In a follow up to another question I asked?

Question

What advice do you give your children on contraception and at what age do you give that advice or do you leave this to the schools.

Ana Smartypants .............. Mmmm don't you think that is a bit of a cop out. What if there is in some cases no Dad or similarly a Mum.

Answer 1

Where I live, if you wait for the school system to teach it, the children will never learn it, because the policy of the schools here is to teach *abstinence only*. Every year the school board tries to get the curriculum changed to include teaching about contraceptives and every year the parents pitch a fit about it (claiming it’s not something the school has the right to teach their children), so it never changes.

I had the sex talk with my kids the summer before they started middle school. We covered everything, from the how’s-it-done, to contraceptives, to sexually transmitted diseases, to “no means no”, and many other things. One issue I stressed was the state laws regarding minors having sex (you’d be surprised at how many kids don’t know it’s illegal and could possibly lead to statutory rape charges, even if both participants are minors). Then when they started dating (not allowed until high school), we discussed it all again.

Answer 2

It all depends on you and how mature your kids are, do you find it easy to talk about the birds and bees, do you have good teaching skills to get the point across, children are learning all the time maybe from there peers or from you, there is never a right or wrong time to do this, if the child is very young around 7 or 8 there are some fantastic books for them to read, one Ive just bought for a friend is called mummy laid an egg, what a fantastic book it shows the difference between mums and dads and also about mums getting pregnant and how the baby gets there, i bought it from amazon, my boys are all older now and very different maturity ages, i just do what Ive always done and its worked for me, the only advise is don't go into too much detail because it confuses them good luck to you do it right and your kids will grow up responsible adults.

Answer 3

Never leave it to the schools, it's always best to hear from your parent. If they are girls - when periods start.
I think you should take the first step no matter how diffucult, make them feel like they can talk to you any time, therefore they wont go looking for approval in all the wrong places.
I also think you should address the whole sex / reproduction / boys / girls / usual teenage stuff topic - it doesn't help to just talk about pills and condoms etc . . . they may have other questions they are afraid to ask you.

Answer 4

All kids are different, but basically between 11-13 I would say. Just don't wait until it's too late. 11 may be a little young, but my oldest daughter started her period at 11 at school & worried about it until I got home from work! Poor thing, she had no idea why she was bleeding!:(

Answer 5

i think every child has a different stage where they can "Comfortably" talk about sex and contraceptives. if you're open with your children, you could easily know when they're ready or not.

when that time comes, explain to them all possible options for contraceptives. make sure they understand how it works.

and, as much as possible, let the dad talk to a son and let the mom talk to a daughter, that way it's not weird =)

Answer 6

Don't leave it to the schools because kids may think this is something they don't have to pay attention to because it's school. If you can sit down and teach them and let them know it's ok to come to you then they would know that it's something serious. Explain all the risks. When I was younger I wish my mom sat down and talked to me. Then I would've taken that sex ed course serious.

Answer 7

I suppose that when a girl reaches puberty and starts her period it might be a good time to talk about sex, and i'd also stress to her that she never has to do anything she doesn't want to do...

Boys.. i had two. I went to the library and got books about adolescence and they were written with kids in mind.. i got them for my kids when they were about 11? The books are great for boys and girls.

Answer 8

The schools don`t teach your kids very much about sex. That is up to the parents. Tell them when you think they are ready. Good luck.

Answer 9

Always use a condom. We had all boys so we talked about it when the oldest was 12.....he, of course, educated his younger brothers. :)

Answer 10

Never leave that to the schools.

Do you suspect your child is sexually active? Time for that talk.