By Robie H Harris and Micheal Emberley (Walker books)
There’s one topic guaranteed to strike terror into many parent’s hearts. The sex talk. When do you have the talk? How much do you tell? How do you handle your own embarrassment and theirs? How do you handle the tough questions? There are many beliefs on how to approach the sex talk and much will be decided by your own attitude to sex. Common wisdom has it that you should tell children at a young age in a very matter of fact way that gives them the bare basics (pardon the pun) and answers no more than they ask.
When they get older however, the more complex questions will come and that’s when you need backup. In my tweens my parents gave me Where Did I Come From and What’s Happening to Me? by Peter Mayle (Lyle Stuart). They were good starting points in an age when you couldn’t google anything. It’s so much harder now to control what they learn about and from where. Thats why I prefer one book that covers it all. The bestselling Let’s Talk About Sex is a lifesaver. For ages 10+, the book covers topics ranging from making love, changing bodies, birth control, having babies, sexual diseases, abuse and personal health. It’s thorough and friendly with cartoon illustrations that help take some of the ‘eww’ factor out of it. No judgments are made, for example when talking about masturbating, the authors make it clear that some people think it’s wrong and some people like it. It cannot harm you therefore the choice is yours.
This is an updated, 20th anniversary edition of the book and it adds safe internet use and AIDS facts to bring it up to date.
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