At what age did you give your children "the talk"? I plan on giving my children brief details at 8, and then explain it more at 10. I felt I didn't learn what I needed to know from my talk, so I want to be informative.

There were never any talks in our household. This was in part because I was nosey and asked too many questions and my mother never kept things from me. She answered anything I asked, and so I started learning at age four.

I plan on being as open with my daughter.

If they ask simple such as where do babies come from, we usually say mommy and daddy do a "special hug" and the baby is put into mommy's belly.

I was determined to be very open with our children, (they are now nearly 29 and 26). When our daughter was about 6 or 7 there was to be a t.v. show on that was called, 'how life begins' i made arrangements to have our son (and daddy) in the other room during the program, I talked to myself all day, reminding myself, I wouldn't put her off, and I would answer all questions she asked no matter how embarrassed I got. Anyway, thru the beginning of the show, she kept asking, 'why are they showing all this daddy stuff?' told her to wait a little while and see if they explained it then we'd talk. Well of course they did explain it.....she had a lot of questions, and i answered them, but the absolute worse was, ''EWW, that means you and daddy did that?" Pretty funny looking back, but i was a wreck. Made daddy do the same thing with our son at about six or seven.........

I think that was a wonderful way to approach it. Honestly Papabear, I never understood the point of misinformation like that, or half truths, whatever you want to call it. There is every risk your child will learn the truth on the playground, and I know where I would rather them hear it from. Besides, you end up having to go back and correct the misinformation later anyway, just makes the job harder.

I was told that when a man and a woman loved each other (hey it was the 80's) that a baby got made. My parents didn't tell me straight out lies, they just kept it vague till I was about 8. Then I got the "how babies are made" talk. At 11 I got the "whats going to happen to your body talk", almost too late, lol. I've never avoided discussions with my nieces either, although more times than not I tell them to ask mommy later. I'm not going to be the bad guy for not telling them the wrong thing. I remember having a classmate tell me all about condoms and sex in the second grade, so I'd imagine earlier is better, even if its not the full details. And encouraging your kids to not be afraid to ask. Its not fun to talk about, but once its done right you probably won;t have to worry about another for some time.

With kids doing "it" earlier and earlier, I don't think it's wise to keep putting off the talk. Whenever you think they are ready for it, tell them everything they need to know.

No it may not be a pleasant discussion, but it needs to happen all the same.

What about the age you got the talk yourself? I remember my friend trying to give me the talk in my early teens, after my parents already had, that was quite entertaining. Trying to have a male friend tell a female friend "the talk".

I think I was about 10 or 11 when I first received the "talk" and by the age of 13 I knew about everything through discussions with friends, and seeing a few erm "adult" films.

But yeah, it's not a good idea to delay the discussions.

I don't have a child now but I also got similar advice from parents like you. Many said it's OK to give some small bits of information even at 4 year olds. At least tell them that it's not OK for a man to do this and that .. we have a 6 year old in our block who has been sexually abuse by his fater for more than 1 year. He never knew what that meant and I am sure his mother would like now to have told him at least that some things are not OK to happen. I would start with this and then little by little, as they grow offer more information

As this topic is already learned in schools about human anatomy then it should not be a vague topic inside the house. Curiosity will make kids try it and in order to avoid that, parents should inform them about what this is all about.

I agree to some here to answer any questions that your kid might have to ask for that means your kid trusts you better than others. I would do my best to explain to my child what reproduction means in the simplest way possible.

Its not every easy to explain how reproduction works. You have to make the child think of a general thing rather than that specific act to procreate. We could tell them how animals or plants multiply. Reproduction is needed for the survival of the species. We could tell them that penguin couples stay together for the rest of their lives and when one of them dies, the other will never find another partner again. It reminds me of "Happy Feet".

I plan to give my children 'the talk' when they have their first date or start showing interest in the opposite sex (or same sex if they go the gay way). I want to be open with my children because I was forced to learn facts on my own. I am going to keep it vague until they are old enough to understand what I am talking about.

My girls are 12 and 16 .When they were little they ask the usual "where do babies come from" I was honest with them. I found out though that if you are going to have THE talk ,have it before puberty .Mine won't even listen to me if they know it is about THAT! They say its embaressing to have me talk to them about that stuff.

I got "the book" LOL. My mom wasn't the best in that area of life. I chose to let my children lead. It didn't work with my oldest though, because she is the type to not ask any questions. My middle DD has no trouble asking anything, anywhere.
I won't lie to them, and I won't give half truths. I had a friend who thought if you hugged a boy you got pregnant! She was about 12. Misinformation, like the stork story, doesn't help anyone.

As soon as you think the child is ready to hear it, tell them as soon as possible.

With how crazy the world is now, who the heck knows what they may or may not decide to do without your guidance on this things? Uncomfortable discussion or no, you don't wanna wait around with this.