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My 7-Year-Old Son Said He'd Kick His Sister In The Nuts. Here's Why I Chose To Tell The Truth Then.
The biggest misconception around is that there is some magical age that will denote the "appropriate" time for parents and kids to have "The Talk." Notice the singular noun.Open dialogue doesn't come from one talk. That's not gonna cover everything they need to know! It starts when they're little kids, from the first time they inappropriately but innocently play with their genitals in front of company like "no big deal," and you stay calm and convene with junior in the next room to quietly, rationally explain that touching yourself is perfectly fine, and lots of people like to do it but that it's just something people do when they have privacy in their own room or the bathroom. See? No shame about it, no threats, no scandal. You just arm the kid with facts so they can navigate the world like a boss.It comes from setting the record straight when they're 7 years old and they threaten to kick their sibling in whatever set of genitals the sibling doesn't have. You've given them valuable information so they're not making empty threats against their archnemesis and then being mercilessly mocked.Little by little, by the time they're curious about sex, they'll have learned a lot already about it from YOU, their parent, the person they look to and trust the most to give them the facts. They'll feel comfortable asking you new, trickier questions, and you'll feel more comfortable answering them because you'll have had practice.You can do this! The video below has plenty of great tips.
08.19.14