I hope the title wasn’t misleading, but I’m not sure there is a right or a wrong answer to the question, “what age is best for the sex talk?”
However, what I’m learning from Godly men and women who have gone down this path ahead of me as well as common sense from living in the over-sexed culture we live in, beginning the conversation about sex earlier is better than waiting too late. The tension to fight is how do I protect their innocence as long as possible without allowing a negative influence begin the conversation without me. Kids have the right to a childhood free of the stain of perversion; however, when the images, words and thoughts come into their minds, I want them all to be filtered though the truth I was able to expose them to first. Ultimately, each parent is going to have to decide when that it for their children.
So, what I’ve come to learn recently is that the conversation for my son (who is now three) really can begin now. Certainly we’re not going into graphic detail, but it’s time for him to learn about the body God’s given. He can even learn how girls are different and that’s the body God gave them. That’s where it begins. That’s the start of a foundation of healthy talks. Several people listed all kinds of great resources on this post yesterday. I plan to get them all. If you see any missing that you would recommend, put them in the comments of that post.
A really inspiring resource I recently came across is this blog where Chris Spradlin talks openly about talking to your kids about sex. No topic is taboo and I greatly appreciate his candor. Here are several posts you might consider reading.
