Your children are sexually developing creatures. Once you’ve grasped this, you’re ready for “Everything You Never Wanted Your Kids to Know About Sex” by Drs. Justin Richardson and Mark A. Schuster (Three Rivers Press, $14).
The authors bring to the table a wealth of scientific data and professional experience, and write in a gentle yet straightforward way, as they discuss everything from children’s sex play to teenage pregnancy. They break down puberty, discussing what sprouts where and when. And they stress talking to kids about sex early and often. For instance, they scoff at the idea of pleading the fifth when asked about “privates,” saying, “no age is too early to teach a child the name of his own body parts.”
A good chunk is spent on what parents can do if kids decide–and they are the ones who will be deciding–to have sex. We’re all for frank, supportive talk, but it took our breath away to read about preparing a daughter for the possibility of pain the first time she has sex so “she can use her finger to stretch the hymen for a few weeks beforehand.” We can’t imagine anyone we know having that conversation.
On experience: “No matter what you teach your child, he will of course do most of his learning on the job.”