Tips for Talking about the Birds and the Bees with your Kids
Talking about the birds and the bees with your kids isn’t exactly comfortable, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be awkward either. If your child had moved from asking you about the latest toys and has now moved on to where babies come from, then we’ve got some important tips you don’t want to miss:
Seize every chance to provide an accurate answer
You don’t have to wait to have a sit down with your kids to outline the ins and outs of sex. In fact, even while they are still young, say under 6, you can help them understand the concepts of sex without being too graphic. The best way to do this is to always answer their questions honestly but without going into too much detail.
For example, if they ask you, ‘how does the baby come out of the tummy?’ The response to this question will depend on your personal views and the age of the child. Even a direct answer about going to the hospital and a doctor removing the baby will avoid any embarrassment.
No distractions
When you do want to sit down with your child to have this discussion, you want the television off and nothing around them that can be distracting. Make sure that you also aren’t distracted or awkward, otherwise your child may pick up on this. You want them to feel comfortable talking about this topic with you so that in the future should they want to ask a question, you are the person they feel comfortable going to.
Kids about to hit puberty
This is the age where you can introduce the ideas of sex within a loving relationship and what marriage is all about. These conversations are important to have once your child knows the basic concepts behind sex. Before starting any conversation like this, get an idea first about what your child already knows.
Guiding them with books
If you feel you’re starting to blush or there are some serious in depth questions your child wants answered and you aren’t quite sure what to say, a helpful book targeted at teaching sex education to your child’s age group can be a great help. You can either look at the book together and go through it with them, or give it to them following your conversation so they can read over it in their own time and come to you with any added questions they might have.
When your child moves on from wanting only to pick their favourite from a number of online toys to asking you some serious questions about how babies are made, there’s no harm in being prepared. Kids are always going to be curious and it’s better to be ready for their questions then turning pink when they ask you where they came from one day out of the blue.
