the "talk"

[dawnsday]

How old was your child when you had the "talk" with them...how did you go about it. I'm talking about the scientific end, not the "when a daddy and mommy love each other..." part.

My daughter is 9 and there was a girl in her class that started her period, so I guess I have to do this...any advise?

 

[Robinsegg]

My dd just turned 10. Last spring, I explained to her about a period, what she could expect to see and that it was normal . . . a sign that her body was preparing to be pregnant in the future. That sort of thing.

How much do you plan to go into? Is she already aware of physical gender differences?

Rachel

Eta: I just saw you're pregnant? Congrats! I have a 10yo, 7yo & 14mo. This is the *perfect* way to teach your daughter about what her body will do as she gets older! She's probably already curious about what's going on with you! Get a book from the library with drawings and/or pictures of babies in eutero, take some time explaining to dd where baby is in your body and how everything works as far as actual gestation goes. Whether you want to explain to her how babies are made right now is up to you.

R

 

[dawnsday]

she's aware and she knows a bit, you know in generalities, however I was going to give her the whole health class lesson, since it's coming up in her actual health class...you know fallopian tubes, ovaries, etc...she's really a science nut anyway, so I thought maybe I should stick to the science...but i'm not sure.

 

[Robinsegg]

she's aware and she knows a bit, you know in generalities, however I was going to give her the whole health class lesson, since it's coming up in her actual health class...you know fallopian tubes, ovaries, etc...she's really a science nut anyway, so I thought maybe I should stick to the science...but i'm not sure.

Well, it sounds like the science angle might be a great way to start, just with human anatomy. But in a health class, they may go into more, um, sociological issues, too.
R

 

[illudium_phosdex]

My daughter turned 9 in March. Because I know that some girls do start their menstrual cycles that early I had our talk some time in January or February. We kept it to just the scientific aspect of it. She had a few questions and I answered them. She's also had a few questions here and there pop up since then and I've answered those as strait forward as possible as well. So now she knows the anatomy part, about her menstrual cycle and why she's going to have one but as of yet, we have not discussed anything farther and I'm not 100% sure when the appropriate time for that is.

 

[Singermom]

I'm taking notes...

My older daughter is 7, and I was wondering this self-same question. She is very, very intelligent, LOVES to learn, and is very mature academically. I have already mentioned it in passing, as she had seen my "pads". All I've said to her thus far is that it is something that will happen to her when she gets just a little older, and I'll get more into detail later. We also know a LOT of pregnant women right now!

I think, once I've tackled her, her younger sister (currently 5) will be easier...I hope...

 

[Lena75]

BOOKS! Use books with simple drawn diagrams with simple explanations. I didn't get "the talk" until grade 5 at school so yeah, I was around 10-11. A consent form was sent home saying that a health nurse will be visiting and 2 classrooms were going to be visited at the same time. Boys in one room, girls in the other. But before we went to school that day, mom had a sit-down with my sister and I (we're close together in age, me being older) by the time mom had explained stuff, I could understand it much better by the time the health nurse explained stuff at school! I still even have my little book I got from the school. I plan to use it for my daughter! We also picked up some other books from a Christian bookstore. Haven't really studied them yet. They jump right to the "this is how we make babies!" Sooo... yeah. She's young. Stick with simple, easy comprehensive stuff.

 

[FaithPrevails]

I had the talk with my 8 yr old son last year b/c he started asking questions (I was preggers). I kept it all scientific and answered his questions. I knew we had covered enough when his response to one of the answers I gave him was, "Eww!!". lol

I think it's a judgment call each parent has to make on their own. We know our kids best and know what they are capable of understanding.

 

[dawnsday]

Thanks for the thoughts all. I gave her the "talk" tonight...I'll call it part one. I got the female anatomy out of the way, and she had questions. I answered her questions, honestly. Mostly she got stuck on the idea of getting a period and after that was ready to quit.

We'll resume the "how does the sperm get to the egg" part later. She was a bit overwhelmed.