I have been asked many times over the past 8 years if my children know what I do for a living. I proudly say yes, I have a great relationship with my children and today its pretty easy for me to talk to them about this subject. Part of this comes from the fact I didn't really get a sex talk from my parents growing up and the info I got from my friends wasn't exactly all correct, hence having my first child at 16. I believe in having an open and honest relationship with your children from day one. My kids are my best friends and we can talk about anything but they still respect me as the disciplinarian.

 When children are young they will usually ask the ever so popular question "Where do babies come from? " For many parents they will be caught off guard and to quickly get off the hook they may respond with "God creates them".

I clearly remember in Kindergarten I asked God to give me a baby because this is how I believed babies were made. Fast forward a year or so.. My mother was a Persian cat breeder and I would witness the male cat get on the female cat and bite the back of her neck. I kid you not, this is how I thought babies were made for the longest time. I also honestly believed that my parents had eyes in the back of their head. Now why did I think this? Because that is what I was told. 

Children are very impressionable and they look to us for guidance and answers. If we ever want to expect our children to really understand anything, we have to tell them the truth. I know this subject isn't going to come easy for some; especially if your children are older, so its very important to have this open relationship in the early years.

If your childrens are young, listen to them and take clues from them. If they are asking questions stop for a moment and think about what your telling them. Give them the information they are looking for. When my oldest asked me where babies came from I came right out and told him, It was very cut and dry and I let him ask more questions if he needed more information.

One day on a trip at the library I saw my 9 year old looking at a book for teens about puberty and sex. This was the perfect opportunity to talk to him about the subject. I checked out the book and when we got home we went over it together with my 9 and 13 year old.

That talk that day was a little uncomfortable for me but now, 2 years later, I know it was the best decision because today my children are 15, 11 and 7 and we can openly talk about sex, condoms, STD's ect.

So my advice:

Start early. Give them the truth. Ask questions. Don't make the topic of sex, puberty, masturbating, STD's and sex toys taboo subjects. Let them know its ok to talk about. Remember back when you were a kid and put your self in their shoes. Purchase books made for teens on puberty and sex and put them in your child's room. (proof the book first to make sure you agree with the info given).

Id like to end this article with a few websites and statics for you to look over and think about.

• ABC's Desperate Housewives is the most popular broadcast-network television show with kids aged 9-12 according to Nielsen stats. It airs at 10/9. (Jan. 2005)
  
   
• 46% of high school students in the United States have had sexual intercourse. Although sex is common, most sexually active teens wish they had waited longer to have sex, which suggest that sex is occurring before youths are prepared for its consequences.
   
• 1 case of an STD is diagnosed for every 4 sexually active teens
  
   
• If a sexually active teen does not use contraceptives, there is a 90 percent chance that she will become pregnant inside a year.
  
   
• Of all the developed nations, the U.S. has the highest rate of teen pregnancy. The U.S. has a teen pregnancy rate that is twice that of England and Canada and eight times that as Japan and the Netherlands.

STD Statistics in America http://www.avert.org/stdstatisticusa.htm

General Sex Ed http://www.avert.org/sex-education.htm

Teen Pregnancies http://www.pregnantteenhelp.org/articles64.html