How old should you be before you learn about s*x?

Question

I have an eight year old son and I have noticed that kids as young as 12 or so are having s*x! when should I talk to him about it?

Answer 1

12 is just so young... and so many are doing it at that age and dont know anything about protection or STD's!

I talked to my kids about it when they were 9, as an introduction to the idea. I didnt make much of a deal about it... kids can get very uncomfortable if you make it a big sit down for 'the talk'. Insted we made it a dinner table topic at my house and made an atmosphere where our kids can feel free to ask us anything right as they are passing the potatos. Between 9 and 13 my kids pretty much learned everything there is about s*x, STD's, pregnancy and all that and my husband and I were able to dispell any myths that circulate even amoung adults. I have 2 in college, one on the way and one in their senior year and all have a healthy attitude about s*x. My oldest daughter thanked me a while ago for being so open about it all... it saved her from making mistakes that she saw her friends doing... and being my daughter who I taught to speak her mind, she helped them see the right way to do things.

I recommend that you do it sooner than later but make it not so daunting and intimidating than one or two talks. Make it an open topic and your kids will learn more and be more willing to talk to you about it as they age.

Answer 2

When he starts to ask questions about it tell him. My neice heard at age 6, if you can believe it, from a girl in her first grade class about how a guy can put his ( she called it) pee pee in you and you have a baby. Her mom sat her down and explained that it took a mommy and daddy to make a baby. She got a few really cute books about the birds and the bees and explained it to her in a way she could understand. She is 9 now and she is always asking questions about things like, when is she going to get her period, will it hurt? So she just tells her the answers when she asks. If you think he is ready or just curious, get with your pediatrician and find out the best way to tell him.

Answer 3

First of all, teenagers should never have s*x.  s*x is for mature adults.  Teenages are not mature adults, they are not even adults.  School is the priority of teenages.  Play it safe and stay a virgin until 21 years of age.  The reason is you should have completed at least 75% of your post-secondary eduction (college or vocational school) and be very close to getting a real job.  s*x can wait and you are not missing anything.

Talk to your son when he enters high school (9th grade or 14 years of age) about s*x.   And tell him to stay a virgin until 21.  It is okay to stay a virgin until 21.

Answer 4

If you look carefully you will probably notice him playing with him self while in the bath. Its quite natural.

MOST boys start sooner than girls, although I started when I was about 5 or 6.

That is the first signs of ripening of the mind toward s*x.

Educating him now on a level that he is capable of understanding is quite right at this time. That is where kids on the farm have such an advantage. They get to see animals mating and baby animals born and it is a logical step to them that it must be so with humans also. Farmers do not have to do any further s*x education, but you can start by taking out library books that are written for his age group that explains things in terms he can relate to.

Answer 5

I'd say age 10 or before Middle School, at least.  You don't want him to learn about it from his buddies... God only knows what misconceptions he'll walk away with after that.

Answer 6

Yes! Here in Sweden, s*x is talked about freely from an early age. They are also taught s*x education from around the age of 8. I think this is a wonderful idea and it works - Sweden has the lowest rate of teenage pregnancies in the world!

Just because you educate your child about s*x, does not mean that they rush out to try it themselves (which is one argument I have heard against s*x education at a young age). But, the younger you start, the more natural it is - it prevents the stammering conversation that is going to happen if you leave it until they are 14! Kids learn about s*x early these days, anyway. People are kidding themselves if they think otherwise. So, I know what I would prefer and that is for ME to tell them all about it, ensuring that they get the REAL facts, rather than hearing myths and exaggerations in the playground!

Answer 7

It's so sad... Now days you have to talk about it 8-9

Answer 8

It should be an ongoing conversation, not a one-time talk.  If he's 8, you're behind the curve already.   Start now, with what he can understand.  If you can find a copy, there is a book by Littleton Press called "How Babies Are Made."  It may be out of print, but if you can find it, get it.  It would be perfect for his age.

Answer 9

There isn't really a certain age, mainly because everyone is different in their maturity. s*x should always be an open topic. I your child is too young to understand the details of s*x, but they ask what it is, don't avoid the subject; answer it in a basic simple way that they will understand(I started to ask about it when I was about three, only because my mother was a p**n adict, and I loved to read; stumbled across her "books"). Children like to get answers, not to get told "When you're old enough." If they ask, tell them.

Answer 10

when he asks they usually teach it in schools in year 5 (11 years of age) he will ask you or find out from kids at school

Answer 11

what can u talk to them about s*x

I think this is not the right time.

the will understand automatically as they growup

Answer 12

I was 10 from my parents then 11 from school. I would say around 11-13 he's gonna learn about it from kids at school any way

Answer 13

I also found about it from a friend when I was 10, but I thought it was a stupid gross thing at that time. I also learned about s*x when I was 11 at school.

Answer 14

Ask him if he wants to know anything about the process. My boys learned about it in health class in the 5th grade - not in detail but at age 10.

Answer 15

My parents always kept things open at our house and it was never really a "talk" its been an on-going conversation (I'm 19 now and sometimes I'll still sit down with my mom and be like... "so my boyfriend is doing this ____ any ideas?"), Keep an open mind and always answer your son's questions (though you get to decide how age appropriate you want things) it will help keep it a relaxed thing instead of the "TALK".

Good luck!

Answer 16

I think when children are as young as 10 then learn from the media and things so i think they should learn about it when they are about 10 but in a very factual clinical way and make it something they should wait to do and not too detailed tlk.

A few years down the line, maybe when theyre 15 i think you should have a more detailed talk and let them ask questions and say if they do want to try s*x then use protection.

I think its an ongoing thing really and you should let your child know he can always come to you for advice.

Answer 17

Now!