How To Talk To Your Child About Sex!

You know you’ve got to get down to it, but walking through a minefield seems easier.Neeti Jaychander tells you how to talk to your child about sex.

- Neeti Jaychander

When 10-year-old Priya Mahadev* blurted out, “What’s an orgasm?” over dinner to her parents, there was an awkward silence—she was too young and her parents didn’t know if it was too soon to have ‘the talk’. After discussing it, they realised it was better that she received all the facts from them, rather than contorted versions from everyone else. Says her mother Rukmini*, “We sat her down the next day and explained how sex works, the pros and cons, what’s legal and what’s not. She didn’t understand all of it, but at least she knows the doors to a discussion are open if she wants to clarify anything and, for now, that’s enough.” Taking a cue from Rukmini and her husband Mahadev*, here’s what you need to keep in mind while having the sex talk with your child.

START EARLY

Most parents are surprised at how soonthey need to have that talk. Psychologist Manjula MK says, “With access to technology and information at their fingertips, children today are smart. They also rely heavily on their peer group for information, which is often distorted. You don’t have to go the whole hog, but at least introduce them to the concept of puberty (since they’re reaching puberty much earlier these days!) and give them a basic understanding of the male and female reproductive system. A talk on the finer nuances of sex and its repercussions can follow later, but for starters, just give them information to allay their curiosity—they’re not going to believe the stork story any longer.”