answers, and good communication now opens the door for conversations later.
I can’t wait for Charlie to hit 5th grade so we can have the talk…I wonder if I’ll feel the same way about this in 10 more years!
*I was going to google some random image based on the title, but I figured it’d be a bad idea!
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