Sex education?

[MissDon]

What is the best age to tell a child the facts of life?

[incitatus]

Just before it becomes applicable, I reckon. Children will pick up far more than you realise from a very young age, but a starting age for open discussion of 11 or so seems to work well-this is when the school system begins to cover "Plumbing" in the UK. There are no hard and fast answers. One rule of thumb may be if they ask you, tell them honestly, regardless of age.

[mayastar]

I disagree. I think that the best age to teach children about the big issues in life is four. They are able to grasp the basics but haven't formed any impressions of their own and are quite happy to accept what you say without embarrassment. I taught my child aged four with a great book called 'Mummy laid an egg' by Babette Cole - it touches on the basics in a way a child can understand. For example, when she was five, we watched a wildlife programme where a koala bear was being artificially inseminated and she asked what was happening. I explained that she was being given 'seeds' for her 'egg' and she understood. Of course, the emotional side of human relationships will hav to be explained throughout the years at the appropriate ages, but the basics are understood and don't have to be broached in an embarrassing way.

[coemgen]

It depends on the individual child. I have 4 kids. My eldest was asking all kinds of questions about sex age 4, so I told him the basics. However my other kids weren't in the least bit interested til later. I agree with Incitatus, let them guide you.

[tracymort]

when they ask!

[haha]

My parents talked about it openly when I was young and this initiated me to ask questions at about age 5. The answered all my questions with no shame. One of my friend's mothers did so similarly, and among all our friends whose parents never discussed it her and I enjoy the best sex lives now and self-empowerment. Sexual shame is one of the worst mental illness is the world, please help your child see at a young age that sex is beautiful and natural!

[glgirl]

I told my daughter when she was 5 because she asked.She was curious as I was pregant with my 3rd child so instead of telling her a fluffed up story, I told her the facts and she hasn't mentioned it since.

I believe that if a child asks a question like that then they are old enough to be told the truth. Some kids aren't ready to ask that sort of question until they are 11 some are as early as five. I only told her how babys were made but as she gets older I will tell her about the other stuff that comes with making babys when she is ready or when she is 12 whichever comes first.

Incedently, my father reckons that if you teach a child sex education early on then build on it with the other factors then they are less likely to go out and do 'it'