Reply to at what age did you explain physical act of intercourse to your DD?

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[quote=Anonymous]I think a straightforward, matter of fact explanation between 5 and 8 is appropriate, guided by their questions. If the kid hasn’t asked by 8, I’d find an opportunity to talk to them about it. By 8 or so other kids will know about it and you’re risking your child finding out about sex from other kids rather than from you. You don’t want to lose your credibility as a source of unbiased facts about something like sex.

FWIW, I started asking about the mechanics when I was about 6, but my parents pretty much refused to tell me by not directly answering the question “but how does the sperm GET to the egg.” They got me a book that included a lot of pictures of gestation but still didn’t explain the mechanics. I pressed and pressed but then dropped it, sensing that they just weren’t going to answer the question. I learned about the mechanics when I was in health class years later, about 11 years old. It was clear in that moment that all of the other kids in the class had a heads up. My parents might have had a more direct conversation with my older brother, but it never filtered down to me through him.

This was 25 years ago. So today, with kids’ access to the internet and a culture that has a much more nuanced and less puritan view about sexuality, I think you need to get ahead of it with pure facts. I also think starting the conversation about mechanics early will give you time to get to other finer points about non heteronormative sex, masturbation, etc. in time for the child to go through puberty. It might reduce a little girl’s shame about their sexual urges/ feelings when they inevitably arise (around 10 years old?) if they have some context/knowledge about it. And perhaps most importantly, you’ll have sent the message that thinking or talking about sex is not taboo and that their body and its functions are expected and accepted. [/quote]

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