How Much Is Too Much...Talking To Our Little Ones About Sex

Over the past year, the questions from my daughter have become more sex oriented.  I am not concerned about her asking but I take my choice of answers very seriously.  I realize that she is a growing girl.  Think about it...she is in first grade and there are girls in her school that have those coveted things that she has learned are called breasts!!!  How did they get them and when will she get them? 

She has also been exposed to other children out on the playground and while out playing with the neighbourhood kids, and she has heard some of these kids swear and talk about things that are a little too mature for her little ears.  We had an incident a while back where a friend's son made her take her pants off and he took his off.  That was all that happened but it definately brought about the aspect of privacy.

As she grows, the questions are only going to become more intimate and harder to answer.  On one hand, I don't want to blow her off....I want to her to always feel comfortable coming to me for answers, especially as she gets into her teens!  On the other hand, I believe that there are a lot of things that she is too young to know!

I decided to go online and look up some books for kids that covers some of the topics that have come up.  I ordered 2 different books from amazon.com that were recommended for children 4 and up.  One covers the topic of our bodies and how boys and girls are different.  It covers good touches and bad touches and keeping things private.  The other book covers pregnancy and babies.

Before showing them to Avery, I took a look through the books and was amazed at what the publishers deemed appropriate for 4 year olds.  The majority of the content in each book was excellent but both books covered the topic of intercourse!  One even goes as far as to show a funny little cartoon of a man and women with tangled limbs kissing in a bed, followed by a cartoon of an egg and a bunch of sperm! 

In my opinion, this is way too much information.  I would think that something like would increase the childs curiousity from simple questions to more advanced ones.  I now only bring the books out when Avery asks to see them or asks a question.  She is learning to read and I do not want to answer the questions about intimacy....not to a 5 year old anyways!

Avery has had some of her questions aswered from the books.  She knows the proper names for all of the parts of her body.  She knows how a fetus grows in the womb and just recently she asked where a baby comes from.  I told her that a baby comes from a womans "front bum" ( her words) and sometimes has the baby cut out from her tummy ( how she was born ).  She easily accepted these facts and went on her way.  I think that the "experts" are wrong when they say that we should give all of this information to our wee ones.  The less they know as young ones, the longer that they will stay innocent.  If you answer the questions truthfully and with just enough information to sastisfy their curiousity, they will be well informed and comfortable coming to you to ask more.  To me, that is what is most important.  This generation of teenagers are more sexual than any previous generation.  This is because we are so liberal and sex is EVERYWHERE!  Let's keep our kids pure for as long as we can!!!