Do you have the courage to speak with your own child?

One thing that I have learned after 20 years as a health educator, is that the answer to that question is often no. Rest easy- I am here to guide you through those terrifying years, better known as puberty.  Welcome to Puberty for Petrified Parents®!

A Tale of Two Boys

 Several years ago, as the time for Family Life education drew near, I had a ten year old boy stopping by my office on a regular basis to inquire as to when we would begin to learn about “you know what”. I put him off for a while until shortly before the day of the first puberty lesson.  When he posed the question once again, I commented that he seemed very interested in this topic. His reply- “I know how it happens….. I saw it on my phone”.

Just think about that for a minute.

Now read on for the great juxtaposition.

A few weeks into the topic, as I was discussing the sperm and the egg, another little boy, also 10, raised his hand and spoke the same words, “I know how it happens”.

“How what happens?”

“I know how the sperm meets the egg.”

“Would you like to share?”

“Well, the man deposits sperm from his penis into the woman’s vagina. The sperm travels up and if it meets an egg, a baby comes.”

 WOW! 

This child’s  mother knew that this topic was coming up and she asked his father to speak with him. This is the difference between “seeing it on your phone”, and having an open discussion with a parent or guardian. 

I am quite certain we would all chose the latter. So… stay tuned for my next post, because if you can master the topic coming up it will be all downhill from there.