America Needs Better Sex-Ed Classes! No, Really.

[Deleted06]

My daughter went to a private Catholic elementary school, so in 5th grade she was given the Church approved talk...then I told her the truth.

[Kitty]

I was actually given a fairly accurate puberty talk in 5th grade, got my period at the beginning of 7th grade. But when my periods were still irregular at 17, I had nobody to turn to at all. Not until I developed an ovarian cyst. And without birth control my periods are still irregular.

[mkitten]

Hell, I was 16 years old. I have no clue what I would have done if I'd started at 10!

I plan to be very open with my son. I'll truthfully answer any questions he has at any age he asks them. I have a 14 year old niece and I remember my sister blowing off her questions when she was 9 or 10 years old. She finally talked to her at 12, but it was all about abstinence and nothing else. Pathetic. I hope she knows she can come to me with any questions and I'll answer them truthfully. I haven't wanted to tell her that yet because she's still at that age where she tells mom and dad everything and I'm afraid they will shut down her only avenue to get information if they know about it. I'll probably reach out next year sometime. Hopefully, it won't be to late by then.

I never understood this whole "sex is bad!!" teaching technique. Talk about setting up kids for sex issues as adults. It's impossible to view sex as bad and then flip a switch and think it's great as soon as the vows are said. I wonder how the U.S. ranks worldwide for people in therapy due to sex related issues.

Yeah, I got the shhh, sex is bad! Don't do it! talk. When I was 16 and had been sexually active for about a year and a half. (Planned Parenthood was a lifesaver, providing bc, condoms, gyne services for free since I was 14.) I still have no idea how to address "The talk" with my kids (boy, 6; girl, 2.5). I do know that abstinence only has no place in my house, I want my kids to have facts about sex and to know that they can come to either myself or my husband with anything and get honest information. I would rather that they understand their bodies and know how to protect themselves when they start having sex, rather than be totally unprepared like I was at that age. I didn't even know where to put the tampon when I started my period, ffs! (thanks mom, for that awesomely non-existent sex/puberty talk.)

[Sola]

This is a thing I'm faced with now. My daughter is 11 and really needs the full 'talk'. She knows about periods; I got an excellent booklet from MENCAP which addressed puberty in girls with learning difficulties. But it's the sex side of things. She really doesn't have any inkling whatsoever. She knows that babies grow in mummy's tummy and they come out via a special place near mummy's bum, but that's as far as it goes. I've looked online and haven't been able to find anything about sexuality for people with learning difficulties. But it really does need addressing with her because she's very naive and obviously kids at school will have more knowledge than she has.