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I have a very important, but intimidating, task ahead of me in the next few weeks before school starts. I’ll be giving my 10-year-old the talk before she heads into the 5th grade. Even though I’ve done this before, this still won’t easy for me, though it has to be easier than the first time I gave the talk.

The truth is I want to be the person to talk my kids about the birds and bees before ANYONE else. Knowledge is power. If we don’t tell them, they’ll get the info from their friends. Think about the telephone game and imagine how information kids pass around would get more and more distorted. I want my kids to hear it straight from a source they trust. I want them to know that *I* am the person to come to with questions in the future. I want to discredit any myth that it is a dirty secret we can’t talk about, but also teach guiding morals. It is a tough balance and a tough topic.

While I get ready for the talk that is about to happen, I thought I’d share some of the materials I’ve used in the past that REALLY helped. These books really cut down on the awkwardness, though it is probably impossible to avoid awkwardness all together.

BOOK FOR PARENTS

This is the book Matt and I read to prepare. My favorite part of it was the direct advice and sample scripts of what to say. That’s how much this book helped, it told me what to say so I didn’t have to worry about saying it all wrong. This was such a comfort.

BOOK FOR KIDS

I hunted and read lots of reviews and recommendations about what book to READ WITH the kids. I ended up ordering this book and this book, and after reading through them both, we decided to use the book below. The information seemed was accurate and direct, which I thought might leave my kids less confused when it was all said and done. I don’t want to give my kids vague platitudes that leave their brains swirling with confusion. I wanted to balance just the right amount of info, and I thought this book did that. (Plus, the book for parents recommended this one.)

BONUS FOLLOW-UP RECOMMENDATION

And while we’re on the topic of the talk, pornography seems like an important follow-up lesson. My kids are avid readers and need a little time to process, so we let them read this book and then we discussed it together.

SPEAKING OF FOLLOW-UPS …

Another reason I like the book for parents to read (above) is because it gives information about follow-up discussions and check-ins with your child. After we talk to daughter #3, we’ll be due to have a follow-up conversation with our two older girls.

YOU CAN DO THIS!

If you have the talk coming up soon in your life, I wish you smooth-sailing – I think these recommendations will really help. You can do this! Parent solidarity!

From my home to yours,
Mary