My niece had her first child this weekend....hard to imagine one of my "babies" having a baby! Everyone is doing well...thank goodness. This did however, prompt some interesting conversations with my kids. The conversation started like I expect most would when someone they know has a baby....does it hurt? What's the placenta (although I was surprised to a certain extent how much technical knowledge they have)? How does an epidural work? Oh by the way...what's oral sex? Hold the phone...did you hear me hit the brakes on that one? Imagine that picture....me driving down the road minding my own business watching vigilantly for deer in my headlights and next thing I know...I AM the deer in the headlights. My 12 year old daughter is asking me what oral sex is. So, I regroup, inhale and boldly and honestly tell her. Now, I know there will be those that criticize me about it but, I would so much rather my children be informed with accurate and honest information. When is the right age to tell them? Well....when they start asking specific questions like that it is definitely time. I asked her where she heard about oral sex, in a calm and reassuring voice and she said matter of fact like...."the news - they were talking about an increase in incidence of sexually transmitted diseases spread through oral sex." Well, that took us down another whole path because then I felt compelled to make sure she knew that yes, sexually transmitted disease can be spread that way and no matter what her friends say...oral sex is still sex. This conversation led to a whole family conversation with the other two kids and I tried to share the information equally amongst them. At that moment, I had a major epiphany. I know I've always felt this way to an extent but, I realized I want my kids to have sexual freedom that comes with knowledge. I want them to have a healthy respect for sex and not be ashamed of their bodies or enjoying the dreaded S-E-X word. But, as I sat her contemplating all this my mind began to wander. Did I give them too much information? Is there such a thing? I don't think so. I think that knowledge is very empowering but, does it stop with this topic or does it span all areas of our lives? That led me to thinking about another conversation I had today...about the new Swine Flu. The question was asked....do we really tell people in the world everything that is going on with these types of occurrences or do we conceal some of the information to avoid a world wide panic? I think we have to walk a fine line in giving people the information they need and not do it in a sensational way that might provoke an overreaction and cause mass hysteria. But, if people are empowered with the knowledge of what the illness of the week is, they are better equipped to avoid exposure. How did we go from oral sex to swine flu? Not really sure.... I guess it is just another quirk of how my brain works....scary isn't it?!?
Stay Safe, xoxo
Pandora
1 comment:
You had me cracking up, until you asked if you were giving too much information. I too have faced that quandry. My son believed that kissing was sex. It was very cute but the teens in my room were making fun of him and making pointed comments, I knew I had to acrt because I did not want him to learn about sex from the warped misinformed teens I teach. So last summer, he and I sat down and talked about sex including what it is and how it works. It was more of a biology lesson, I kept it that way so he would feel free to ask questions, which he did after a little bit. So other parent/teacher did not approve but I like you do not want my child stifled and misinformed.
As for what should the government tell us, they should release information freely. The media is the group that blowing the swine flu out of propotion. I don't believe they should withhold information from the public, it is when they do that people believe there is a need to panic.
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