The Conversation

My kids tell me they are unique. We were talking with 3 of them last night and two of them say that they have asked their friends and not one of them have ever had "the talk" from a parent. The other one said a few had had "the talk."

The interesting thing is that this is true for both Christian and non-Christian homes as far as they can tell. I suppose that should be expected from non-Christian homes. They probably figure that they would rather have the school have the talk or let them find out in some other way. But Christians often complain and worry about sex ed in schools so it seems that they would be very quick to make sure they had the talk.

The main reason I think parents neglect to have the talk is because it is awkward and embarrassing. But if we really believe that sex is a beautiful gift from God, and that sexual intimacy is a core element of a strong marriage, it seems we would be much more inclined to have the talk. Apparently our churches are lacking a good theology of sex and it probably is because we don't address it enough in our churches.

I also think that it is unhelpful to refer to it as "the talk." The questions should not be when you had "the talk" it should be, "when did you begin 'the conversation.'" You can't explain it all in one talk and your kids can't process it all in one talk. It needs to be an ongoing conversation.